Function of this feature at a US Naval Station

[Bill Door]

It's close to Pensacola, I see it dozens of times a year from the air, and can't figure out what it is. It's just north and west of the center of this google maps photo.Link (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&ie=UTF8&t=k&ll=30.542822,-87.367916&spn=0.023766,0.053988&z=15) . It looks like a target of some sort, but it's hard to believe the US Navy would be dropping even dummy bombs or shells that close to a residential area, and that's I-10 just north of there. What is this thing for?

[mks57]

Looks like an antenna installation, or the remnants of one. i've seen similar arrays that were used for direction finding.

[Hypno-Toad]

It has what appears to be "8A" cut into the ground and there's some kind of tower casting a shadow. The X's and squares are roughly equidistant but not precisely. I think it's a navigational aide for the Naval Air Station.

On an unrelated note, I couldn't help but notice all the blue rooftops in the area. This pic might have been taken shortly after Ivan visited.

[yoyodyne]

Looks to be an old WW2 training field, later used as a helicopter landing field. Here's some more info (http://www.airfields-freeman.com/FL/Airfields_FL_Pensacola_NW.htm).

[Paul The Younger]

Looks to be an old WW2 training field, later used as a helicopter landing field. Here's some more info (http://www.airfields-freeman.com/FL/Airfields_FL_Pensacola_NW.htm).

Zoom in on the square, left of center at the bottom, and you can see a helicopter sitting there.

[Bill Door]

yoyodyne and Paul the Younger , thanks, that satifies my curiosity. I've never seen a helicopter there, so it must see very little use.

[yoyodyne]

Zoom in on the square, left of center at the bottom, and you can see a helicopter sitting there.Yep, good eye!

[yoyodyne]

There's another one at the left end of the parallel lines to the NE.

[kdeus]

About 40 miles ENE of the pictured location is Naval Air Station Whiting Field, where most Navy, Marine Corps & Coast Guard helicopter pilots learn to fly helicopters. That whole area is dotted with practice fields (called "Navy Outlying Fields" or "NOLFs").

Training Air Wing 5, which controls the three Helicopter Training Squadrons based at South Whiting Field. (https://www.cnatra.navy.mil/tw5/index.asp)