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Show or two years' normal supply. Airport Air-port managers might rent their their acreage for cow pasture, except ex-cept that there's nothing quite as toying to a pilot as a cow on the runway when he wants to and. Besides, the government has 'already bought a lot of surplus milk", dried it and buried it! Fiom Ihe standpoint of basic economics, we just don't seem to need more crops raised ,on airports or anywhere. any-where. For the long range, commercial com-mercial aviation is progressing toward to-ward financial independence. Private Pri-vate flying will find a place in Ihe economic scheme. It offers economic econ-omic advantages to many not now realizing them. The flying business can aid farming, in providing fast transporation, and in such activities activit-ies as crop dusting. But not, as I see it by raising crops on airports. A recent proposal by Del Rent-zel Rent-zel CAA administrator, to levy a 15 cent tax on aviation gasoline gaso-line which would raise 8.5 million a year for Federal airways, strikes me as more practical. DELAYED ? ? ? The Wards and Buffinglons were due in from LA Monday, but as this is written Monday AM the weather is rugged, and may cause them some delay. . : WlllgOVtii'S "ALL THE NEWS THAT'S FIT TO PRINT FROM THE DELTA AIRPORT" DICK MORRISON VISITORS WELCOME . . . Now that the Delta Radio crew are established in the new Watch House building at the airport, where they are using some of the finest radio and communications equipment to be found anywhere, Chief Aircraft Communicator Nate Ward invites visitors to call in and see the installation. Individuals may call in anytime but Mr. Ward asks that appointments appoint-ments be arranged ahead of time, for the best interestts of all concerned. con-cerned. The ideal way is for small groups, say 6 to 10 people, to make an appointment, and such parties are particularly Invited. With the new VOR range station stat-ion operating, as well as the old LF range station, and the two-way two-way aircraft to ground radio telephone tele-phone system, there is much to interest radio fans. The new operating oper-ating Console Unit, which is the main control for all radio operations, operat-ions, both sending and receiving, is a beauty, and its operation most interesting. A single large speaker, mounted overhead, handles hand-les all incoming messages which may be picked up on any of the seven wave lengths to which it is tuned. Indicator lights show on vh'ch wave length a message is being heard, and the communicator may, when necessary, select which of two or more incoming messages he will hear, to avoid confusion . Since there are no regular attendants attend-ants at either of the range stations, stat-ions, these are directed by remote control from the operating Console. Con-sole. . . . There is also much of interest in the teletype system, which is used for inter-station messages. UPS AND DOWNS ... Frank Pace, who flew his Cessna Cess-na in from Ely March 1, took off for his return flight last Thursday. Thurs-day. Don Searle and friend, Mr. Jacobs Jac-obs flew in from Provo Saturday. Don took his father, Del Searle for a pleasant little flight, and returned re-turned to Provo the same evening. FARMING FLIERS . . . Del Fuhriman, "new state aeronautical aeron-autical director, has suggested that the airport operators plow up the land around the runways and raise crops to augment income. The sug gestion was received with something some-thing less than wild enthusiasm the operators at a meeting in Salt Lake last week. They feel that Mr. Fuhriman, who is a successful flying farmer, is carrying things too far in trying try-ing to make them into farming fliers. For one thing, their jobs as airport managers and flying instructors take all their time, and for another, they feel that even if more crop production were needed, need-ed, the airports are not the ideal places for it. Utah's airport sites were chosen for other reasons than soil fertility. The Delta airport, for one example, is too high to irrigate without pumping water, and there is plenty of unfarmed land lower down. The Richfield airport, air-port, for another example, is quite alkaline, and after landing on it last Saturday, I felt that asphalt would improve it more than asparagus aspar-agus would. Many farmers find it profitable to own airplanes, and Del Fuhriman Fuhri-man is one of these. Locally, Jess Done and Fred Baker own planes. Still, it does not follow that airmen air-men should take up farming. No one quarrels with Fuhriman's stand that flying should become self sustaining, free from subsidies when possible. Still, aviation is comparable to shipping, which has usually been subsidized, partly for reasons of national defense. Even if we avoid controversy over ov-er subsidies to aviation, the fact remains that farming is a subsid-zed subsid-zed business, too, and what's the point in replacing one subsidy with another? Should fliers raise potatoes? The government is spending uncounted millions to destroy them. Wheat? The 1950 crop is expected to bring supplies to over 1M billion bushels, 1 DAN MANNING'S TOWN . . . Having lived in Richfield as a small child thirty-odd years ago, and being related to about half the town, though acquainted with few of my relatives there, I welcomed wel-comed a chance to fly a passenger over in the Chief Saturday morning, morn-ing, and I can report that those who haven't seen Richfield for nearly forty years wouldn't know the place. The row of poles which graced the middle of Main St. In 1911, which served not only to carry utility wires but also as hitching hit-ching posts for horses, have been removed, and so have the horses. The Model T has come and gone in the intervening years, and parking par-king meters grace the curbs. The paving on Main St. has, I am told, now been there for many years, and Richfield now has an airport and a radio station, but not all the music it broadcasts is now. Saturday they played "Come Josephine Jose-phine In My Flying Machine", a number about as old as the Wright Bros, airplane. Althea and I took off at 0818 Saturday, in air as cool and calm as a pilot's dream, landing at Richfield 55 minutes later. Taking a taxi uptown, I disembarked at the Manning Pharmacy, leaving my passenger to her own devices until un-til time to return home. Called in to see our old friend, Dan Manning who used to play the guitar in our Delta orchestra, and who ran the variety store here until he sold out to Spence Wright. Dan has 20 hours flying time -has soloed but not got a license yet - - - and his hair has changed coior, so ne is now tau grey and handsome, and he owns the Richfield Rich-field hospital, a beautiful home, and a drug store with a new green fron't. He gave me the keys to the city or, more exactly, the keps to his Buick, and told me to drive down home and play his Hammond Ham-mond Organ. Was I in clover ! There I was in the old home town with a Buick and a Hammond, both to do with as I would. I did. Mrs. Manning and their children are very well, and she showed me some of her oil paintings, which were very artistic and beautiful, and when she invited me to play the Hammond, I played it so long she must have thought I was either eith-er trying to find the lost chord or finish the unfinished symphony. I told her that with three hours to spend in Richfield I'd be perfectly content just playing the organ. I did my best with such sweet-sad numbers as And So Good Bye, and Be Still My Heart, along with the Rosary. Their Hammond graces a lovely living room. It - - the Hammond Ham-mond - - has been broadcast by Richfield radio. I told Dan that it sounds better than my record of Charles M. Schwab's residence pipe organ. Then back to meet Althea, and offto Delta at 1255. Landed at Delta after a 55 minute return flight that was without incident. id THE MONEY IT'S MADE FOR ME. DEAH HEAHT Speaking of playing The Rosary I just read that in the first 30 looS after il was imposed in 1898, it sold six million copies and earned half a million dolars It's still going strong. COMFORTING THOUGHT ... Dr Hugh C. Wolfe, scientist, says it will take 12 more months to per-lf,Ct.,the per-lf,Ct.,the H bomb- Why worry, then? We ve al got another 12 months, anyway. |