Abbotts Aerodrome was founded in January 2004 by Apotheus Silverman and Cubey Terra. It originally consisted of separate plots of land consisting of about 24,000 sqare meters. Over the years that followed, the Aerodrome expanded to occupy most of the available land in Abbotts. The officers of Abbotts Aerodrome are: Jillian Callahan, Reitsuki Kojima, Chage McCoy, Arrekusu Muromachi, Apotheus Silverman, and Cubey Terra. Other staff members of the Aerodrome include Liaisons Devon Cameron, Unabrow Chabrow, Millie Thompson, and TheManKnownAsDaveP Crosley who help keep the airport safe from the usual griefers of Second Life and help customers find their way around the large airport.
Abbotts Aerodrome was Apotheus' and Cubey's second attempt to build an airport. The first was ZoeAirfield (November 2003 to January 2003). The original concept behind the Aerodrome was a multi-level, art deco, futuristic airport that floats over the ruins of a ficitious abandoned airfield. If you visit the ground level, you can see a dilapidated, hangar and tower, and a couple of wrecked biplanes.
Automated flights leave the Aerodrome runway several times per hour and fly on regular routes all over the mainland. The AI planes used on the route consist of a light civilian monoplane, a L-18 Lodestar, and a Boeing 737.
Unlike most of the historic builds in Second Life, Abbotts Aerodrome went through three distinct building phases between the 2004 opening date to the present.
On 2nd August 2011, Cubey Terra announced that Abbotts Aerodrome is closingon 1st September 2011. The sim was purchsaed by Cheshyr Pontchartrain of Novatech on 29 August 2011. It has since changed ownership, but is still open to the public.
First Phase - The Floating Aerodrome[]
The original structure consisted of several floating levels that connected to a central elevator shaft:
Ground level: old aerodrome and Apotheus Silverman's "Hangar 3"
Level 1: a main runway, "Hangar 1" and some open tarmac, and in the northwest corner, the airship terminal.
Level 2: a small platform for the display of Kazenojin aircraft only.
Level 3: a shop in the same style as the hangar on Level 1.
Level 5: A small 10x10 room containing air traffic control equipment.
The first version of the Aerodrome from sometime in Jan/Feb 2004
By about March 2004, Reitsuki Kojima joined the Aerodrome, moving into hangar 1. Several additions were made to the Aerodrome in the following months, including an office level on Level 5, at which time Chage McCoy joined the group.
Around the middle of the year, parachute-maker Al Bravo began teaching skydiving classes, and in collaboration with the Aerodrome officers, he developed skydiving equipment for the Aerodrome's new purpose-built skydiving facility, which included a shop, classroom, and skydiving elevator. The skydiving craze had begun. Al Bravo left Abbotts Aerodrome several months later. The skydiving facility remained, but was restocked with new equipment.
In September 2004, Cubey "went mental" and replaced the box-shaped hangars with a style that resembled a '50s diner.
March 15th 2005
The Aerodrome received another major change during the Spring, Summer, and Autumn of 2005:
Level 1: A central lobby/terminal building was added adjacent to the Skydiving shop and Terrabucks Coffee. The rental hangars were streamlined then eventually elimated due to space and performance issues with Abbotts itself.
Level 2: The small independent hangars were eventually combined into one large hangar with dividers between the three shops. Chage McCoy's shop was downsized to allow for a terrace in which Vulpnine Aerosptial set up shop upon.
Level 3: The third level became the events deck and the primary landing zone for the skydivers.
General Area: Cubey replaced his small two story shop with a new multi level shop which matches the style of the current Aerodrome. A new Aircraft Sandbox was placed at the northeast corner of Abbotts.
In September 2005, Cubey Terra stepped down from management of the Aerodrome. Arrekusu Muromachi stepped in to help manage the Aerodrome and run events, followed by renowned helicopter-maker Jillian Callahan, creator of the Callahan Combat Control(CCC) system. Only one month later, to everyone's collective dismay, Cubey returned. Both Jillian and Arrekusu continued in their roles as Aerodrome officers.
Second Phase - The Hillside Terraces[]
The fountain and main building
Looking northeast over the runway
Looking north over Abbotts
In March 2006, Cubey "went mental" again, as minor renovations led to the complete destruction and rebuild of Abbotts Aerodrome. The new build consisted of several compact buildings that clung to the hillside.
Cubey rebuilt the runway and tarmac at ground level, with a large hangar and a new passenger terminal. The central building, which contained offices, Apotheus Silverman's shop, and Terrabucks Coffee, was on the hill and fronted by a plaza and a fountain made from an old Linden telehub.
Other buildings included: a skydiving center, Arrekusu Muromachi's shop, Chage McCoy's shop, Reitsuki Kojima's workspace, and Cubey Terra's shop.
On the east side, on the top of the ridge, a heliport included several landing pads and Jillian Callahan's shop.
Third Phase - Aerodrome Tower[]
In October of 2006, the Aerodrome went through another rebuild phase. The current runway from the March 2006 rebuild was left in place, however the individual shops for each respected Aerodrome Commander as well as the central HUB with the offices, Terrabucks, and the ground level Terminal were eliminated in favor of a gigantic tower design.
The main tower while under construction
Only in SL can one build a tower from the top down
Looking northeast over the runway (March 2007)
The Telehub Level features an old Linden Telehub fountain as the teleport point for visitors to the Aerodrome. A map of the Aerodrome with various teleport pints can be found a short distance from the hub. Also on this level circling the main elevator, are various kisoks explaining the history of modern aviation. A recent addition to the level is the Air Traffic Control platform overlooking the runway.
A skydiving pad on the tower
The Main Level is the central shop for the Aerodrome. All the skydiving equipment, apparel, Noir SkyLife, and Terrabucks can be found here. Recently, the ARMORD store at Abbots, which was situated outside Aerodrome land, relocated to this level and the land merged with the rest of the Aerodrome. Four outstretched arms line the cardinal points. The North and West point hold skydiving lifts and the targets, the South point has the automated Airship dock, and the East point is the helicopter landing pad.
The Terminal Level doesn't rest on the ground level as it did with the last build. It it situated under the entrance and 2 lifts descend to the tarmac and runway. The west lift extends further down into the submarine dock.
All the aircraft built by the Aerodome Commanders are now stored on the Runway/Tarmac level. The West end of the runway holds all the fixed wing aircraft currently for sale while the East end incorporates the hover/lighter than air craft.
In addition to the changes. Cubey Terra has demolished his shop to merge his wears with the rest of the Aerodrome.
Images[]
Cubey's hanger from early Zoe Airfield
Zoe Airfield on November 2003
Flight over an updated Airfield
Before the Aerodrome was built, this display was in its place.
One of the earliest Aerodrome builds
Aerodrome in September 2004
The Aerodrome on July 30th 2004
Aerodrome Club, 120m above Abbotts
Level 1 of the Aerodrome, featuring a large landing strip.
Level 2 of Aerodrome, one of many of talented vehicle creators, this one displaying vehicles by Kazenojin.
The Airship Terminal housing a blimp.
A promo shot with Cubey Terra
One of the final pictures of the Aerodrome's first phase.
