Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-09-07
New Field Lighting Equip
ment viii Be Turned on
for First Time.
SYSTEM TO PROVIDE
TWICE VOLUME REQUIRED
First Commercial Field Here to
Be Fitted for Night
Operation.

The first scheduled night passenger
flying in the history of commercial air.
plane development in the National
Capital will begin at Washington Airport
Tuesday night, when new field lighting
equipment Is completed and turned on
for the first time. AS the days grow
shorter the final daily flights on the
new hourly passenger flights over the
New York, Philadelphia and Washington
Airline will be made after dark.
The f1oodlighting of the airport is
planned to meet the needs of the poorest
pilot in the poorest type of plane, 1t
was explained by Capt. Thomas Carroll,
former chief test pilot for the National
Advisory Committee for Aeronautics,
who is in charge Of the lighting pro-
gram.
The fioodlights will provide twice the
volume of lighting required by Depart
ment of Commerce regulations, he said
and will battle every portion of the
landing area in light which will reveal
every blade of grass.
Eight 24-Inch Lights.
The fioodlighting will be provided by
eight 24-inch lights with ground glass
refectors, four of them having an 30
degree spread and four of them a 40
centrated beams will illuminate the long
runways, the diffuSed lights covering
the edges and less used portions of the
field.
A brick building with fire doors and
solid concrete floor and roof has been
constructed on the north boundary of
the fleld, just of Military road, to
house the switch blocks and transform
ers Tor the fioodlighting system and
standards have been completed for the
eight lights, which will stand In a
semicircle in front of the structure.
A master switch will control the en-
tire bank of lights and individual
switches will be provided for each
light. White boundary lights have been
installed to mark the precise limits of
the landing area and IL red obstruc-
ton lights have been put in place on
the transmission lines bordering the
United States Highway No. /, along
the east border Of the field.
Washington Airport will be the first
commercial field here lighted for night
operations, and It Is expected that reg
ular night flying will be established
soon, including passenger sightseeing
Nights over the city.
Service Fields Lighted.
Boiling Field and the Anacostia
naval Air station are lighted for night
operations. but neither Is available for
air transport operations other than the
airmail service, which Is operating
from Boiling Field under a special
permit issued by the War Department.
Eastern Air Transport, operators of the
airman line, is using Washington Air
port for new passenger service which
1t has opened during the past month
between New York and Richmond. Va.
Washington Airport now Is beginning
to assume the appearance of a railroad
terminal, with transport planes arriv-
ing and departing constantly through
out the day. There are 20 scheduled tri-
motored transport plane operations at
the field every day, with two additional
operations on Saturday, volume of
traffic which compares favorably with
any airport IN the country, It is said.
At one time yesterday afternoon there
were five tri-motored transport planes
representing as many transport COM
panies on the field. They were planes
Of New York Always, said to be a sub
sidiary of Pan American Always; the
New York, Philadelphia and Washing
ton Airline Co.; Universal Flyers, East
ern Air Transport and the Wing Cor
poration.