The Wrangell sentinel., 1945-05-18

 Airport
 Assured

Wrangell is going to get her Ilong-sought, long-hoped-ror airport
 That Is assured. Specific time when loonstruction RIII start is indefinite as yet, but il IS now on the ap. proved list and a certainty.
 ouen Was the assurance oI Marsh al Hoppin. head O. the Civil Aero nautics Administration in Alaska to ! Chamber Of Commerce members wno entertained the genial ayia- ton expert with an informal "ge1 together at Elks hall last night
 Hoppin spent three days in town this week making further study of Wrangeu's aIrpoIF and other ueIds to De constructed in this ylcIulty Hoppiu Compumeuted Nraugeu last uIgnJ TOT it's dogged uetermIna- ton and neYer-say-ule enthusiasm in securing an airport Tor hNrangeIE| He sad the Chamber showed IlsI interest five years ago Nnen he WIS IIed nere, by securing d site Dack oI town. However. HoppIn expIaIu- ed, the war broke ana CAA Was forced to confine it's WOrk to War emergencies.
 I'll admit. HoppIn went on when first came to Alaska six years ago 1 fought coastal routes because Of weather. Since then, anu with experience gained in watch Ing the interior Al-SID Iiyway, 1 b have distinct advantages Tor some types oI alrcrat. TOT instance, h winter a plane which ices up can go down To the water to shed it's ice in warner air. Along the inter for AI-Sib route, the lowest plane can descend Is about QUO feet, and Roo. 1 have found since that the coast routes can De flown in all weather" HOppln maue Il clear n his talk that he was referring en- tirely- to GAS plans for postwar private flying and hIs references in no way affected regular scheduled airlines, such as Pan American, who fly entirely different planes and equipment. lie said CAA was looking forward 10 the time, soon 10 come, when you and l will be flying our own planes and 1t was the plan of CAA to build airports along the coast, about 5S miles a. part, from hetchIKan 10 the west ward to accommodate smaller craft. Wrangell, he pointed out, would be necessary and vital link III that chain due 10 its location at Ube mouth of the Sukine, which makes it a natural feeder line with the in terior Al-Sib route Wrangells field will have cross runways approXi- mately 2,2OU and 2,30U feet long. Means have been found through experience in building fields out on the Chain and in the lar north, Of building on muskeg or marshes at very nominal cost. Asphalt sur faces have been found as most practicable, Hoppin said.
 CAA has built fl landing fields and 46 range stations east of Kod- iak in the last five years at cost of S57,O00,O00 What they have done west of Kodiak is still locked in military censorship.
 In his report to the Civil Aero nautics Board in 1940, which board has the final say on which fields shall or shall not be built, Hoppin said all but two of the fields were completed. Now, with the war pro- gressing as it is, it is the plan of CAA to go back and fill in the gaps with fields recognized as es- sential but impossible to build at the time He said, basing his fig ures on the last war in which he served in the Air Corps, he esti- mated at least 450,000 pilots would be engaged in actual flying after this war, as a result of their war training and Alaska needs more fields to accommodate them. He said the National Airport Bill re- gently passed by Congress calls for expenditure of five hundred million dollars for airport development in continental United States. It is hoped to obtain Federal funds in the near future for airport con struction in the Territory.
 Hoppin said the need in Alaska was for smaller fields, and more of them. Between Wrangell and Ketchikan he has found two sites suitable for such fields and between Wrangell and Juneau, three, which, when and if constructed will make a pretty safe air route for almost any small passenger or freight plane. From Juneau northward and westward sites have also been To- cated, except around Cordova, and that section Is being prospected at
 the present time. It is expected suit able locations will be found.
 Hoppin pointed out that CAA is 1 fN1Mtfux.ad uy Do~a Uso,,~A