Skyway ... Signposts

CLOUDS... Are my companions

Used to be, not so very long ago either, it took you two days to go from Tucson to Tombstone by Modoc Stage. In Arizona, as in all the West, distance was an almost unsurmountable barrier. Places were, and still are, far apart. The bright ribbons of shining steel and asphalt, flung over the land by the railroad and highway engineer, reduced distance immeasurably, and travel became a comfort. Wheels helped conquer the West; wings have completed the job.

These pages of Arizona Highways attempt to give you some idea of the tremendous development of air travel and air transportation in our state. Our plane per capita ratio is the highest in the U. S., flying weather unexcelled. Almost every community has a field and just to attempt to list the flying schools would use up half a magazine. The birds have to look sharp out here these days and the clouds, not lacking for company, are never lonely.

The Army Air Forces, looking for ideal flying conditions for training purposes during World War II, moved in lock, stock, barrel, screw driver and Norden bombsight. Training fields were established at Douglas, Glendale, Kingman, Marana, Mesa, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tucson, Wickenburg, Chandler and Yuma. The War Department informs us that the number of pilots trained during the period of July 1, 1939, through August 31, 1945, (primary, basic, advanced, transition) was: 61,300 Americans, 2,977 Chinese, and 135 British. Add to these the bombardiers, navigators, gunners, and bombardment crew mem-bers and we have a grand total of 144,988 American, 3,088 Chinese and 135 British fighting air men trained in Arizona. Got so a redtailed desert hawk had to look twice before he went upstairs to stretch his wings.

Our cover this month is a tribute to the Army Air Forces for the impetus they have given aviation in Arizona. Framed by the wings of a bomber is the P-80, the jet propelled job that ssswwooo-ishes through the air faster than sound. The photograph was taken by Herb McLaughlin at Williams Field, near Chandler, where the Army gives P-80 training. We also would like to call your attention to our insert this issue, in which we try to show you scenic Arizona from the air. LeRoy Eslow of Prescott and Barry Goldwater of Phoenix did a lot of powerful traveling about the state to get most of our pictures. If you think taking photographs in color from the ground has its problems, you should hear Roy and Barry tell you about taking color from the air. Wyatt and Crile of Crile Studios in Phoenix could also give you some pointers.

We tell you a little bit about American Airlines and T.W.A. which hook us with the rest of the nation and the world and we also tell you about Arizona Airways which does a lot of business inside the state. We have tried to describe Sky Harbor at Phoenix, our most busy port, and as a typical example of what a smaller city can do in the develop-ment of a field, we tell you about the one at Prescott. If your are in the least air-minded our log of most of the fields in Arizona, prepared for us by the CAA should give you a world of information.

This past year has seen some experimental work being done on reseeding Arizona desert and wastelands by air. As far as we can learn, no official statement has been made as to the success of the project, possibly because it is too early. It is a tremendous thing and if, say a decade from now, we find it to be successful, it will be one of the airplane's greatest contributions to the west bringing back the grass.

Before we conclude these comments we want to call your attention to "Warbirds' Swansong", a story herein by Jerry McLain. It is the story of thousands of fighting planes stored at various places in Arizona, most of them awaiting the junkman's hammer. In their fighting days they were the proud, serene. deadly rulers of all the skies above Earth. magnificent machines of war. beloved by the young men who were part of them. The young men have scattered now. The planes are left alone on the Arizona desert, dreaming their dreams of glory, and whispering of never-to-be-forgotten days but maybe it isn't whispering we hear. Maybe it is the night wind and moondust against the fusilage.

Mr. R. C.

ARIZONA HIGHWAYS ARIZONA HIGHWAY COMMISSION

LEGEND Arizona Highways Presents A GUIDE For The AIR-MINDED

ARIZONA HIGHWAYS is published monthly by the Arizona Highway Department, Phoenix, Arizona. All communications should be addressed to ARIZONA HIGHWAYS. Arizona Highway Department, Phoenix, Arizona. $2.00 per year, 35 cents per copy. After June 1, $3.00 per year U. S. and possessions. $3.50 per year elsewhere.

"Entered as second-class matter Nov. 5, 1941. at the post office in Phoenix, Arizona, under the act of Mar. 3, 1879."

Narrative and illustrated material herein published are the property of the person to whom credited and cannot be reproduced without permission. ARIZONA HIGHWAYS will not be responsible for unsolicited manuscripts or illus trations. Material contributed for editorial consideration should be accompanied by return postage.

ARIZONA HIGHWAYS is copyrighted, 1947, by the Arizona Highway Department, Phoenix, Arizona.

American Airlines

Air highways, stretching over the far-flung horizons of the globe, pioneered by the Army's Transport Command during World War II and now being developed by the commercial airlines, make the Arizona of today a friendly neighbor to all the people of the world.

