New Britain herald., 1929-06-19

routes Of sirplansA It is no trick at all for an aviator. if something goss wrong with the engines en route, to glide down to an airport which may happen to be only few miles away. It is a much more difiicult under taking to woo 2 safe landing. how ever. if the nearest airport happens to be 30 or 70 miles away. The chances are he could not reach it, and would be compelled to essay forced landing in a field, with its consequent dangers That is one ad- vantage of having plenty of air ports, and if the time comes, as is likely, when there will be ten times the number of airplanes abroad as happens to be the case at present,
 Opposition to providing airports as safety measures hinges largely upon the claim that it is not the duty of municipality to provide an emergency field for the benefit of a few stray aviators who may in the course of years happen to get into trouble near the municipality. This opposition is based. too, upon the claim that municipality is put to much expense if this is to be the only or main advantage of possessing an airport. Probably that would be true, but there fortunately are other reasons.
 The chief other reason is that if aviation is to develop to many times its present proportions. there will be aviators or flying citizens in practi- cally every town. It is just as logical to furnish them with airports as it is to furnish autoists with good roads. One we'll remembers the time, in the early history of tho develop ment of the automobiles, where there was widespread opposition in the rural districts to providing good roads for city slickers in automo- piles. This opposition was very pro- nounced, too; but it vanished when the automobile began to be utilized in the rural sections as whole- heartedly if not more so than in the cities.
 A somewhat similar situation exists today in connection with air. ports. Some municipalities are oppos- ed to the capital investment on the score that it would be furnishing a convenience for a comparatively few people using airplanes. either for pleasure or business. Under present conditions there is force to this argument-just as there was force to the argument of rural residents years ago against paying r,- good roads for city slickers. But what if the conditions change? When there are ten or twenty times the present number of airplanes in use there certainly will be a need for that many more times the number of available airports. both for the con- venience of those utilizing the air machines and for their safety.
 The thing that really would make the investment in an airport super fluous would be a standstill of avi- ation. Even the number of planes in use at present need more ,airports; but assuming that they can worry along with the present number. does that necessarily mean that there will be not many more in use in the fu- ture? The tendency is altogether toward their more widespread use. And the main thing that holds back their further popularity is the com- parative paucity of airports. When one sees the increasing number Of advertisements to encourage the purchase of airplanes one cannot help coming to the conclusion that the aviation industry is in its in- fancy: the infant. indeed. is just learning to crawl and will soon need more room to get about in.
 There are other reasons that might be mentioned. And one thing that seems certain to us is that New Britain will in due time be one of the cities with an airport. It may not come this year or next. but in the long run this city will not be among the permanent doubting Thomases.