Roof Landings

In short runs, much of the benefit of an airplane's great speed is lost, because passengers or planes have to be transported to distant flying fields. R. James Gibbons, a Brooklyn builder, has developed a launching and landing platform that can be installed on the roofs of such buildings as the Pennsylvania Station (Manhattan), and would bring the "Chicago Air Express" to the very heart of New York City. The invention consists of an unobstructed platform some 200 feet in length and 100 feet in width, which can swivel like a railway turntable, so as to head always to the wind. It can be turned down so as to launch the airplane after a short run; it can be inclined upwards so as to bring an incoming plane rapidly to rest. Simple in principle and simple in mechanical embodiment, the device is pronounced practical by Army experts. "Likely to be of service in commercial aviation," say they. But if the motor failed at the moment of departure or arrival, street traffic might encounter an unwelcome aerial visitor.