Evening star., 1936-05-31

operations may begin within year;
regular service is expected within
two years at most.
A number of cities are contenders
for designation as the American ter
minal. New York is an especially
strong contender, but, as has been
pointed out by Igor Sikorsky, famous
builder of big flying boats, New York
is closed port to flying boats for as
much as two months each year be-
cause of freezing weather and float
ing ice.
Baltimore also is making a strong
bid for the service. Near that city is
the factory of the Glenn l. Martin
Co., which built the trans-Paci1c
Clippers for Pan-American AirwayS.
Mr.. Martin is the Maryland governor
for the National Aeronautic AsSocia-
ton and is expected to make strong
effort to bring the terminal to Balti-
more. Other cities along the Middle
Atlantic and Southern seaboard also
are seeking the terminal.
Washington, with its sheltered eX-
panse Of the Potomac and its central
location in the airline network of the
Eastern United States, however, has
advantages which some of its rivals
cannot offer, in the opinion of the
Aero Club members. The Potomac
seldom is closed to flying boats because
of ice and has less fog than many
cities closer to the sea- it is argued.
1t will be necessary for Washing
ton to develop an adequate Seaplane
terminal, however, if it is to be con-
sidered seriously as a base for the
Atlantic service, Aero Club members
feel.
They believe that the seaplan@ and
landplane terminals should be COM
bined so that passengers, mail and
cargoes may be transferred directly
| between transports of the domestic
airlines to the ocean-going flying boats.
Combination of the terminals also
will result in other important econo-
mics. Separation of the seaplane and
| landplane airports would make nee
essary . substantial duplication OF
such facilities as fueling and servicing
| eQipment, repair shops, passenger
| mail and express terminal buildings
and radio weather stations. Such
facilities are required for either type
of operation and could very readily
be combined at an airport which
would serve both seaplanes and land
planes.
The problem of selecting an all
terminal site for Washington has
been delegated by Congress and the
President to the new District of Co.
lumbia Airport Commission. To this
commission the Aero Club and other
organizations will address a plea that
the door be opened here to ocean serv-
ice, which may become of the great
est Importance in the future.
NEW, fast schedules between Wash
ington and the Pacific Coast will
be put into effect tomorrow by Trans
continental & Western Air and Penn
sylvania Airlines.
Pennsylvania planes leaving Wash
ington Airport at 8:45 am. and 5:45
and 10:45 pm. will make direct con-
nections at Pittsburgh with west
bound transcontinental arliners Of
/ T. w. A.
At the same time new schedules
will become available between Wash.
ington and Columbus, Ohio, provid.
ing travel time of hours and 20 min.
utes between the two cities.
The extension Of two flights to in.
clude Columbus is part of a new syS.
TEN OF T. w. A. schedules effective
tomorrow. At that time the com.
pany will begin operating five of it.
tranSconttnental SKY chief" flights
In addition to other coast-to-coast
and New York Chicago schedules
Nearly a half hour will be cut from
the scheduled time for weStbound
crossing of the country.
Pennsylvania, to accommodate the
steadily growing number of paSsen-
gers between Washington and the
West, has added a fifth daily round
trip between Washington and De-
troit. This brings the monthly Sched-
uled mileage of the line to 10000.
THE Navy Department has con-
tracted with the CurtisS Aeroplane
& Motor Co. of Buffalo, N. Y, for
an additional 40 scout observation
airplanes and spare parts. The con-
tract figure is $759,630. These air
planes will be similar to 130 ordered
from the same company on March
%, 1885, delivery of which has been
completed. The amount of that con-
tract was $2,752,705.
| A MOTHER effort to complete the
organization of local glider club
will be made at meeting of local
soaring and glider pilots and others
interested in motorless flying at pm
Tuesday in the headquarters Of the
National Aeronautic Association, Du-
pont circle.
At the preliminary meeting late In
April committees were appointed to
nominate officers and to draft a con-
stitution and bylaws. Sixteen per-
sons, among them the owners of -four
gliders. were present at that meeting
A second meeting was held recently
but final action was not taken at that
time on club organization.
Tuesday evenings meeting will be
open to any one interested in the
development of gliding and soaring.
ICENTRAL AIRLINES pilots who a.
the mountain run betweei
Washington and Detroit are going IL
for motor boating as hobby between
flights.
| ETirct Ei1otc Merle oMoneo Mol