Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-02-09

| BY the Associated Press
NEW YORK, February 9.-The new
| year finds the East and West struggling
for air traffic supremacy of America.
Tulsa, Okla, which last year boosted
the busiest airport in the United States,
is finding the competition of Newark,
N. j., very keen, although Newark Is a
newcomer in the aerial commercial
| field
Tulsa last year landed in first place
among the airportS of the country with
total of $4,000 passengers handled
without an accident. Newark. whose
airport was opened for national traffic
only last Autumn, has achieved the
| record of dispatching more than $4,000
| passengers in less than four months.
| officials at the Aeronautical Chamber
| of Commerce, express the belief that
Newark, in 1881, will take the supremacy
! from Tulsa.
Heavy Capital Traffic.
The Washington-Ne York business
has been boon to Newark. Planes now
| leave every hour, between am. and
| s pm. from Newark for the National
Capital and the trip requires less than
| two hours-three hours less than the
fastest trains.
More than $4,000 900 will be spent
on air terminals during 1881, the
chamber reports. Last year the ex-
penditure was $35,o0O,000. The term
inal investments represent a major
share of the total air traffic investment
in the country. There are 1855 air.
ports in the Nation. $50 of which have
the ranking of air terminals.
Last year air transportation carried
more than 100000 passengers. OF
these, 1,475, 348 were regular passengers
from air terminals and 3,779,999 were
taken on chartered flights or short
pleasure hops. The total cost of main
tanning the air terminals was $7,669,570.
Nearly 10000 acres were added to the
existing airport area last year. A total
of 4,961 $50 landings were made at the
terminals, 25,577 landings for every &C
cident.
More Anyways Lighted.
The United States Department of
Commerce last year lighted 1921 miles
of airways, installing 218 standard re-
volving lights for the guidance of pilots
after dark. Telegraph-typewriter serv-
ice was installed on $3.50 miles Of air
ways in 1880. This apparatus collects
weather information for planes in
flight, day and night.
This year it Is planned to light 5000
more miles of airwayS, to put in 1890
more miles of ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS cir
cult and to set up 20 new radio COM
munication stations.
municipalities and private corpora
tions are planning 1853 new airports
this year.
The weather is an all-important fac
tor in regular flying and the United
States Weather Bureau added eight new
stations with pilot balloon service dur
ing last year, making its total of such
stations SO. The majority of them
were at airports designed to furnish
information at frequent intervals dur
ing the day and night to collecting
centers along the airways. Reports also
were received last year from more than
200 first-order weather bureau stations.
States Are Cooperating.
Several States co-operated with the
Federal Government last year in pro-
viding appropriations for airway main
tenance. Tennessee, New York, Penn
sylvania and Michigan, for example,
appropriated from $4,000 to S150,0O0
for the establishment of intermediate
landing fields and necessary equipment
on State Always.
United Airport of California, Ltd,
developed one Of the finest airportS in
the ountry, at Burbank, Calf. Com
pletely equipped for night flying, it has
landing area of 234 acres, with three
bituminal runwayS.