The terminal

Passenger airports have in addition a building called a terminal, where passengers buy tickets, check their baggage, and get on and off the planes. Restaurants and stores are often found there, just as they are in railroad stations. There is usually a post office for the government. There are also places to handle air cargo or freight. At military fields there are places for the officers and men to live and eat, plus recreational equipment. SEA AIRPORTS Water airports, or "sea ports," are the same as land airports except that the runways are the water, which is marked out by buoys.

There are also concrete ramps on which a plane may taxi out of the water if it is an amphibian (a plane that has wheels as well as a hull or float), or if the plane is made so that wheels can be attached to it while it is still in the water, so that it may be towed out. Most seaplanes are made this way. In addition, a small boat patrols the water runways, taking away logs and other debris that would punch holes in a hull or pontoon and make the seaplane sink. Some airport rules Civilian planes are forbidden to land at military airports unless they are in some kind of trouble, lost, almost out of gas, or having engine trouble, and can't make it to a civilian field, or if they have special permission beforehand from the commanding officer of the field. Military planes, however, can land at any airport that is large enough, and at any military airport.

A private plane is charged a fee for landing at an airport, much as a private automobile is charged at a garage. The fee may range from a few dollars to $50 or more, depending on the size of the airport and the size of the plane. Information a pilot may need about airports, such as field elevation, radio frequencies, location, and so 011, can be found in charts put out by the government. Many large airports, such as La Guardia Airport in New York City, conduct tours on which many of the things described here can be seen.