Evening star., 1938-04-21
SOLOMON URGES
FEDERAL AIRPORT
Present Site Development
as U. S. Agency Is
Suggested.

Suggested.
Washington Airport should be
developed as an agency of the United
States Government, the limit of de-
velopnent with private capital having
been reached, Samuel j. Solomon,
manager of the airport, told Gen.
Hugh S. johnson in letter made
public today in reply to a recent
newspaper article by the former
N. r. A. chief criticizing the lack Of
suitable airport facilities here.
only by inclusion of areas now
owned by the United States, including
the Military road and the Arlington
Experimental Farm, can the area be
enlarged" Mr.. Solomon said. The
right of eminent domain should also
be exercised for acquiring additional
lands to the south and west of the
present airport.
The fact that this airport can be
developed as model airport. adequate
in size, has been the unanimous
opinion Of all airline officials who
have testified from time to time before
committees of Congress. An airport
as close to large city as Washington
Airport is to the city of Washington
is national asset that should not
be lost"
Military Road Deed,
The real estate section of the quar-
termaster generals office, War De-
partment, today was awaiting word
from Mr.. Solomon or officials of
Arlington County. Va, that arrange
ments have been completed for the
payment to the county by the airport
Of s25,000 as preliminary to the
conveyance by quitclaim deed of
part of Military road to the airport
and the leasing of the remainder of
the road as far as Arlington Cemetery
for SO years at ST a year. Papers
covering the conveyance and lease will
be ready soon after the payment is
made by the airport, to finance con-
struction of substitute road, it was
announced at the War Department.
In his letter to Gen johnson, Mr..
Solomon pointed out that scheduled
air transportation has only one thing
to sell, and that is saving of time"
There Is no question" he said,
but that the fact that airports are
located at inconvenient distances from
cities has reacted against development
OF airline traffic. Too great a propor-
ton of the total travelling time between
cities is now spent in ground trans
portation to and from airports.
With the consummation of plans
for larger and larger airplanes with
greater take-off requirements and
higher landing speeds, airports must
Of a necessity be located farther out.
AS the distance of airports from cities
increases the traffic is bound to de-
crease, or at least not grow in the
manner it should. With the constant
demand for increase in the size of
airports farther and farther out from
cities and the development of air.
planes whose requirements will be such
that airports must be larger, the indus
try will come to the time when they
will have splendid model airports and
wonderful high-speed airplanes, but
practically no passengers, mail or ex-
press, except over long distances"
Airplane Must Be Changed.
Mr.. Solomon pointed out that cities
and counties in many cases have
spent beyond justifiable amounts" for
airports which cannot be maintained
and that the airplane itself must
undergo changes. 1t must be given
slower landing speed and sleeper angle
of ascent and descent, coupled, pos
sibly. with method of catapulting
for landplanes and use of the tricycle.
landing gear to make possible cross
wind landings and take-offs, he said.
This would make possible use Of air.
ports with but one runway.
The modern transport airplane, he
said, has been developed with an eye
principally to long hops, despite the
fact that greatest density of traffic
Is between metropolitan centers close
together, such as Washington and
New York, New York and Boston,
New York and Chicago and San Fran
cisco and Los Angeles.
THE airplane, in order to reach
its highest development in carrying
passengers, must compete with trains
and Buses" he said. Some day, if
this industry Is to grow to the point
1t should, the airport must be sub
stantially as convenient as railroad
stations. Those persons who in past
years talked of roofing over railroad
tracks as landing places for airplanes
were simply ahead of their time"
Washington Airport, because of its
proximity to Washington, has been
the greatest single factor in the devel-
opmert of air transportation in this
country, If not in the world" Mr..
Solomon said. He pointed out that
seven years ago the Ludington Lines
had "the greatest density Of traf1c
between any two points ever carried
In commercial airDline service" This