The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1945-07-27
Postwar Air Freight To Be Within Reach Of Every
Farmer and Every Community Of the Entire Country
Trained Pilots and Plenty
OF Improved Planes for
Everyday Needs Of All
BY Walter A. Shead
WNU Washington Correspondent.


How about having those spare
binder parts dropped in your farm
lot by parachute? Or how about call
ing up and having flying ambu-
lance deliver you to the nearest hos
pital for that emergency operation?
Or if you are in hurry for that
order you placed, call up and have
them deliver it at your gate by
helicopter. Ridiculous, you say.
Well, not so ridiculous as you may
think, for the amazing progress of
air transportation during the war is
reflected in these very practical
steps for new horizon for COM
mercial operations as soon as peace
permits.
AS a matter of fact, the Civil
Aeronautics administration in the de-
partment of commerce has on file
at this moment applications for
these and many more new types
of civilian air business and these
applications afford a stimulating
picture of what the plane may soon
be doing to advance new progress in
American life and manner of liv-
ing.
Old and new hands at the flying
game, including many veterans still
in uniform, have formed enter
prises now simply waiting for the
official green light to serve the pub
lie in many ways that would have
been thought ridiculous or visionary
a few years ago. For instance, some
of the applications include:
Flying ambulance and funeral
planes armored airships for
safe dispatch of currency and other
valuables delivery of new auto
mobiles by huge glider trains i.
tank planes for shipment of gaso-
line, oil and other liquids bus
and taxi service deliveries of
medicine, food and of other depart
ment store merchandise "fly-
yourself systems sightseeing
specialists pickup or delivery
by parachute and many others.
These projects are in addition to
applications for wide extension of
service into new territories sought
by existing airlines and the entry
of others into the fields of feeder,
pickup, general express and cargo
business.
Start New Enterprises.
Applicants for certificates for
these new enterprises cover the
whole range of people who have
been stirred to action by faith in the
future of air transportation. In the
active dockets of the department are
the names Of companies and individ-
uals with experience in transport
ing persons and property by air.
There are others who have had
equally broad background in trans
portation by steamship, bus, taxi
cab and truck and there are still
others, such as department store
owners, who are obviously strong in
financial resources, but who have
never, perhaps, even delivered their
own parcels.
Then there are the embryo air.
line magnates, like the man and his
wife who want to start an air freight
line between Los Angeles and New
York, and for specifications for
their fleet, submitted colored cut
outs of a Liberator bomber from a
Sunday supplement. AS matter of
fact, practically all the applications
state in more or less apologize
terms that the applicants have no
planes with which to start business.
But since practically none will be
available until after the war, they
are all on an equal basis from that
standpoint.