The Wilmington morning star., 1944-12-24
CAROLINA
FROM THE
CAPITAL
By ALLEN ]. GREEN
: Star-News Washington Bureau

| WASHINGTON, Dec. 23-With Eluethenthal
Field, Class airport scheduled to revert
/ 70 public ownership after the war. Wilmington
is in position to become a leading Southern
air CENTER in the opinion of the National
Aeronautc Association, if some advance plan
ming is done now.
| Expansion of Bluethenthal by the Army dur.
ing the war gives the city field suitable
for the largest aircraft now flying and a logi-
cal stop on north-south air routes as we'll as
potential terminal for east-west flights
| Bluethenthals facilities, NAA officials point
| ed out, makes it ideal terminal for short
feeder ai-lines, operating in between local.
ties not on the main air routes with freight
and passengers. The close conjunction of the
field to New Hanover truck farms point to
speedy development of an air freight service
after the war. Air freight in carload and less
than carload shipments, mas become reality
despite the war and one commercial airline is
now carrying carload lots of spinach, lettuce
and other perlshable vegetables from Cali
fornia fields to Eastern markets at feasible
rates to growers AS postwar competition de-
velops, air freight rates can be expected to
drop.
With air freight, NAA says, New Hanover
growers can extend their market range-can
take advantage of the best prices offered on
dozen Eastern and Northern market centers
MAS position. however, is that commercial
air developments are only small part of the
postwar aviation picture. With manufacturing
advances made during the war, private planes
safe and well within the average persons
price range as todays automobiles are gong
to appear on the market In quantity.
This postwar private plane according to
NAA, is potentially as useful and necessary
to the average person as his automobile. The
hitch is that the private airplane is now COM
parable to an automobile without road on
I1hi ch IN re
venient to downtown areas.
In order for cities like Wilmington to take
advantage of the air age, NAA argues, it be-
comes essential for the city to provide facil-
ties like those now provided for automobiles
Which from the NAA point-of-view isn't as hard
as it sounds.
NAA, non-partisan, non-profit aeronautical
association, is conducting a nationwide cam
pagn for airparks, flghtstops, and arharbors
to bring the private flier to the city.
Wilmington, it points out will probably in
auguTate slum clearance program after the
war. Part of the area cleared could be de-
voted to an airpark-a small field right in the
heart of the city for the average citizen flying
into town to work, or shop, or fo- the tourist
stopping over. Edges of the metropolitan air.
park could be used for park and recreatonal
purposes. Cost would range from an estima ted
minimum of SIS, 900 up.
On the Cape Fear river, it points out, a
small plane airharbor for aircraft equipped for
amphibious operation could be developed at a
cost ranging from $1,000 UP for ramp and
hangar facilities With the anticipated large
scale air tourist movement up and down the
East Coast from Maine to Florida, air
motel would be feasible with adjacent cot
tageS where the traveller, out for weekend
hop, could stay overnight
Development of such facilities, NAA con-
tends, would attract thousands of ali tourists
annually to Wilmington for sightseeing rec
reation and hunting and fishing-and spell the
difference between town on an airline and
an air center.