Only a few were developed into local landmarks by communities, but their popularity gains traction with explorers, travelers and wanderers. Some of the arrows were consumed by new development, or just overgrown by grass. Some of concrete arrows were demolished in 1940s on purpose in case of enemy invasion, to hinder enemy aircraft visually navigating across the United States. Many towers have been dismantled since 1940s. Airway beacon tower (Image by Federal Aviation Administration / Public Domain) With prices rising during Great Depression, the system was defunded, and after working in limited capacity for some years, finally rendered obsolete, and closed down. Visual navigation by landmarks and concrete arrows was not a necessity anymore. In the 1930s radio technology had improved, navigational aids were introduced, and low-frequency radio range was developed. They were far apart on plains, and denser in mountainous terrain. The beacon stations were built 10-25 miles apart, depending on terrain situation. Some beacons featured more than one arrow. Additionally, in the first year of operation 89 emergency airfields were established. The concrete arrows were painted bright yellow, and were illuminated by the tower light. Post Office Department map of the First Transcontinental Air Mail Route from 1924 (Public Domain)Įach beacon consisted of giant concrete arrow 50-70 feet long pointing to the next beacon, and the 50-foot beacon tower with rotating light mounted at its top. Enthusiastic journalist back in December 1923 wrote an article about “Lighted Airway over Atlantic” ( Popular Mechanics). This helped to decrease mail delivery time from coast to coast to only 3 days. Congress, they connected the Atlantic and Pacific coasts in 1924, and in 1933 the system reached a total 1500 beacons, and 18,000 miles of routes. The arrows were constructed as Transcontinental Airway System between 19. Airmail beacon concrete arrows in Walnut Creek, California (Photo by Pi.1415926535 / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA) Concrete arrows are constructed It was only 20 years after Wright Brothers’ maiden flight, but aircraft were already commonly used for mail delivery. These were times long before GPS and satellite navigation. Airco DH.4 was a typical airmail machine, and its maximum speed was 143 mph (230 km/h). Airplanes were much faster than railroad, but still relatively slow back in 1920s. But introduction of airmail changed everything.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |