MESA, Ariz. —
Local boy scouts gave Phoenix’s air marker on Usery Mountain a long-awaited refresh.
The tall, white letters that read “<Phoenix” have directed air traffic towards the Valley for decades.
It was originally constructed in the early 1950s by a group of boy scouts under the guidance of Air Explorer Post 13’s Charles E. Merritt.
The project took over five years to complete, using more than 500 gallons of a cement mixture paint. About 40 scouts cleared away brush and blasted rocks with dynamite to arrange into the letters on the side of the mountain.
The air marker’s entire length is nearly as tall as the Empire State Building.
At the time, the area wasn’t as populated as it is today, and the marker helped guide pilots toward Phoenix.
With today's modern technology, it’s not needed for commercial flights, but amateur pilots can still use it as a navigation tool.
In the early 1980’s the air marker was repainted with over 1,100 gallons of paint.
However, over the years, shrubs, weeds and brush have grown over the marker.
On New Year's Day members of Gilbert Boy Scout Troop 861 took care of it with a long-anticipated cleanup.
The group of scouts, family and friends spent some time carrying on the scout tradition of making sure the air marker could be seen and used by pilots.
Dennis Stark, one of the original members of the Air Explorers, was on hand to watch the cleanup.
Stark remembers how much fun it was to work on the original project. He said he was about 14 years old when he started working on the letters. He says he’s glad that it’s still up and future generations are preserving it.