Contrary to a popular conception, flooding is no problem at the Norwood airport, Manager Joseph Garside said Sunday. A dike, in the Neponset River has forestalled spring floods. In the past two years only 21 flying days were lost.
The worst flood, Mr. Garside pointed out, when water flooded Neponset Street, also flooded areas at Bird and Son and cannot be considered as a normal circumstance. Flooding does not damage the field but rather tends to pack the surface harder, while the new plans for expansion would raise the field level five feet.
Plans Would Make Norwood Airport N. E. Repair Base
That the Norwood airport has become a sizable business in itself was well proved by Manager Joseph Garside’s statistics offered to the Canton and Norwood Boards of Selectmen on Sunday morning in a conference between board members and airport officials.
Wiggin Airways has a total of 65 planes; and employees numbering 100. 31 company planes are lo-cated at the local base, which employs 25 people. The 15 private planes stored at Norwood, brings the total number of planes accomodated here to 46. Twelve mechanics and eight pilots are stationed at the local base.
With Wiggins training 230 of the five year contract government sponsored students, 70 are receiving instruction in Norwood Between 75 and 80 private students are being instructed. Well over 200 people fly from the airport at least once a month, in addition to the government students.
To Be Repair Base
The amount of business done at the Norwood airport, excluding transport, exceeds that of East Boston, according to Mr. Garside, while the flying time of the local port exceeds that at East Boston, particularly in student time.
Objects in view, Mr. Garside continued, were to make this base the overhaul and repair base for New England. It is now the repair base for Wiggins Airways. The local airport, in addition to repair work, is distributor for five leading makes of planes, charters trips, trains pilots, stores planes, and finances purchase of private planes.
Plans are being made now, the Manager said, for the construction of an additional repair base at this airport. Repair shops now are equipped to build a plane from scratch, while a sizable stock room is maintained. A new product, Incas gas, has just been acquired for improved welding.
(All articles originally published in the Norwood Messenger)