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Fast forward a decade or two for one last colorful wrinkle in aviation history — the proposed “superport” in Palmdale.

So what happened to the “superport” idea?

For example, I never knew that in midcentury Los Angeles, a “superport” in Palmdale was proposed to reduce congestion at Los Angeles International Airport.

That’s called the SuperPort, and it plugs into the wall, acting like a USB power hub.

Mr. Beck first visited Palau, about 600 miles east of the Philippines, in 1976, on what he remembered as a “boondoggle” to study the potential environmental impact on coral reefs of a proposed petroleum superport.