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vertical plane to the horizontal plane in flight. (Aircraft with these characteristics are called convertiplanes.) At the same time, manufacturers of fixed-wing aircraft are applying various devices (such as boundary layer control combined with slots, flaps, etc.) to give fixed-wing aircraft vertical lift. It seems likely that there will be a gradual trend towards merger of design with the result that somewhere in the future we will have transport aircraft with efficient performance in both vertical and horizontal directions.

LOCATION OF HELIPORTS

The establishment of heliports in thickly populated areas does not present any insurmountable technical problems. A good deal of preliminary planning of buildings with heliport roofs has been done in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York. Roof-top landings will probably have certain economic advantages where real estate values are high. Otherwise ground level landing areas are preferable.

Los Angeles Airways and Helicopter Air Service use heliports on the tops of Post Office buildings in Los Angeles and Chicago. There are no similar facilities in New York. Landing sites in Manhattan are currently under discussion, and once Post Office Department approval is obtained, can be put to use almost immediately.

REGULATION OF THE INDUSTRY

The same method of regulation that governs local service carriers, which was described in detail in Section I of this report, [[superscript]] 13 [[/superscript]] applies to the helicopter service. Section 406(b) of the Civil Aeronautics Act[[superscript]] 6 [[/superscript]] requires that they get sufficient compensation to enable them to preform the service for which they have been certificated if they meet the test of "honest, economical and efficient management".

From the start the Board has recognized the highly developmental nature of helicopter transportation. In the initial authorization for service by Los Angeles Airways [[superscript]] 8 [[/superscript]] the CAB declared:

"We do not believe that its present high cost of operation alone should deter the experiment since a more economical helicopter may be anticipated just as more economic conventional aircraft has been developed. In view of the benefits which