Arizona's "Valley of the Sun" and Egypt's "Valley of the Nile" are only a full day's flight distant from each other and Arizona's capital city of Phoenix is only as far from England's capital city of London as 24 hours flying time.

It's merely an overnight trip by air to New York or Chicago or Miami, Fla., from anywhere in Arizona and less than two hours from the nearest big metropolitan neighbor, Los Angeles.

That is one reason why Arizona's resorts and hotels are full of people from every clime this year and when you walk down the busy streets of Phoenix or Tucson you meet travelers from everywhere, seeking the sunshine and the desert beauties not available in their homeland. The Slav and the Englishman, the South American and the Australian are all represented, arriving by plane from foreign strands on the winds of the world.

Aviation has made it very easy for the traveler to come to Arizona from anywhere. The American Airlines national and international set-up is a good example of how it is done.

For the resident of London, England, for instance, he merely has to have the urge to travel. If he calls American

" Skyway . .

Airlines London office for suggestions, he will certainly be told about the features of Arizona in the autumn and winter time. The airline representative, having sold the customer, books him on any of several convenient schedules from London to New York via American Overseas Airlines. Upon arrival in New York he stays only long enough to change planes and is on his way to the Sun Country.

The mechanics of handling an airline passenger, no matter how far he intends to travel, are simple. A telephone call to the airline reservations agent guarantees the seat. A limousine operated especially for the purpose, whisks the passenger to the airport. Customs regulations are simple and allowable baggage weight comparatively generous.

When he boards the plane a trained stewardess and a purser will be able to tell him many things he wants to know about Arizona, and about the cities he will see on the way.

Coming all the way from Europe to an Arizona vacation is an easy junket for the traveler but naturally, not as easy as coming to the Sun Country from any point in the U. S. A., Canada, or Mexico, where American Airlines serves each country in a comparatively complete fashion. Where it does not serve, other airlines feed from long tentacles of routes blanketing the nation to the nearest American Airlines city or connection.

Making a vacation by air, meanwhile, is in itself an experience which will linger long in the retrospection of a recreation-seeking traveler. Air travel in the new postwar planes is totally different than anything known before.

. Signposts"

American Airlines, and its predecessor companies, started flying into Arizona on a scheduled, commercial basis in 1929 and they take great pride in the knowledge that they have made a definite contribution to the economy of the State and its growing success as a great winter time playground.

The people of Arizona likewise have made a historic contribution to commercial aviation by the all-out manner in which they have utilized the airlines in the pursuance of both business and pleasure; and recognized the airlines as a potent economic factor in the welfare of the State.

Arizona is meanwhile taking such a prominent part in the development of international trade, particularly with Latin America, that it gives evidence of becoming one of the nation's leading sections in trade and traffic to Mexico and Central and South America.

The proximity of the State to the southern border makes it a logical gateway and thus a major contributor towards the fostering of unity, industry and social relationships between the Americas.

Even today these aims are being accomplished. Good neighbor policies, conceived by statesmen in Washington, D. C., are finding true expression in Arizona, the leading Spanish speaking state and she has probably done more than her share in support of federally sponsored alliances with the Pan-American countries.

High in importance among developments of recent years tending to make Arizona a potent force in Latin American relations is the establishment, during the war, of American Airlines international route to Mexico City. One segment of the route starts at Los Angeles, flying through Arizona to El Paso, Texas, then to Monterrey. Mexico and down to Mexico City. The other starts at New York, joining the western approach, via Dallas, at Monterrey. Giant four-engine transports ply these airways daily carrying passengers and freight between Arizona and Mexico and feeding in also from all parts of the country.

Because the airplane knows no physical boundaries, you may well visualize Tucson or Phoenix as inland ports these days, and the airlines are no longer confined to the borders of any one nation, operating as they do from country to country. Into this world-girdling aviation pattern, Arizonans today find themselves directly linked with the commerce and people of the whole world. The increasing speed of newly conceived airplanes will make this link more vivid than possibly the average mind can comprehend today. And whether one thinks of the aviation future in terms of bringing people to Arizona or taking Arizonans to their neighbors of the world, either premise is one with which to conjure. But one thing is sure: Arizona and the airlines are on the threshold of a mutual growth so tremendous as to stagger the imagination of the layman.

ARIZONA AIRWAYS

Arizona Airways came into being as a common carrier by air on September 17, 1945, when the Arizona Corporation Commission granted the company its first certificate of convenience and necessity over a circular route out of Phoenix via Miami-Globe, Safford, CliftonMorenci, Willcox, Benson and Tucson. This route was later amended to extend the operation into Nogales, Arizona, via Bisbee. The firm was first incorporated in September, 1942, for the purpose of operating a preliminary flight school for the United States Navy. Its success may be gauged by the fact that upon termination of its con tract after a period of two years' continuous operation, the Navy furnished the company with a record showing it had the best Navy rating of any of the seventeen preliminary flight schools in the Sixth Region. Arizona Airways attained the highest ratings in aircraft maintenance, safety and proficiency of graduates. A backlog of experience which was to stand the company in good stead in the days to come, when authorized to carry passengers on daily flights throughout the state.

