Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-08-05
4 AERO ROUTES
NOW CROSS NATION
Six Under Construction and
Nine Mere Being Surveyed
by Government.

More than s8.000.000 has been ap-
/ propriated by Congress in the last three
| years for the development of airways
! throughout the United States. with the
/ result that today there are IL COM
! pleted highways of the skies: s under
! construction or contracted for and
under survey for establishment.
! BY the END of the calendar year a
network of airlines will cover the princi-
pal points of the United States, making
! ii possible for air travel to be carried
/ on between various sections of the coun-
| try with greater safety than ever was
/ realized a few years ago when the Fed
/ eral Government had not awakened to
/ the need for encouraging civil and COM
I merclal flying IN America
( An airway is a line drawn on the
( ground between two points not more
/ than 1000 miles in length, with emer-
gency landing fislds at 30-mile intervals
and revolving beacons at 10-nlile spac-
ings. Technically such a route is COM
pleted' when the. fields have been Sc
lected and beacons have been installed,
but as time goes on and when more
roSs-country work is INDUCED in by
the civilian flyer, more fields will be
laid out until i is probable that the
airways Of the country will virtually
constitute one continuous landing field
Cost S3l5 Mile.
Il costs the Department of Commerce
1915 TO establish one mile of airway
and Sl95 year to maintain that mile.
/ When 1t is determined BY the depart
ment to establish an airway between
two points, a survey is made of a ground
/ belt 25 miles In width from an airplane
to determine the best typographical
conditions. according to Charles /.
Stanton. assistant chief of the airways
division OF the department and pioneer
air mail pilot
Much consideration Is given to the
location OF emergency landing fields, the
thought up1eimcst in nina being TO
establish tflem near centers Of popula-
ton IN order 10 acquire commercial
power for lighting and have transport
tation and communication facilities
available. When emergency fields have
been determined upon for selection the
airways engineers cali upon the own
ers OF the property and obtain leases
from year 70 year. The field then is
surrounded with electric BOUNDARY
lights, 10 make Il easily distinguish
aole from the air at night ana also
lights TO marx nearby distractions such
as trees, houses and high tension wires.
Beacons are installed at every 10
mile interval where possible. but If a
section OF the route is only q miles in
length three lights are erected at g.
mile intervals The landing fields, nat
uraIly, are not on a straight line or al
ways constantly underneath the pilot.
but efforts are made to have the beacons
as near in line as possible.
For day flying the emergency fields
are located on airway maps issued
! by the department and are distinguish
able by the beac0ns thereon. which are
painted chrome yellow for easy visibility
and have a concrete base with an ar
row pointing up the airway. At night.
/ except when dense fog covers the
! ground. the beacons present a continu-
Gus string OF lights visible TO the pilot
tour and five ahead
Generators Run LightA
/ Where commercial power Is unobtain-
able 10 light the beac0ns two generators
/ are installed. One works from dusk to
/ midnight and the other from midnight
/ to dawn At present a earetaker is re-
Qutred 10 start and stop the gasoline
engines that drive the generators. but
/ The department soon will install a time
/ clock that will set the engines going.
/ then at midnight will switch from one
/ generator 10 another and stop at dawn.
In the interim should one generator
fail II would switch over 10 The other
IN lapse OF ri seconds
The maintenance Of the airwavs in 60
! cludes rent OF field, electric current
! from commercial power lines. gasoline
! TO the generators. mechanic hire 10
look after the machinery. caretakerS for
| emergency fields. who must be on duty
~ hours day; replacement and re-
pair OF WORKOUT equipment
The Always completed are Atlanta
to New York, New York 10 Boston. st
/ Louis 10 Omaha Omaha to Chicago
Chicago 10 New York, Cleveland To De-
troit, ST. Louis 10 Chicago, Chicago IN
! Minneap0lis-St Paul (aE far ali La
Cross, Wis Dallas 10 Kansas CITY
Kansas City 10 Chicago. Pueblo. Colo
10 Cheyenne, Wyo Boise, Idaho IA
Pssc0 Wash. on the Salt Lake CITY.
Paeco airway, Los Angeles 10 Apex
New, Of the Los AngeIes-Sait lake CIT,
airway. Los Angeles 10 San Francisco
The airways under construction ~
for which contracts have been let are
Atlanta 10 Selma Ala on the Atlanta.
New Orleans airWaY, Louisville IL
Cleveland Tulsa 10 pOnca CIV ADex ~
Salt Lake City on the fng Angeles.
Salt Lake City airway, San Francisco
70 Salt Lake City San Francisco h
Redding Calf, on The San Francisco.
Seattle alrWay
The following proposed airways are
under survey, after which contracts vii
be let and work started Jacksonville
Atlanta section ~ the Mlami~Atlanta
airway Cleveland To Albany. N. Y. Al.
lanta to Chicago Cincinnati To Chicago
by way of indianapolis. Kansas City h
1T, Louis, Kansas City 10 Omaha Ii
. Cfoks-Twin Cities section Of the Chi.
caao- Minneapolis~St. Paul airWay.
Salt Lake CITY 70 Great Falls, Mon.
tana. Salt axe City Boise section al
the Salt Lake City-Pasco aifWay