Show an airport for every town will be possible if plan before congress granting federal aid Is passed U S funds would match dollar for dollar in building by walter A shead staff correspondent taking a page from the book of f the public roads administration the civil aeronautics administration is asking congress or an appropriation to provide for a billion dollar postwar airport construction program to be allocated the states as federal grants on a fifty fifty cost basis in asking for this federal aid or subsidy for the development of air transportation the CAA is not without precedent declaring that we are entering an air age of transportation vital to the unified growth of the nations commerce it points dut aut that the government has always aided all forms of transportation in their early stages CAA estimated that it will cost approximately aspre spread ad over 5 to 10 years to carry through a national airport program ad adequate e to the nations aviation needs including purchase of land and construction of terminal buildings A detailed survey of the nations airport facilities by CAA indicates that hat for this billion and a quarter jollar iollar cost 1625 of the count rys existing airfields can be im improved and new airports can oe constructed for a total of airports five classes of fields for the basis of allocating funds to the several states the CAA has made a study of community needs and set up five classifications for airports necessary for communities on the basis of population and need these five classifications are class I 1 suitable for private owner small type aircraft with two L shaped airstrips 1800 to 2700 feet long feet wide class 2 for larger type private owner aircraft and smaller transport planes for or local and feeder service with A shaped airstrips 2700 to feet lon long e and feet wide class 3 to accommodate present day dav twin en gine transport aircraft with several landing strips to feet long and feet wide classes 4 and 5 to serve the largest aircraft now in use and those planned for the immediate future with multiple landing strips to feet long and feet w wide i ole the proposed rational Aati onal plan of the CAA would provide for improvement of existing airports as follows class 1 class 2 class 3 class 4 and 61 class 5 in addition construction of new airports is is provided as follows 2597 of class 1 1101 of class 2 class 3 i class 4 and class 5 according to this CAA survey of the towns of under i lation only 1500 now have airports i of which are not now usable the proposed program would im prove existing ports and build new airports in these towns for a total of r in setting up the total cost of these proposed air airports poris CAA did not include cost of land or buildings it does include however preparation of the land such ds as clearing grub f bing excavation and grading drainage surface conditioning and fencing paving of runways taxiways and aprons installation of all lighting including beacons tion runway and taxiway flood or 6 contact lights radio facilities and f miscellaneous such as approach Po Fc learing clearing access roads marking and ci landscaping 1 small ports get 60 per cent approximately 58 per cent of the ifor n total appropriation would be spent for new airport facilities with 42 aper a per cent for improvement of exist R ling ing airports funds for class 1 and 1 2 airports comprise per cent of I 1 the total proposed appropriation or approximately for class ml 1 I airports and for the class 2 ports ifa ift the legislation now before con g h 4 W A za 1 I 1 t u k T v 02 w k S 4 kl ki 1 l Y I 1 5 N w tia V 0 Y q A VI 1 Z 4 04 V the class I 1 airport known popularly as an airpark is designed for small private owner type planes up to pounds gross weight fields of this class are designed to serve small communities and as auxiliary airports in larger metropolitan areas there are no paved runways but landing strips with clear approaches must measure 1800 to 2700 feet long and feet wide recreational facilities much such as parks tennis courts and golf courses will surround the airpark in in many cases gress for approval would provide that the state designate a single agency through which the CAA could negotiate contract for construction st etc and all construction would be in charge of local sponsors on plans and specifications reviewed and approved by CAA the plan would work in much the same manner as highway construction for secondary and feeder roads local communities would make arrangements range ments with the designated state agency to take advantage of the federal grant and with the CAA dealing with the state agency subject to revision the proposed plans call for the following total construction st costs for new and improved airports alabama arizona arkansas california colorado connecticut 16 delaware florida georgia idaho illinois 40 indiana iowa 9 kansas kentucky louisiana maine maryland marylan massachusetts 29 michigan minnesota mi desota mississippi missouri montana nebraska nevada new hampshire new jersey new mexico new york north carolina north dakota ohio oklahoma oregon pennsylvania rhode island south carolina south soth dakota tennessee texas I 1 utah vermont virginia washington west virginia wisconsin wyoming total surveys may start soon the civil aeronautics administration in the department of commerce will furnish detailed information to any of the cities and towns selected to become a part of this national airport network of the total appropriation the CAA is asking congress for a appropriation to be immediately available for detailed plans and surveys according to estimates of the CAA and private aeronautic agencies such as the aeronautical chamber of commerce 65 per cent of the people will fly airplanes or the air lines after the war 1 a 11 all V sl Q 2 n it aj X A Z laggue lag gUV the A shaped runway is designed for class 2 airports serving communities muni ties of to population it will accommodate planes weighting ng between and pounds I 1 it is pointed out that even those who do not fly will utilize airport facilities as patrons of air mai mail 1 air freight and air express ton miles of mail flown in the last four years has increased from in 1940 to in 1944 up to 1942 1912 approximately passengers a year rode the ait ail lines predictions are that this air travel will see a 10 fold jump during the first postwar decade in addition there will be private pilots owners and renters of planes drawn from such sources as the army and navy pilots the present civilian pilots and students the students taking aeronautical courses in the high schools each year the men trained traine d by the armed forces in aviation agiato 11 skills other than piloting and the almost equal number employed it in aviation factories at the present time there are five federal aid airport bills pending it ir congress three in the house of rep and two in the senate the senate measures however are identical with the house bills since since all measures carrying an ap aaion must originate in the house in support of this federal aid air port legislation secretary of corn com merce henry wallace testified re bently before the aviation sub corn conn cittee asserting that action taken or 01 the measures proposed would deter mine the progress of airport de in the country for the th next quarter of a century would provide employment 1 I believe mr wallace said that civil aviation will be s z most important factor in the post war drive for economic expansion and full employment our aircraft manufacturing in in austry employing worker must like all munitions industries undergo very drastic deflation while in the past a consider considerable abl portion of aviation activity has beet confined to the larger cities anc towns the proposals of the CAA art an designed to take aviation to thi country and the small rural com muni ties throughout the nation I 1 these communities take advantage advant agi of the federal grants in aid onel they are authorized it will bring aviation direct to the farmer a least insofar as he wishes to use an ail transport in the shipment of farn commodities and the use of ail ah transport and travel in his busi ness of operating a farm mer chants in the small communities too will be placed on a par ditl his city brethren in the receipt ano an shipment of freight and express once aviation service has beet brought to the small towns as h i proposed under this national net work plan it however is up to the local corn com muni muni ties included in the propos ec plan to take up the cudgel for loca sponsorship and local expenditure 0 50 per cent of the funds n cessar to comply with CAA plans and apeci fixations ficat ions then it apparently is ul u to these local sponsors to contac contact their state agency designated a the proper source for collaboration with the federal agency in order to ti obtain the grant in aid as authorize by congress |