Arizona Airways inaugurated its first scheduled flights on March 17, 1946, over the circular route out of Phoenix via Bisbee to the points authorized by the Corporation Commission during the hearings and as a result of the commission's order, service to Prescott and the Grand Canyon was begun on April 7 last year. Service between Phoenix and Yuma was commenced on the same day and on June 2, the company began operations into Kingman and Flagstaff, followed on June 4 with schedules into Clifton-Morenci.

In selecting its aircraft, great care was used and many models and types were discussed. Douglas C-47 aircraft was finally selected. There probably is no airplane in existence today which has so completely proven itself over the air lanes of the world, providing passenger comfort, ease of maintenance, and reliability of performance day-in and day-out, as the Douglas C-47 which has been so aptly called the “Work Horse of the Army Air Force.” These planes were completely reconverted for passenger use under the direction of Vice-President Johnny Bulla, who is known to many as one of America's outstanding professional golfers and to members of the air transport industry as an airman of vast experience. Arizona Airways' fleet totals four at the present time, but arrangements already have been completed to augment the fleet to the number necessary to provide for greatly expanded service and increased mileage.

Pres. H. O. Nelson says: “It is our intention to provide the finest in air transportation within Arizona and to our neighboring states when such additional service has been authorized. The company has a number of new route applications pending before the Civil Aeronautics Board in Washington, D. C., which applications call for the carriage of U. S. air mail not only over the new routes but over existing routes as well. We anticipate speedy and favorable action from the board which will enable Arizona Airways to more completely serve our patrons in our larger cities, plus giving a more frequent service to sparsely settled communities within the state and, in addition, operating to and through key 'gateway' cities in adjacent states providing a 'feeder line' service to the great transcontinental airlines as well as the north and south operators to open to our passengers the markets and vacation areas of the nation through a complete and integrated transportation system.” Arizona Airways has just celebrated its first birthday as a scheduled carrier and is justly proud of its operating record. During March, 1947, the 15.000th passenger was carried and, appropriately, this passenger was singled out to be the guest of the company on one of its scenic Grand Canyon airtours. Five hundred thousand safe miles of flying have been accomplished during the past twelve months, and operating efficiency for the same period has averaged well above 95 per cent. It is well to note-with respect to operating efficiency-that no section of the United States is blessed with such year-around equable weather as the State of Arizona and the territory within which the company operates its schedules.

senger was carried and, appropriately, this passenger was singled out to be the guest of the company on one of its scenic Grand Canyon airtours. Five hundred thousand safe miles of flying have been accomplished during the past twelve months, and operating efficiency for the same period has averaged well above 95 per cent. It is well to note-with respect to operating efficiency-that no section of the United States is blessed with such year-around equable weather as the State of Arizona and the territory within which the company operates its schedules.

During the recent pre-season exhibition games of the Cleveland Indians and the New York Giants in Arizona, Arizona Airways was chosen as the official transportation agency for these major league teams; and on one day during March flew both teams to a game at Bisbee, carrying a total of sixty-six ball players, trainers, and sport writers, which is believed to be a record. During the entire training period, these two teams were flown a total of 8,042 miles and the number of passengers carried was 382.

Arizona Airways has provided facilities for the issuance of passenger tickets and airfreight waybills at downtown locations and at all airports on its route. In addition, pursers are a member of the regular flight crews. Pursers are equipped to issue tickets to passengers in flight, thus eliminating the necessity of making any advance reservations previous to departure. The company requests its patrons to "Come to the airport and go aboard." In order to insure the efficiency of this system of purchasing tickets without advance reservations, a very careful watch is kept daily of passenger load factors on the various routes; and when the load factor becomes sufficiently high to indicate the possibility that all seats might be sold, second sections are added. The company is not a U. S. airmail contractor at the present time

T.W.A.

Founded in 1868 as a stagecoach stop, Arizona's capital of Phoenix could not have been better named, as far as aviation is concerned. The city is named after a great bird famed in Egyptian mythology and today other great birds-sleek, silvery Skyliners are indispensable in maintaining Arizona's booming annual resort business. Now flying the colors of Trans World Airline, these Skyliners first "came to roost" on November 26, 1927, as the Aero Corporation of California, Inc. under the supervision of Jack Frye, Paul E. Richter, and Walter A. Hamilton. Their debut was made in the form of one Fokker Universal cabin airplane with a Wright Whirlwind 200 horse power engine. The cabin accommodated six passengers and there was side jump-seat in the cockpit, which very often was pressed into service to carry an additional passenger.

