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HELICOPTER AIR SERVICE PROGRAM   135

Mr. THAYER.  Yes, sir. We envision, for example, with this airplane that we were operating say from Washington to New York, city center to city center, we would have a very economical operation in this regard. We are thinking in terms of having an elevator in the back end of the airplane that drops down to knee level, and allows the passenger to bring his baggage out to the airplane, put it on the elevator, and walk on the airplane. The elevator is tucked up into the fuselage during his flight to New York instead of having cabin attendants we envision having perhaps a closed-circuit TV monitored by the crew, and when he gets to his destination the elevator is lowered, he takes his baggage off, and all that overhead of cabin attendants and baggage attendants for the airlines would be significantly reduced.

Senator MONRONEY. Let's be practical about stage lengths. You could take off by blocking off one of the avenues down the Mall very easily with your 350-foot takeoff, with a full load of 42 people as the present configuration of the plane is there. You could fly to downtown Baltimore, to some parkway there, pick up passengers if necessary, take off again and continue on to Philadelphia or to New York City downtown.

Mr. THAYER. Yes, sir.

Senator MONRONEY. And land in Central Park, or, if that were impossible, land on a barge in the Hudson River or the East River.

Mr. THAYER. Yes, sir. We could get the passenger to his ultimate destination quicker than flying nonstop.

Let me say it this way: You would still get the passenger from Washington to New York, to his ultimate destination, quicker than if you went to even Washington National and flew into La Guardia Airport or New York City direct.

Senator MONRONEY. You would make stops at Baltimore and Philadelphia?

Mr. THAYER. We would stop at least at Baltimore. At least one stop, perhaps two.

Senator MONRONEY. I am talking about a STOL stop now; I am not talking about the VTOL. Your STOL, as I understand it, you would come in almost as though you were making a normal plane landing on a three-point plane landing.

Mr. THAYER. Yes, sir.

Senator MONRONEY. There you don't have the lost time hovering. You make a direct, straight-in approach.

Mr. THAYER. Yes, sir.

Senator MONRONEY. As you take off you could roll out, taxi back 300 or 400 feet and go off into the wind again on STOL.

Mr. THAYER. Yes, sir. Ground time would be very good.

Senator MONRONEY. This would enable you to land, for example, at downtown Detroit and start out for towns like Lansing and Willow Run and various complexes in that area.

Mr. THAYER. Yes, sir.

Senator MONRONEY. And particularly it would be useful around the Chicago complex, where you have the stage lengths of something like Chicago-Milwaukee, and in through that area, and perhaps on the other side out to Gary, Ind., and on out to the busy section of the Great Lakes.

Mr. THAYER. Or down to St. Louis.