Evening star., 1934-01-15
CITY AIR LANDINGS
+. HELD PRACTICAL
EeaItor Foresees Areas for
Use of Commuters
FIivver Planes.

out OF the sky each morning and land
ing right on the city's front door steps
as safely as so many pigeons, in the
opinion of John L. Weaver. former |
president Of the National Association |
OF Real Estate Boards and now dean !
OF Washington realtors.
While hailing the move in Congress !,
to create . Washington Croydon or
continue its role of pioneer in this |
science and will be the first to devise |
landing places In or near the heart Of
the city for the use Of private planes |
and for establishment OF an air taxi |
service with rates which shall be we'll
within the means Of the ordinary |
business man.
Conversion of the now non-revenue
producing air space over the vast area
of railway yards at Union Terminal
into the first of such projects he sug-
gests as a subject worthy of discussion.
"Croydens, LIE Bourgeois, Floyd Ben
nets, Roosevelts, Newarks. with their
300 ID 500 acres, huge fireproof hang
ars, repair shops, waiting rooms, res
taurants are. of course, essential to
in times of war or other national
emergency" says Mr.. Weaver. 1T is,
however. of the coming thousands of
private planes of what might be
called the 'f1ivver type that we are
speaking Planes which require no
1900 to 5000 foot runways to take of
or land. but which can handily and
safely get up from and sit down on
what the designer of the projected
seadYomes fguratively describes as a
hat!
Small Area Needed
Small fast waspish type planes now
easily land and take off from the
decks of the Saratoga and other air.
have the advantage of catapults in
getting away and the benefit Of a
base which can be turned into the wind
on landing, but small planes for private
use, planes which will speedily become
known as early Ford types are al
ready landing on and taking off from
dirt fields on leeWay Of Is or 80
feet. Moreover it must be remem-
bered that serious experimentation on
this type of plane has only begun.
I'm presenting his bill to Congress, |
Representative McSwain spoke of the |
Hoover Field as of LOG acres. The |
Washington Hoover oval as now con-
stituted makes up two distinct airports, |
one OIL OS acres ana IIle cl1leI VI 90 z
acres The latter was known as the |
Hoover Field. Yet with its limited area
planes of the Ludington, Eastern, At |
lantic Seaboard and Pennsylvania lines
safely and with measurable satisfac-
The Union Terminal yards in them |
selves. to the point where they taper |
off, cover something like 20 acres.
With immediate adjuncts this space
totals roughly 80 acres. Then there is
wide expanse Of property on the |
north side of H street q I'd to the south /
would prove Of no extraordinary value |
II thrown upon the market This ad-
ditional space would bring the total
area available for air rights develop
nent to we'll over so acres.
'Electriflcation Of the Pennsylvania
Railway lines is already well under way |
and within few years a steam engine |
will doubtless be regarded as curl |
osity about the terminal so that ter
minal interests shall have no further |
requirement for the air above that ac- |
tually needed for the operation Of
trains-save as to the matter of light, |
and fractional part of the income de-
rived from ceded air rights should |
handily take care of the cost of this
artificial ~<lumination.
Elevated Field Best.
1.-THE use of soft coal Is effectively
being curtailed by the city in other
ways and airplane pilots report the |
Capital virtually free from haze-so |
free that meteorological conditions rare
ly interfere with air traffic over Wash
!rgton,' as recent report of the De-
partment of Commerce states.
Such an elevated landing field would !
have further advantages no other exist |
ing field enjoys. Hoover Field, Bennett |
Roosevelt and even Croydon have OBJ
structionS-Stacks, trees, wires-which |
cannot be handily overcome. They are
obliged to maintain huge, covered, fire.
proof hangers. repair shops and quarters |
for crews, and In bad weather their
base, mainly Of dirt. becomes difhcut. |
The Union Terminal field, by its ele-
vation. would automatically eliminate |
the problem of distractions. Since the |
planes it accommodated, would. in the
main, be Of the small. runabout type,
they could be parked as autos are now |
parked until their owner-pilots called
for them in the evening. The landing |
surface, the matter of drainage elm
mated, would never become perilous. the
asphalt rarely needing repair. More
over, less than fifth OF any existing
large landing field is put to actual use,
yet all must be maintained because
of the ore-mentioned obstructions.
Here, in consequence, an area OF SO
acres would be equivalent to more than
an area Of 200 acres ground space.
This proposal Is outlined for the pur-
pose Of provoking thought and possibly
discussion. thus promoting the develop
ment of Washington's airport facilities.
We feel that there will come time,
and that soon, when provision must be
made to take care Of the private plane
as we now are constantly making pro-
vision for the operation Of more auto
mobiles upon our streets. There may
be better sites than the Union Ter
minal grounds for the first experiment
along these lines, but If so they are well
concealed.
NO one, save those who live else
where, longer thinks Of the District as
the place Of great open spaces. It Is,
of course, wide in area as cities 60, but
there Is the matter of double width
streets, 726 miles Of them: 655 parks Of
a combined area of 4,264 acres, IL
newly authorized parkway projects of
from 5 to 200 acres each, 20 public play
grounds, some of them extensive: Is
country clubs with wide grounds and
housing for the entire executive menage
Of the Federal Government. There are
few other spaces offering As free, as
economical and as effective use of a
city proper landing field for private
planes as the Union Terminal district