Show Postwar Air Freight To Be Within Reach of Every Farmer and E Every ery Community of the Entire Country I Trained Pilots an and Plenty en 1 k Of Improved Planes for or r Everyday ver a Needs ee s o oBY of All By Walter A. A Shead Washington Correspondent How about having those spare binder parts dropped in your farm lot by parachute Or how about calling calling calling call call- ing up and having a flying ambulance ambulance ambulance lance deliver you to the nearest hospital hospital hospital hos hos- pital for that emergency operation Or if you are arc in a 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 a new horizon for commercial commercial commercial com com- mercial operations as soon as peace permits As a matter of fact the Civil Aeronautics administration in the department department department de de- de- de 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 liv- ing Old and new hands at the flying game including many veterans still in un uniform orm have formed enterprises enterprises enterprises enter enter- now simply waiting for the official green light to serve the public public public pub pub- lic 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 automobiles automobiles auto auto- automobiles mobiles by huge glider trains tank planes for shipment of gasoline gasoline gaso gaso- line oil and other liquids bus busand busand busand and taxi service deliveries of medicine food and of other department department department depart depart- ment store merchandise fly yourself systems sightseeing specialists up pick-up 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 up pick-up 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 individuals individuals individuals with experience in transporting transport transport- ing persons and property by air There are others who have had equally broad background in transportation transportation transportation trans trans- by steamship bus taxicab taxicab taxicab taxi- 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 airline airline airline air air- line magnates like the man and his wife who want to start an air ah- freight line between Los Angeles and New NewYork NewYork NewYork York and for specifications for their fleet submitted colored cutouts cutouts cutouts cut cut- outs of a Liberator bomber from a Sunday supplement As a matter of fact practically all the applications state in more or less apologetic terms that the applicants have no planes with which to start business But since practically none will be available until after the war they I Iare are all on an equal basis fromi that standpoint a 1 ri b by 1 y l a Y i a H i. i i Photo shows a record shipment of penicillin nearly pounds This is just one of the many items that will be handled almost entirely in postwar era by the new and existing taxi and air freight lines I The group of applicants who look toward peacetime flying business with the keenest anticipation and toward whom official eyes will look with greatest sympathy arc are the soldiers soldiers soldiers sol sol- sol sol- diers and sailors some already discharged discharged discharged dis dis- dis- dis charged veterans and others ready to take to the air as soon as they are discharged Of the military pilots which the war has produced the majority who plan to make aviation their career see their future as pilots for established airlines There are however many who want to start their own business nothing nothing noth noth- ing fancy understand maybe just lust a local feeder line There has been as asyet asyet asyet yet no breakdown to learn just what percentage of the applications already already already al al- al- al ready filed are by servicemen but the percentage is high A typical one is the application filed only a afew afew afew few da days s 's ago by Lt James Walker Case of Sutter Creek Cal Calif 28 year-old year navy flier Lieutenant Case wants to start a business flying persons persons persons per per- sons and property to all parts of California and Nevada in the most suitable available aircraft just as soon as the navy lets him go Taxi Rural Service There is also the Norsemen Air Transport company which turns out outto outto outto to be several servicemen who want to continue their war association by establishing feeder airlines throughout New England Many of these projects may never see the light of day but there are applications like that of Lt Col John C. C L. L Adams who before being being being be be- ing called back to his regular army job when war came organized and operated an extensive air service in Panama He wants to start a sightseeing sightseeing sightseeing sight sight- seeing business with helicopters or light planes fanning out in various scenic routes from Cristobal and Balboa Until he can start work sans un uniform orm his wife Alberta is getting things lined up Then there are also a number of women who plan to start airlines on their own Some of them judging from their application papers have already had successful careers in other lines of business There is Angeline Angeline Angeline An- An geline Harris of Rutherfordton N. N C. C who proposes to start a scheduled scheduled scheduled sched sched- mail and passenger service linking the smaller towns in m North Carolina Tennessee and Virginia using either helicopters or light conventional planes She proposes to land on postoffice roofs or the nearest available vacant lot Mrs Winifred Lucy of Detroit proposes to run a helicopter taxi service in Michigan and Mrs T T. T W. W Lanier of El Paso Texas r I I 1 ri I t l' l I l tl r 1 c It l r f I s I dt a Drawing shows plane in fall flight picking up mail sack The same t technique will be available in peace time and regularly routed commercial commercial commercial commer commer- cial planes are arc expected to drop and pick up packages while on the wing 1 proposes to begin with transport of mail and later of persons and I property on two circulating routes covering hitherto none too accessible accessible ble places in Texas New Mexico and Arizona The proposed air ambulance service servo sere ice no doubt had its inspiration I from the remarkable operations in it in I evacuation of wounded by the air transport command of the army and navy and the airlines under contract con con 1 I tract with them Two applications applications' for this service now on file with the CAA are by long-established long I undertaking firms who plan to use the airplanes either as missions ol oj mercy or for burial One of them themis is Shannon's of Fort Worth Texas who proposes to operate a helicopter ambulance or hearse from their city to or from any points within miles from within that radius tc any place in continental U. U S. S 01 or from anywhere in the country to within that circle An exactly similar similar simi lar application is on file from W. W C. C Croy of Poplar Bluff Mo Julian Bondurant's Armored Motor Motor Mo Mo- Motor tor service of Memphis would enlarge enlarge en large his operation by use of airplanes air airS planes throughout the south and southwest on Hon call and demand The fabulous supply of our motorized motor forces with fuel by airplane in inthe inthe inthe the dash across France and elsewhere else where probably influenced H. H I. I Moul president of Coastal Tank Lines Inc of York Pa to file an au application to supplement his fleet of trucks with flying tankers Hi His ships would carry gallons of any kind of bulk liquid commodity in tanks throughout through out the United States and to Alaska Alaska Alaska Alas Alas- ka Canada and Mexico Autos by Air Delivery of jeeps and trucks by airplane to the battle lines unquestionably unquestionably unquestionably gave T. T P. P Geddes of the Automobile Air Freight corporation of Detroit the inspiration for similar similar similar simi simi- lar operations in peacetime Before the war his firm was reputed to be bethe bethe bethe the largest deliverers of new automobiles automobiles auto auto- automobiles mobiles in the world by steamship on the Great Lakes and by the well- well known super Their lake vessels vessels vessels ves ves- sels the year before the war transported trans trans- transported ported cars Now their concern concern concern con con- cern proposes to do rush orders on the same job with huge cargo planes and glider trailers They seek a certificate certificate certificate to transport automobiles from the to anywhere inthe in inthe inthe the United States and to bring back general cargo to that area Department store deliveries with the helicopter as the favored vehicle is proposed in dozens of applications on file Perhaps the best known firms include the Hecht Company Inc of Washington D. D C. C and the William Filene Sons company of Boston Both would cover the metropolitan metropolitan metropolitan met met- area surrounding their cities and would also seek to serve their customers in smaller cities at gr greater ater distances E. E J J. J McKeown president of the Producers Air Lines of Toledo would use cargo planes gliders and helicopters helicopters helicopters heli heli- copters in the transportation of perishable perishable perishable per per- foods flowers drugs medi- medi pines Fines ines and medicine ingredients A proposed plan pan of similar type is that of the Fish Airlines corporation headed by Charles J. J McGowan of New Bedford Mass which would emphasize rushing sea foods from Massachusetts and Rhode Island to fishless regions of the country Plane builders have demonstrated that there may be a plane built for every purpose that has been their record in wartime And with plenty of skilled operators available also as a result of the war it remains to tobe tobe tobe be seen whether or not the American Ameri Ameri- can public is really ready to try its wings when peace comes |