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SMALL FORTUNES MADE IN AERO PASSENGER SERVICE

March 10, 1920

(By C. Oren Smith)

Small fortunes have been made during the past six months in passenger carrying and from the sale of used military training planes. One Single dealer in January 1920 bought 447 aeroplanes from the Curtiss company, representing a value of $2,500,00. Several pilots who operated from one to three planes for passenger carrying in different parts of country made small fortunes carrying passengers at from $15 to $25 a flight. Two pilots who started out with a single old aeroplane soon were able to buy two more planes and took in over $140,000 in passenger carrying fees and are now planning extensive passenger carrying services with latest type of planes. About fifty other aviators have had the same pleasant experience. 
Some aviators found sufficient demand in small communities in the United States for passenger carrying flights, photographing of real estate and other civic work and occasional transportation of packages and express matter, to make the work very lucrative.
The Commission of the Aero Club of America and the Aerial League of America which investigated the aeronautic interest in forty-nine cities found that large communities supported as many as half dozen separate aerial passenger carrying organizations.
James Levy, a Chicago automobile agent, undertook to sell aeroplanes a few months ago while waiting for deliveries of automobiles, and sold 150 planes.
Several months ago two Canadian Aces and an American ace formed the Inter-Allied Aircraft Corporation. They formed this company when they found that American Manufacturers could not supply the increasing demand for aeroplanes. They arranged to import to the United States aeroplanes of the famous makes like the "Copwith" and "Avro" machines.
They readily obtained the financial backing necessary from New York bankers to purchase 2,000 British machines. Within a month after the formation of the Company they had received prospective orders for close to 500 machines, and as the shipping strikes in England prevented the shipping of machines to the United States, they bought fifty second hand training machines from the Canadian government, which the company sold to waiting customers.
Few people could have foreseen or believed eight months ago that over 2,000 people in the United States alone would purchase aeroplanes ranging in prices from $3500 to $25,000 each, to use for sport, pleasure and transportation. But such is the case as shown by the Chicago Aircraft Exhibition.
The Civil Operations Section of Operations Division of the Air Service was established when the Air Service was reorganized in March 1919, one year ago. 
By far the most far-reaching function of the Civil Operations is the inauguration and supervision of landing fields, known as municipal fields. On this is based the development of industrial and commercial aeronautics in the United States. There is on file in the landing fields branch, complete information on over 1000 fields. Map routes have been projected and a system of aerial route maps have been formulated.
When legislation is enacted by the governmental control of airports and municipal landing grounds this section will be in a position to extend co-operation to each field in the United States and have each field developed, reported, numbered and catalogued.

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