The first schedule was flown by Jack Frye, who holds Arizona State Pilot's license number 1, issued by the Arizona Corporation Commission. The airplane with which this service was started was purchased by T. W. A. for $13,500. This was the only investment involved in the whole airline. There were no communication stations ticket offices and other facilities.

Later in 1928, Standard Air Lines, Inc.. was formed as a subsidiary of the Aero Corporation of California. This operated first with three Fokker Super-Universals, which had Wasp engines. In 1929, this equipment was changed to Fokker tri-motors.

Meanwhile, other airlines were entering the infant industry. John Maddux, a Los Angeles automobile dealer formed Maddux Airlines. Western Air Express was expanding rapidly through the West and Southwest. And in 1929, Transcontinental Air Transport was formed. A series of trades soon followed. TAT merged with Maddux, Standard was sold to WAE with Frye moving over to Western as vice-president of operations. On October 1, 1930 came the final welding of the route systems into what is today known as TWA. TAT-Maddux acquired the Kansas City-Los Angeles route from Western, and the merger resulted in the formation of Transcontinental & Western Air. Inc. Frye became vice-president of operations with H. M. "Pop" Hanshue as the line's first president. Thus was begun one of Arizona's great industries. which can be likened to the State's irrigation canals. Its water supply is several hundreds of miles away but canals bring flowing life necessary to produce some of the finest desert vegetables and citrus in the world. So does Trans World Airline and other transportation mediums funnel dollars and industries to Arizona.

Airlines with other transportation mediums are indispensable in maintaining this resort industry and increasing it. The world and the world's people move at a faster tempo. While the desert area has an increasing appeal to Easterners, the problem of distributing products is solved principally by speed and airlines are the only answer to the demands for speed.

Trans World Airline makes possible weekend visits to families wintering in Arizona from Los Angeles and San Francisco on the Pacific coast and New York, Chicago and Washington on the Atlantic. Moreover, it makes one and two-week vacations possible from Ireland, France, Spain, Italy, Africa, the Middle East and India.

This simplification of resort travel distribution is not tomorrow; it is here, now, today. Many moneyed persons, who must spend some time in cities several thousand miles from Arizona, but who because of health or climatic desires wish to have year-around Arizona homes, may now do so and commute reliably by TWA between points. In the future, TWA will inaugurate 612-hour service between Chicago and Phoenix; 81½-hour New York and Phoenix; 112-hour Los Angeles and Phoenix; 212-hour San Francisco and Phoenix, in four motored aircraft.

Only San Francisco, Los Angeles, Kansas City, Chicago and New York City will be served by TWA Constellations in addition to Phoenix. The airline is doing this because of the travel potential existing in Phoenix and other resort cities of Arizona.

Trans World Airline has spent $2,000,000 in the last three years on advertising and promotional literature which featured and included Arizona and the Valley of the Sun as an outstanding vacation paradise.

As TWA's Fleet flies over it, the conquests of centuries pass in majestic array beneath the stream-lined fuselages. No other mode of transportation can give such an understanding of Arizona's magnitude to the traveler.

From the air, the colorful Painted Desert appears as a giant palette. This beautiful region has ever-changing colors as the sun's rays vary their attack on the desert floor. First purple, then gold, rose, silver, crimson and then purple again.

Meteor Crater, near Winslow, is another outstanding landmark on the TWA route. It is a mile in diameter and 600 feet deep and can be seen for several miles before the plane flies across the rim. Scientists assert it was caused thousands of years ago by a huge sizzling mass and today activity can be seen far below in the crater's pit.

As planes leave the giant saucer behind, the airway leads over the Grand Canyon. No hint of its waiting wonders comes to the air traveler until he approaches the mile high rim and then miles distant, but appearing close at hand, is the farther rim as straight and level as the horizon, while in between in jagged array stretch craggy peaks, flat-topped mesas, steep valleys, terraced rocks, all glowing with the deepest and richest of colors.

The TWA Skyliner secure in its element, then crosses the canyon from Bright Angel Point to the north rim opposite in three minutes, but on mule-back, this same journey requires two full days. Few are the experiences more thrilling than to fly over Grand Canyon by airplane to understand its utter limitlessness and then return to explore it by foot.

Today, Trans World Airline operates six flights daily into Winslow and twenty-one to Phoenix. Flights will be increased in number as the demand to enjoy the wonders of Arizona increases. And as this happens, the names of those responsible for bringing air transportation to Arizona will become more firmly established in the State's great history with such citizens as Columbus Giragi, former northern Arizona newspaper publisher, who aided them in their efforts to make Arizona an "air" state.