Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-03-03
AVIATION
BY JOSEPH S. EDdERTON.

| AASAS ouAbCo w Vic HkOL0tA AlJk1ll
of turtles than to the LANDING ant
taking off of airplanes. 1t Is UNI
seemly, unpleasant and dangerous
because of this condition, though
the Army is doing its best to DIR!
up the bog.
Visiting civilian flyers shoule
not be expected to put up with thu
inconvenience they must face al
the local Army post. This is NJ
criticism of the Army. Boiling
Field simply has not the facilities
for handling large numbers Of
civilian planes. The post will b.
pressed to care for the military
ships ordered here from the vari,
Gus Eastern fields to participate
in tomorrow's events. There are
no facilities for the storage OF
servicing of the commercial visi-
tors.
Moreover, because Of the phySi-
cal limitations of the local Army
field, the visiting commercial
pilots, for their own safety anc
that Of others, will be required tc
submit to rigid Army discipline as
regards taking off and landing
For four days their comingS and
goings will be ruled with an iron
hand by the field operations office
so as to prevent possible COLI
sions.
This procedure, though so OBJ
viously a matter of necessity
naturally is distasteful to the
Army people as we'll as to their
guests. though many of the visit
ing commercial flyers are former
Army pilot or Reserve flyers to
whom the necessity of obtaining
clearance from operations officers
will come as no novelty.
This regulation of incoming and
outgoing aerial traffic at Boiling
Field will give this city its first
opportunity to watch a traffic
police" handling of commercial
airplanes. Chicago, because of
the heavy operations from that
natural aerial center, which is the
focal point today for nine COM
mercial air lines, has been forced
to station a traffic policeman at
it's municipal airport and when he
Hips his flags mere pilots sit and
shiver. They know that If they
don't obey they will be grounded
with the most disconcerting
abruptneSS and that if their dis
obedience is too fragrant for a
mere grounding they are liable to
lose their pilots licenses.
Similar threats are being made
to pilots who have been invited
to participate in tomorrow's events
minus the milder grounding
penalties. They have been told
that If they disobey their orders
from the local operations Office
they will lose their licenses. No
alternatives were mentioned. AS
a result it Is expected that the
extraordinary operations will be
conducted from the Army field
with all the precision of military
maneuvers.
There is no need to point out
again the need for a municipal
airport. The foregoing recital is
merely another illustration of the
desirability Of publicly owned
airport large enough and with suf-
ficient equipment to handle such
gatherings Of commercial planes
as is expected for tomorrow-if
the pilots have not been fright
ened away by reports of the seas
OF mud in which they must set
their ships down.
The occasions upon which this
city may expect to entertain num-
bers OF civilian pilots and their
passengers will increase as time
goes on. In the meantime, under
the terms of a legislative proposal
originating in the Senate, another
congressional survey" will be con-
Quoted during the next nine
months to determine the need for
an airport for the District of
Columbia.