Evening star., 1937-09-10
SAFETY CONDITIONS
AT BOILING FIELD
WORRY A|RL|NES
Operators Express Serious
Doubt Move Will End
Troubles.
|CR0SS-FIELD RUNWAY
is HELD TOO SHORT
Inconvenience to Army Air Corps,
Post Office and Passengers
Is Predicted.
BY JOSEPH S. EDGERTON.

Serious doubt that safety condi-
tions will be materially improved by
a transfer of air transport operations
from Washington Airport to Boiling
Field was arising in the minds of
airline operators today as they
plunged into the details of moving
their operations to the Army field.
At the same time it was becoming
increasingly apparent that the move
will result in serious inconvenience to
the airlines. to the Army Air Corps.
to the Post Office Department and
to the airline passengers.
The same serious defect which has
resulted in condemnation of WASH
ington Airport-a short cross-field
width-applies in an even more ag-
gravated form to the new Boiling
Field, it became apparent as airline
operators studied the new layout
Washington Airport has a cross-feld
runway of 5000 feet in length. This
has been ruled too short for air.
liners weighing more than $4,000
pounds in special regulations just put
into effect by the Bureau of Air
Commerce. Yet the cross-field run
ways at new Boiling Field, which
must be used under the same condi-
tions as that st Washington Airport,
measure only 2,772 feet and 2,728
feet, according to plan submitted to
the operators.
Air CONGESTION Problem.
The problem Of air congestion at
new Boiling Field also is far more
serious than at Washington Airport,
and the control facilities are not as
satisfactory, the operators were In
formed. There are scores of land
ings and take-offs by Army and Navy
airplanes at the old Boiling Field, just
to the north of the new field, and in
case of north or south winds ap-
proaches must be made over one field
to reach the other, and airplanes tax
ing of from one field must cross the
other at low altitude.
The Army traffic control tower is
on the old field. Efforts will be made
to control air traffic on the new field
from this tower, although airliners
at the south end of the new field
will be more than mile from the
tower.
Serious inconvenience to the air.
lines and to airline passengers is ex-
pected from the increased travel time
between downtown Washington and
Boiling Field as compared with the
10-minute run to Washington Air
port. Leaving The Star building at
las pm. yesterday. a time when
traffic was light, a Star reporter ar
rived at the proposed terminal area
at new Boiling Field at ais pm.
via the Pennsylvania Avenue Bridge.
The Eleventh Street Bridge is open
to one-way traffic, northbound only,
because of paving work. This was
fast time. A taxicab official, making
trial run during the evening rush
hour from the Eastern Air Lines
ticket Office near Fifteenth and H
streets to new Boiling Field took IS
minutes for the trip. An official of
Pennsylvania Central Airhnes who
left Washington Airport at 9:2o am.
reached the old Boiling Field at 1915
am. The new field is several min
utes' travel time farther away. An
Eastern Air Lines oficial timed a
trip between Washington Airport and
the old field at A minutes.
Loss in Revenue Seen.
Eastern Air Lines officials esti-
mated loss in revenue OF $4,000 a
year out of their total of 100000
revenue, due to the change of base
from Washington Airport to Boiling
Field
The extent of the inconvenience
of the transfer to the Army was ex-
pressed by Acting Secretary of War
Louis johnson as follows:
'The use of Boiling Field by the
commercial airlines will considerably
interfere with the completion of con-
struction at Boiling Field and with
Army Air Corps training and aerial
activities in progress at that station.
Notwithstanding the serious handi-
caps this authorization will impose
upon the Army Air Corps, the su-
thorization is granted because of a
full realization of the critical situa-
tion commercial air commerce in this
area now faces"
Considerable delay in the handling
of airmail was foreseen as a result of
the proposed transfer of operations
from Washington Airport to Boiling
Field. The Post Office Department
also is faced with the necessity of
building up an emergency truck serv-
ice in case Boiling Field is used only
in emergencies or of transferring its
field airmail station from Washington
Airport to temporary quarters at
Boiling Field in case the airlines move
outright, it was pointed out.