The giant concrete arrows of the U.S. In a number of locations around the U.S., you can find these.

The giant concrete arrows of the U.S. In a number of locations around the U.S., you can find these. Giant arrows, maybe 20 meters (~70 feet) long. They dot the landscape, clearly old and decaying, with some found next to structures of similar age. These arrows are a relic of a bygone era…the beginnings of aviation in this country. In the mid 1920’s, the U.S. government funded construction of a series of giant arrows to support the postal service. After the First World War, cross-country Air Mail service began operating, carrying letters from New York all the way to San Francisco. Those were the days before radar, before it was possible to tell where a plane was headed by electronic means. These arrows were built to try to keep planes from getting lost. The government funded hundreds of them, with 50 foot towers and lights next to them to illustrate the path. The arrows were painted yellow so that they could be easily spotted from the sky. Within a couple decades they were made obsolete by other navigation techniques, but some of them still survive today, testifying to that early era of aviation. So today, if you see a giant arrow dotting the land somewhere in the United States…pause and think a moment about those flying aces that once used that arrow to guide their planes across the country. -JBB Image credit: Clayton Fraser (reproduced with permission)http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinconnected/8030854106 -- source link

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