Evening star., 1939-05-07
Federal Airways
Cover 25,500 Miles
Throughout U. 5.
G. A. A. Prepares to Let
Contracts After July !
For 1000 More

TOR Z,VVV WOtS
With the completion this week of
1900 miles of new Federal airways,
at a cost of $4,000 900, and the COM
pletion last month Of a $4,000, 900
modernization program, the Federal
airways system today covers 25,500
miles. the Civil Aeronautics Author
ity announced last night.
The Authority is preparing to let
contracts after July for 1000 more
miles Of airways. including beacon
lights and emergency landing fields.
Preparations also are being made
for a large-scale experimental test
ing of ultra-high frequency radio
ranges of static-free type on the
busy New York-Chicago airway.
Charles I. Stanton, director of the
Bureau of Federal Airways of the
c. A. A., in report to Civil Aero
nautics Administrator Clinton NJ
Hester, has pointed out that the
new Federal airways system now
outranks any in the world in length
of routes and completeness of fa-
cilities for radio and visual aids to
navigation.
231 Radio Range Stations.
The system includes 231 radio
range stations. 100 ultra high fire.
ouency cone of silence markers, 21
ultra high frequency fan markers,
which enable pilot to fix definitely
his position on radio range, and
modernized full-power radio ranges
upon the new simultaneous voice.
range plan covering every mile of
the system. These modernized sta
tions make possible continuous radio
range beacon service without in
terruption for weather information
broadcasts and other communica-
tions between ground and airplane.
In addition, $50 radio range sta
tions have been equipped with gaso-
line engine driven generators to
provide standby power in event Of
failure of commercial power supply
at the range stations. When such
failure occurs, the gasoline engine
Is cranked automatically and the
necessary switches are thrown auto
matically to keep the standby plant
in operation during the period of
the emergency and for 10 minutes
after commercial power has been
restored. AS result, radio-range
operators no longer are faced with
the necessity for making trips un-
der storm conditions from control
rooms to transmitter stations when
the power goes off in the trans
mitters.
The plan for an high fire.
quency radio range airway between
New York and Chicago. Mr. STAN
ton pointed out, represents "one
of the most important develop
ments in aviation radio The in
stallation follows tests made by the
Authority, in cooperation with the
domestic airlines, of ultra a-high fire.
quency stations at Pittsburgh, In
dianapolis and in California.
Contracts in September.
The plans call for construction
of the new ra-high frequency
range stations between New York
and Chicago at distances of about 80
to 10 miles. Contracts for these
stations probably will be awarded
not later than September. and con-
struction is scheduled to be COM
pleted in January.
The radio modernization program
completed last month included the
construction of 80 vertical radia-
tor simultaneous range stations, 80
loop-type medium and low power
range stations, 81 ultra high fire.
quency fan markers and the con-
version of so Of the old-type YER
tical radiator stations to simultane-
Gus voice and range broadcast sta
tions.
In addition a new station was es-
tablished at Hartford, Conn; three
stations were built by United Air
Lines at Denver. Akron and Hayes
Center. Nebr.. and will be taken
over by the c. A. A., and IS ultra
high frequency markers were built
by the State of Pennsylvania and
now are being taken over by the
G. A. A.
Always Completed.
The airways completed within the
last month include new airway
from Albany to Rouses Point, N. Y.
by way of Burlington, VT: rebuild
ing and realignment of the Wash
ington- Pittsburgh airway; estab-
lishment of beacon lights from Au-
gusta. Ga, to Charleston, S. c.; a
new airway from Corpus Christi
Tex, to New Orleans by way OF
Houston: new airways from Omaha
to Sioux City, from Amarillo to
Fort Worth, from Albuquerque to
Pueblo. Colo, and from Cheyenne
to Billings, Mont; rebuilding of a
10O-mile section of the Los Ange-
les-Salt Lake City airway, and re-
construction of the Pendleton-Spo-
kane airway in Washington by way
Of Walla Walla instead of by Pasco
Teletype systems were installed on
all airways where none previously
had been built.
A $1,000, 900 appropriation will be-
come available July l for airway
work.