For those who have long dreamed of a large well-drained municipal airport with hard-surfaced runway and solid gravel taxi ways, actual contracts for this very work at Warsaw will be let Dec. 16.

City Engineer Donald Lessig received the following telegram during the weekend: "D. H. Lessig, Engineer for Board of Aviation Commissioners, Warsaw, Ind. --Re: Civil aeronautics project number 9-12-015-701. You are authorized to advertise for construction bids in accordance with regulations. Revisions to plan and advertisement to be in accordance with your conversation with Mr. Reilly this date. Letter follows. Signed, A. W. Compton, district airport engineer.

Now all that gobbledygook simply means that the powers that be in the federal government have finally approved the plans for improvement of Warsaw Municipal airport and immediately that contracts are let, will release the federal funds to match the local funds to do the work.

Altogether, there is $38,040 to be spent, only half of which was supplied by the city. Interested contractors have long been studying the plans for the finished airport and are ready to submit bids as soon as it is legal to do so. The legal notice to bidders appears in today's edition of the Times and Union.

On December 16 all bids will be opened and a contract will be awarded the low bidder on the work that is specified. Dirt should start moving this winter. Some of the boys will be disappointed to learn that the federal authorities will not O.K. a new administration building until the housing shortage lets up--don't want critical material used that way. However, it is believed that the work now laid out will not require all the funds available, so that a sizable chunk of money may be left to start an administration building whenever Uncle Sam says "Go."

The airport is to be re-graded and adequate drainage installed to eliminate mud holes and soft spots, washing of runways. Taxi strips are to be graveled and smoothed.

The long diagonal runway is to be black-topped or hard-surfaced so that Warsaw Municipal may operate the year around. The spring thaw has always put most small airports out of business for a few weeks, depending upon conditions.

In any event, a fine airport for Warsaw is no longer just a thing in prospect, but will soon be an accomplished fact. by next spring it will be an airport second to none for a city of our size.

Also to the airport board is due a great deal of credit. For while it seemed a long time in coming, the truth is that Warsaw Municipal is only the second federal project approved in the entire state. So the boys have worked well and fast.

The War is Over, But--
The Gulf Refining company has announced cancellation of its annual air tour to Florida due to gasoline shortage. The war is over but the malady lingers on!

Harold "Dutch" Ford, Warsaw's flying tire dealer has purchased Gene Beigh's 1947 four-passenger Stinson. The ship is clean, has only 224 hours on it. Ford uses a plane to commute between his stores in Warsaw and Laporte.

Frank Saemann, another busy man who makes flying pay for him, owns two Stinsons, left in one of them for New York Saturday.

Fred Strauss, Jr., flew Joe Koors (insurance Joe) to Decatur Sunday to get Mrs. Koors and little Miss Koors.

J. VanCuren, Etna Green instructor and Warsaw clothier, bud Case, flew to Kokomo Sunday.

And an entire flock of fledglings received their solo wings during the break in winter weather. Among them was John Doyle, Warsaw, Dick (insurance) Bennett, Warsaw, Barney Nellans, Mentone, and Perry Smith, Winona.

Milford's Herb Felkner passed his flight exam for private pilot's license, can now take his friends with him on aerial jaunts. You know there are getting to be just lots of pilots, young and old. Come on in. The air is fine!

Do you want to hear the story of an airplane that was built in Warsaw many, many years ago? We are chasing down the data now. Maybe have it next column. Some of the air-minded builders are still around. This air plane was built when even automobiles were a novelty.

Warsaw Daily Times, Mon. Dec. 1, 1947