Evening star., 1929-06-30
AVIATION
BY JOSEPH S. EDdERToN.

/ distance of at least seven times its
height.
An "A" rating on night-lighting
equipment requires that the field
shall have an airport beacon COM
plying with certain rigid stand
ards; an Illuminated wind-direc-
ton indicator, boundary lights,
obstruction lights, hangar flood
lights and roof marker, ceiling
protector for determining the
heights of clouds, landing area
fioodlight system, all-night oper-
alton of lighting equipment and
sufficient night personnel to op-
crate the lighting equipment,
service visiting aircraft, including
minor repairs and weather Serv-
ice, and to operate flre-f1ghting
equipment.
Must Be Near Cities.
In addition to all these require
ments for the field itself there are
conditions which must be satisfied
regarding it's location and acceS-
sibility. 1t must be within the
shortest possible distance of the
city it serves and must have ade-
quate transportation facilities to
carry passengers to and from the
field quickly and comfortably.
Lack of sufficient landing fields
is held to be one of the two out
standing factors holding back
safe and universal flying today.
The other factor, according to the
Daniel Guggenheim Fund for the
Promotion of Aeronautics, is the
technical problem of loss Of con-
troll due to operation of airplanes
at low speed.
The Guggenheim Fund advo-
Gates the location of airports or
emergency landing fields at inter-
walls of a minimum of 10 miles III
each direction, so that an airplane
flying at an altitude of 1000 to
5000 feet never would be out of
gliding distance of safe landing
area. The land necessary for
such landing fields every 10 miles
throughout the country, the Gug-
genheims estimate, would be but
per cent of the total land area
devoted to railroads and high
ways.
It is estimated that the total
land area occupied by railway
right of way in use and by sta
ton property Is 21,550 square
miles. The total area occupied by
the Nations roads and highways,
according to the latest mileage
figures, is 28,500 square miles. The
total area for both is little more
than $4,000 square miles.
AirpOrts and Safety.
Landing fields of normal inter
mediate size, with runways 1900
feet long, as used by the air mail.
placed 10 miles apart all over the
country would require only 1,544
square miles. according to the
Guggenheim report. The location
of class A airport, with $500
foot runways in all directions, at
intervals of 10 miles all over the
United States would require an
area of only 6,720 square miles de-
voted to air transport, it is esti-
mated.
Such an arrangement would
bring air transportation to every
section of the country, it is point
ed out, and would permit safe fly
ing in any direction. with air
ports at the corners of 10-mile
squares 1t would be impossible for
an airplane to get more than IL
miles from a prepared landing
field, even when at the intersec-
ton of the diagonals of the
square. Similarly, no part of the
country would be more than this
distance away from a flying field.
An airplane flying at an alti-
tude Of 5000 feet would always
have one or more landing fields
within gliding range in case OF
motor trouble. The flyer over
taken by bad weather could get
down at any time on five minutes
notice. This arrangement of
landing fields, 1t is believed by
advocates Of the plan, would re-
suit in safe flying on a scale so
universal as to dwarf the dreams
of the most enthusiastic follower
of aviation.