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As amore or less routine matter the helicopters now being operated on schedule in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and new York are clearly demonstrating their ability to move a good many passengers and a substantial quantity of mail and cargo with consequent saving of valuable time for all concerned. This is plain to the most superficial and untutored eye. However, the very substantial dollar savings in airport construction and location, in navigational aids, in fuel and depreciation on flight equipment and in manpower that will be generated with the increased use of helicopters have not yet been generally understood or identified. As a starter the FAA has estimated that the annual cost of excessive elapsed time (number of minutes between estimated and actual off time) at 245 high density airports is $339.8 Million. This estimate is based upon gross hours of delay and fully allocated aircraft. 

The helicopters or possibly some more modern form of VTOL will inevitably be used to minimize this problem, especially in the high density operating conditions that exist on the Eastern Seaboard, on the West Coast and around Chicago, is perfectly evident. Already they are serving this purpose to a limited extent between the airports surrounding the New York Metropolitan areas. 

Looking ahead, therefore, it seems clear that the contribution of the helicopter in the reasonably near future and