Old Yellow Arrows Marked Turning Point for Commercial Aviation

A network of beacon stations allowed airmail pilots to navigate at night—a 1920s breakthrough.

Monday, March 21, 2022 at 02:09 PM ET

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Pilot Barnard Kemter and others bent on preserving aviation history have maintained a beacon station at Newark-Heath Airport (KVTA) in Heath, Ohio. [Courtesy: Barnard Kemter]

Key Takeaways:

Almost 100 years ago, airmail pilots navigated the U.S. using a pioneering ground-based system of 50-70 foot concrete arrows and rotating beacons, which was revolutionary for enabling night flights and advancing commercial aviation.
This system, developed by the U.S. Post Office Department, was critical for establishing reliable air routes and laying the foundation for the modern airline transport system we know today.
Many of these historical concrete arrows, often the sole remnants of beacon stations, still exist across the U.S. today and are being preserved, offering a unique opportunity for pilots to connect with early aviation history.

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Just about every pilot today knows the mantra, “Follow the magenta line,” as a reference to the line GPS navigation systems use to lead us to our destinations. But almost 100 years ago, airmail pilots advanced commercial aviation when they began following yellow arrows.

The arrows were 50 to 70 feet long, made of concrete and positioned across the U.S. often at three-mile to five-mile intervals to mark airways that connected major cities on the mail routes. They were part of a rapidly developing system that included the introduction of rotating beacons and airfield illumination for aerial navigation at night, according to the National Postal Museum.