Times of the Islands Summer 2023

astrolabe newsletter of the Turks & Caicos National Museum
There were two airlines serving the Islands in the
early 1970s. They were affectionately named “Air Chaos”
and “Chaos Airways.” Air Caicos were based in Grand
Turk whilst Caicos Airways were based in South Caicos.
The US Air Force base was used by Air Caicos for their
Convair 444 flights from Nassau via Eleuthera into Grand
Turk. They also had their Piper Aztec planes based there
which served the Islands as far out as “Blue Hills,” as
Providenciales was commonly known then. Air Caicos
were able to use the US base as they carried sufficient
insurance whilst planes not carrying enough insurance
had to use the airstrip in the centre of Cockburn Town.
The Town Strip
Town Strip was curious in a number of ways. Most runways
have an area at each end to allow for undershooting
or overshooting of the landing area. Because of houses
on the seaward end of Town Strip there was no undershooting
area. The overshoot was unusual, as the runway
ended at the cemetery wall and the overshoot was at 90º
to the runway and passed parallel to the wall.
A degree of skill was required in order to land at Town
Strip. The land surveyor’s house was directly under the
flight path, so planes went very close to his roof in order
to get down to the start of the runway. Once the land surveyor
was working on his roof when a plane approached
and came in so close he had to lie down flat on the roof,
as he felt in danger.
The Town Strip was also unusual in that there were
no facilities apart from the runway itself. There was no
air traffic control, so that pilots had to make a visual
approach and take off to ensure that the runway was
clear. In addition, there was no facility for refuelling. If an
aircraft needed fuel it had to be brought to the airstrip or
alternatively, the pilot would need to go with a can to the
local aviation fuel supplier. At a very simple level that did
not appear to be even a windsock or fire extinguisher on
site and there were no facilities for passengers as there
was no terminal building.
The Town Strip was not fenced so that there was
always a risk of feral donkeys walking across the runway.
Donkeys were very common (and still are) as they had
been abandoned when the salt industry ceased to function
and continued to breed. One instance occurred when
Here is another 1965 aerial view of the old airstrip running near to St Thomas’s Church in Grand Turk. The runway ended at the cemetery
wall and the overshoot was at 90º to the runway and passed parallel to the wall.
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