Naval Outlying Landing Field (NOLF). For the war, many new trained pilots were needed. The Naval Outlying Landing Field provided a place for pilots to practice landing and take off without other air traffic. Sweetwater Dam site offered flight training without distractions. Most of the new pilots departed to the
Pacific War after training. The Sweetwater Dam Outlying Landing Field had no support facilities. After the war the Outlying field closed in 1946, having completed the role of training new pilots. Sweetwater Dam Naval Outlying Landing Field and
Sweetwater Carrier Landing Strip. The Landing Field had a single 3,000-foot east/west asphalt runway. The Navy leased 135.45 acres of grassland from
Rancho de la Nación for the Landing Field. In 1949 the runway became a private civil airport, the
Sweetwater Dam Airport also called the
Paradise Mesa Airstrip. The Airport is named after the nearby
Sweetwater Dam that makes the
Sweetwater Reservoir. The Airport closed in 1951 and the runway became home to the
Paradise Mesa Drag strip. The Carlsbad, California's Oilers Club help start the drag strip with the first meet on March 11, 1951. At its peak, 25 clubs were using the strip. The drag strip closed in 1959. Houses were built on the site, now called
Paradise Hills and no trace of the runway can be found today. Part of the site is also the Daniel Boone Elementary School.
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