Jetport Study Set; Calverton Use Opposed

New York—The chairman of the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation Authority said yesterday that his group will begin a study of jetport sites in the metropolitan area, but at the same time, operators of Suffolk's Calverton field, one of the prospects, opposed its conversion.

Dr. William Ronan, chairman of the authority, said he hopes to acquire a recommended site. The study was requested earlier this week by Gov. Rockefeller who said he feels that a Suffolk location, linked to New York City by high-speed rail transportation, might provide a workable site.

In announcing the study, Ronan said that the 7,500-acre field in Calverton, owned by the Navy and leased to Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corp., offers many advantages. With 100-MPH trains now being planned for the Long Island Rail Road, Ronan said, the travel time from Calverton to New York City could be cut to less than an hour. He also noted that the site has an existing airfield, that it is on suitably flat terrain and that the 70-mile distance from Manhattan and its nearby airports would eliminate congestion with existing international air traffic.

But the Grumman firm was cool to the idea. "The improvement of only one form of ground transportation and the concentration on an existing airport that was designed for an entirely different purpose would, in our opinion, be entirely inadequate to meet future requirements," the management said in an official statement.

Spokesmen at the firm would not elaborate. But it was reported elsewhere that Grumman contends that reliance only on an improved rail transportation would not provide adequate service because the bulk of transportation would continue to be by road. However, Ronan said last night that rail service could be stepped up to handle additional traffic if necessary. He noted that the authority is already planning ultimate conversion of the LIRR into a high-speed system and said it could be so operated with increased scheduling, without a loss. The authority, a state agency, purchased the railroad last year from the Pennsylvania Railroad.