Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-09-21
v YASHINGTONIANS appar-
n emily are taking to air
v " transportation with all
the aNiditu Of co mo NJ,

the aVidity of so many
young goslins hiking for the
nearest watering trough. If the
air passenger records of the past
two weeks are maintained the
air travel enthusiasts of this city
soon will be able to crawl out of
their hiding places in the dark
corners and even to stick out
their chests and begin to strut
bit.
For several years this city has
been the only large capital city
in the world without a real air
transport passenger service. To-
day it finds itself the terminal for
one Of the most heavily travelled
passenger air lines the world has
seen, surprising by far the world
famous line between London and
Paris.
1t is natural to expect a falling
of in the volume of travel as the
first novelty of a new air pasSen-
ger line wears off. Officials of the
New York, Philadelphia e. Wash
ington Airway Corporation, how
ever, are confident that the de-
crease on this score will be less
than has been experienced by any
previous line.
The tremendous volume of
passenger hopping" over the
National Capital, amounting to
some $4,000 passengers in two
years, Is making thrill" riding
here thing of the past. You
can't very well boast about having
taken an airplane ride. Too
many people are doing it to make
the boast worth while.
Buying Transportation.
The character of the people who
are patronizing the air lines out
of Washington is comforting to
those who advocate air trans
portation for ordinary business
and social purposes. 1t is appar
ent to any one who cares to spend |
a little time at Washington |
Hoover Airport that a large pro-
portion of the passengers are not |
buying airplane rides, but that |
they are buying fast, comfortable |
transportation. The fact that |
they are travelling by air is Incl
dental to the fact that they are
able to travel quickly and con-
veniently at a cost comparable /
with other forms of transporta- |
ton.
Many business and professional |
men are making frequent round |
trips over the line. 1t is not I'M |
usual to see a man come to the |
airport by taxicab, briefcase in |
hand. a few minutes before hourly |
plane time, and sit down quietly |
to read newspaper until the an
nouncer informs him his plane is
ready
Though the schedule provides
10 planes daily out of Washing !
ton over the Nypwac Line, this
has not been sufficient, and on
several days since the line was
established on Labor day, it has
been necessary to run double
sections. This has been true par
ticularly on the last runs of the
day, the final flight being made
from Washington and New York
terminals at pm In addition
to the 200 seats available daily on
the Nypwac Line, there are more
than score more places available
in the big tri-motored planes of !
Eastern Air Transport, flying
daily between New York and
Richmond, with a stop at Wash
ington Airport, and on Saturday
New York Anyways operates a
plane between this city and At
lantic City, connecting there with
planes to New York.
r..z:So. CoL1I,,Io CI,o~rn
AS a result of the heavy de-
fnand for seats, especially during /
the morning and afternoon, OH
Gals of the Nypwac Line are
considering a Commute instead |
of an hourly schedule in the
early morning and late afternoon,
with possible 2-hour service
during the middle of the day
when traffic is lighter.
During the first 10 days of OPP
Grafton of the line, total of 1857 |
paid passengers were carried, and
total of nearly $4,000 miles were
flown. Seven out of 200 flights
scheduled during that period were
Cancelled because of weather, and /
two others were incompleted,
making a record of 95 per cent
performance of schedule
There have been several dem
enStrationS during the opening
two weeks Of service Of the abil-
ity of the tri-motOred StinSons
used on the line to fly with fulF
load and two engines. On one of
the first flights a passenger threw
an p0Oty bottle into a propeller. /
The shock unkeyed the propeller
and resulted in wrecking Of the
engine. The flight was completed
on schedule on two engines. On
another occasion a nut fell into
the crankcase of one of the en-
gines and smashed up the motor
badly. The run was completed on
two engines.
The establishment of service on /
the line every hour on the hour /.
was decided upon in an effort to !
avoid any completely of schedules. /
One of the problems with which /
air transport, like bus tranSpOrta /
ton, has had to contend has been /
completely of schedules and I'M |
certainty of the public about how |
to use the line, Nypwac officials |
stated.
Airport Location Helps.
Railroad tracks, they pointed |
out, are permanent features of
the landscape and advertise |
themselves. The exceptionally |
convenient location of Washing
ton-Hoover Airport, one Of the
,,ooSt accessible airDOrt sites pos