"Highways of the skyways" is not a new song title. Actually the air above the United States is criss-crossed with well-planned federal airways.

These highways through space are ten miles wide, well defined, marked, lighted and USED.

Federal airway, known as Green 3, runs just to the north of us. An imaginary ten-mile wide strip through the air, it runs from Chicago to Toledo. The south line of Green Airway 3, runs through Bremen and Nappanee, misses Milford by 3 miles, Syracuse by one mile. The north border of Green Airway 3 runs through Goshen.

Running east and west through the center of this airway is the Goshen radio beam, which guides pilots from Chicago to Toledo. The Goshen beam extends west to Wheeler, Ind., just east of Gary, where it joins several other beams which will take you into Chicago or around Chicago. Take your choice.

The Goshen beam sends its signal east to Archibald, O., where it joins the Toledo beam. If you were flying east from Goshen, you could pick up the Fort Wayne beam just west of Rome City and "home" right into Fort Wayne, or continue southeast on Red Airway 19 to Dayton.

Actually the system of airways is laid out something like our elaborate system of highways. Along these highways of the air, are beacon lights every ten miles. During daylight hours, each beacon is numbered in yellow paint from point of departure to point of destination, 1, 2, 3, etc. At night, these beacons are lighted with revolving searchlights. On the back of the searchlight is a green light which flashes the code number of the light. Flying into a beacon, the pilot sees the swish of the powerful pencil as it scans the sky. Alternately then, he sees the flashing green light which gives him its code number.

These airways are used mostly by airliners. The private pilot does not fly at night very much, likes to stay out of heavy air traffic.

The beams, which guide pilots by radio, can be illustrated by taking Goshen for an example. Goshen broadcasts on a frequency of 320 megacycles. If you have a short wave band on your radio, you can probably pick it up. There are four directions from Goshen, 6 degrees north, 90 degrees east, 186 degrees south and 270 degrees west from which the Goshen beam makes a solid tone signal.

In the four quadrants formed by these beams, you hear either the code letter A or N, depending upon which quadrant you are in. The 186 degree solid beams strikes one mile west of Warsaw, travels south one mile west of Claypool and Silver Lake. In a quarter circle from Warsaw around east and north of Syracuse, the code letter N will be heard, which is dash-dot. Every thirty seconds, this will be interrupted by the Goshen identifying signal, GO, or dash-dash-dot, dash-dash-dash.

On the quarter-hour before and after every hour, Goshen radio breaks in over the beam and makes a voice report of weather conditions. You can hear it, if you listen. With a little practice, you can even tell what the dickens the guy is talking about --sometimes.

If you are in an airplane equipped with two-way radio, that is, if you can talk and hear both through your set, you may call Goshen radio at any time and ask him what the weather is. He will immediately reply with the information you request.

These stations are scattered all over the nation, are operated by the CAA, a branch of the Department of Commerce.

Try it on a Bike
Joe Carlin and I started from Municipal one fine afternoon recently, flew to Pierceton, Larwill, South Whitley, Liberty Mills, North Manchester, Laketon, Disko, Silver Lake, Claypool, over to Burket and back to Warsaw. In his new Cessna 140, elapsed time for the pleasure jaunt was 39 minutes. Try it in an automobile sometime.

Jim Warner, one of those flying Warner boys, tried to land at Rochester a little quick, Friday, wiped the landing gear out from under a T-craft. No injuries, just crushed feelings. Tch, tch. Let's not tell anybody about it, though, for we might be next.

To the rapidly-growing list of private pilots, you may add Wayne Irvin of Warsaw route four and Lloyd Fletcher, of Warsaw.

If any pilots, observers or passengers have ever "baled out," "hit the silk" or made a parachute jump from necessity, you are eligible for membership in the ultra-exclusive Caterpillar Club. You may register and receive a membership card by sending details of the jump to the Caterpillar Club, Broad Street Bank Building, Trenton, N.J. You get a distinctive pin, too. Hope I'm never eligible, for I never wear a parachute.

Warsaw Daily Times Mon. Sept. 22, 1947