The Winslow mail., 1924-12-05
BALL DIAMOND
TO BE MARKED
FOR AIRPLANE.
LANDING SITE.

Inc CITY COuuCIl, dL LHG1l InSSIAuS
Monday evening instructed City En-
gineer A. r. Lendecke to proceed at
once with the work of marking and
preparing the city-owned recreation
park at the northeast corner of town
for the convenience of visiting army
and civilian aviators.
Bob Hausler, during the war con-
nected with the Photographic section
of the army air service, appeared be-
fore the council, and asked that this
be done, explaining what was needed
to prepare the field as a suitable
landing place, and asking the cooper
alton of the authorities in paving the
way for the establishment of an air
route across northern Arizona.
Mr.. Hausler has been in Winslow
for several weeks, conducting a cam
paign from here, seeking the estab
Iishment of marked fields at all the
towns along the line from Albuquer
que to Los Angeles. At Gallup the
Inter- Tribal Ceremonial association is
at work on securing and laying out a
field in accordance with army regu
lations. Holbrook citizens have been
Interested At Kingman, which city
already had level field, the ground
marks have been laid, and at Will
liams work was begun this week on
the laying out of field. Ashfork will
soon establish field, according to
word received by Mr.. Hausler from
citizens of that place, and next Sun
day he will go to Flagstaff to inspect
sites, four of which have been sug-
.gested to him by A. T. RiOrdan of the
Arizona Lumber & Timber company.
Mr. Haus1er came to Arizona fol-
lowing the establishment of a similar
series of landing places through Me-
vada for the convenience of the Salt
Lake-San Diego air mail route, and
bears letters of cOmmendatiOn from
officers in high command in the army
air service for his work there, and
expressing the hope that he will be
able to place fields between Albuquer
que and the coast via WinSloW. Army
planes are now, by order of the de-
partment, prohibited from landing on
fields, which have not been prepared
for their reception. In the past, be-
fore the surveying of air routes, planes
on cross-country trips were compelled
to make emergency landings in fields
and meadows, with the result that in
landing on fields which from the air
appeared safe, the planes were often
times overturned and wrecked by
striking small rocks or uneven places
on the ground. On that account army
planes now making trips between
coast stations are compelled to follow
air routes where they may find land
ing places at frequent intervals. 1t
is Mr.. Hausler's intention to estab
lish such a route across this part of
the country.
Planes of commercial companies and
private flyers will also be informed
of the facilities offered along the
route and will take their course
across country over the cities map
ped by the air service.
The work of preparing the field is
slight, Mr.. Hausler asking only that
a large wood or concrete figure shap
ed like letter "T" be laid out level
with the ground The height and
breadth of the figure is to be 25 feet
and the thickness of the up-anddown
The figure will be kept whitewashed
so that it will be visible from
height of several thousand feet. The
''T'' points into the direction of the
prevailing wind, so as to inform
aviators about to land. The field is
also to be dragged SO as to be free
of rocks, bumps and bitches, and all
weeds removed from runway several
hundred feet wide and the entire
length of the park. Mr.. Hausler also
asked that a telephone pole be put
up, on which he, on behalf of the air
service, will install an instrument
showing the direction of the ground
wind at all times.
Mr.. Hausler explained the need of
suitable airplane landing fields at fire.
quent intervals across the country,
and stated that along the lines where
routes are established the government
will ultimately route their mail lines.
At present there is but one airmail
line across the United States, that
crossing over Montana.