Evening star., 1937-02-21

The sole object Of the airways traffic
control system Is the prevention Of
collisions between airliners operating
along the Federal airways and es-
pecially dangerous congestion in the
vicinity of airports. Such control is of
little value in clear weather, but it Is
of inestimable value when pilots are
flying blind. Under such conditions
the presence of other aircraft in the
vicinity becomes an acute menace un-
less the pilots know definitely each
others positions and intentions.
| Anyways traffic control functions by
keeping an unceasing check upon the
position of every airplane in flight
along the airways and by notifying
pilots when they are likely to encoun-
ter other airplanes in flight and by
preventing simultaneous arrivals Of
aircraft at airports.
Pilots, before taking off along Fed
eral airways, are required to submit
flight plans, showing time of take
of, destination and anticipated time
Of arrival and proposed flying altitude.
In case Of dangerously thick weather,
only airplanes equipped with radio
will be permitted to operate ION in
struments" along the Federal airWays
Their position will be checked and
deviations from the flight plan will
be reported.
In bad weather, pilots will be noti-
fed when they are nearing other
planes along the airway and attitudes
will be assigned to prevent risk of
collision. Approaching airports. pilots
will be informed of other airplane
movements and may be required to
throttle down or speed up their time
of arrival to obviate any danger of
traffic congestion, with attendant risk
Of collision.
The airways units responsibilities
cease upon arrival of the airplanes
over the airport. The regulation of
take-offs and landings is the province
of the airport control tower. which
exercises supervision over traffic on
the field runways. Washington Air
port for years has controlled its field
traffic, formerly by red and green
on the pilot for whom the signals
were intended. Control now, espe-
cially in the case of the scheduled
airliners. is by radio.
The Army, Navy, Marine Corps,
! Coast Guard and Commerce Depart
ment are cooperating wholeheartedly
in the traffic control plan. Pilots
operating from Boiling Field and the
Anacostia Naval Air Station are sub
mitting flight plans to the control
tower at Washington Airport and are
maintaining radio communication en-
route wherever possible.
HEARINGS probably will be held
- soon by the House Military Affairs
Committee on the Wilcox bill to con-
solidate all military aviation activities
of the Army, National Guard and Or
ganized Reserve in United States
Air Corps" which would function di-
rectly under the Secretary of War.
Such hearings would reopen the
long -agitated question of a separation
of the air force from the ground
forces. although they would not bring
the naval situation into the picture.
The mission of the Air Corps would
be to establish and maintain the air
power, providing the aerial defense
for the continental United States. its
foreign possessions and its depen-
denotes. It would involve aerial de-
fense of the sea and land frontiers. in
cooperation with the Navy and Ma
rine Corps.
The proposed new Air Corps would
be headed by chief of aviation, with
the rank of air marshal, and by two
vice marshals, one commanding the
air force. containing the combat units
of the Air Corps within the conti-
mental United States and the other
having charge of providing all per-
sonnel and materiel requirements OF
the Air Corps.
There would be IS air corfmo odores
and 4,500 other officers in grades
from colonel to lieutenant: 100 war
rant officers and $4,000 airmen, or
ganized into an air force and such
other tactical units as the President
might direct.
BY direction Of the President, per-
sonnel, units or detachments of the
Air Corps might be detached for serv-
ice with the Army, Navy or Marine
Corps and vice versa Officers could
be transferred to the Air Corps from
the Army, Navy, Marine Corps or
Coast Guard and new personnel would
be drawn regularly from the military
and naval academies and by the
training Of civilians at a United
States air academy. successor to the
present Air Corps Training Center.
Establishment of an air college,
similar to the Army and Navy War
Colleges, is authorized.
7 EUT. COL. ROSS G. HoYT,
- Army Air Corps. assistant chief
of the information division. Office of
the Chief Of Air Corps, and known as
an authority on pursuit aviation, has
been ordered relieved of duty in
washington. He will 60 to Barksdale
Field, La, about June % for duty in
the field with the Sd Wing, General
Headquarters Air Force.
Col. Hoyt was pilot of the refueling
plane in the famous endurance flight
of the Army transport Question Mark
in January, 1929, when was estab-
lished the first of a series Of world
records for endurance with refueling
in flight.
He made the arrangements for the
famous Army goodwill flight around
South America and as a result Of the
record he made on that difficult mis-
sion he was selected as advance officer
on the record-breaking formation
flight to Alaska in 1884 by 10 Army
bombardment airplanes. He estab-
lished refueling bases and temporary
operating bases for the formation.
In March, 1929, Hoyt established
what then was an outstanding record
in q double "dawn-to-dusk" fight