Evening Star Newspaper, November 4, 1928, Page 77

AVIA MERICAN aviation has en- tered a period of great aerial transport combines A and at least four great organizations are expected to be- gin airplane passenger and ex- press service on a large scale in | this country next Spring. Of equal interest to Washing- tonians is the announcement of the organization of International Alrways, Inc., with an authorized carfl.alizatlon of $1,000,000, to de- velop Hoover Ficld as a small but perfectly designed and equipped airport, and to establish airplanc passenger services to New York and Norfolk, Va. The past few days have wit- nessed startling developments in the field of air line financing. The great American railway and financial interests have proved they are awake to the challenge of modern aviation, and at least three of the budding air transport glants will have the direct back- ing of railroads and banking sys- tems of great wealth. Big Demand for Planes. The ambitious air transport plans for next Spring are forcing the leading manufacturers of tri- motored passenger and transport planes in this country to institute methods of quantity production to keep pace with the demands for new flying equipment. Another two months is expected to find the airplane factory of the Ford Motor Co. on a plane-a-day production basis, with an im- proved 14 - passenger duralumin monoplane powered with three 400-horsepower Pratt & Whit- ney Wasp motors as the standard model. The Fokker and Boeing factories, other leading producers of tri-motored transports, are fac- ing the necessity of filling orders beyond the immediate capacities of their plants and are meeting the problem, as is Ford, by mass- production methods and plant en- | servicing installation. largements. The latest comer in the large |aircraft operators, and Pitcairn scale air transport field is to be | Aviation, contractor for the New known as the New York, Chicago | York-Atlanta air mail route, will & Pacific Airways Co., with head- quarters in Chicago. This group, | tions from Bolling Field, which it now in process of formation, is in- | now is using under temporary au- tended primarily to establish air |thority from the War Department, passenger service between New |[to Hoover Field. York and Chicago. Extension of |transfer be made, Hoover Field the service to many other cities | will become the local airport for is expected to follow after the first | the proposed Pitcairn model pas- line becomes firmly established. |senger airline from New York.to The company is to have an au- | Miami. thorized capital of $5.000,000 and will utilize the new Ford Wasp- motored planes on its lines. Lindbergh in ‘One Line. One of the greatest of the new groups is the Transcontinental Air ‘Transport combine, of which Col. Charles A. Lindbergh is a leading light This combine is said to include the following interests: National Aviation Corporation, Blair & Co., Central Union Trust Co. of New York, Knight, Dysart & Gamble of St. Louis, C. M. Keys BY JOSEPH S. EDGERTON. TION ment of a de luxe train and air passenger service from New York to Miami and beyond to five of the island republics was made re- cently; Hayden, Stone & Co. and Richard Stone & Co. The third group, now in process of evolution, is expected to include the Pacific Air Transport Co., op- erating passenger and mail service from Los Angeles to Seattle; Boe- ing Air Transport Co., operating mail and passenger service from San Francisco to Chicago; Boeing Airplane Co. of Seattle, Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Corporation of Hartford, Chance Vought of Long Island City and perhaps Niles- Bement-Pond Co. and the Na- tional City Bank of New York. Western Firm Active. Still another great organization is being formed about the West- ern Alr Express, which is operat- ing with great success between Los Angeles and Salt Lake City. Los Angeles bankers, who are said to be behind this movement, are understood to be considering the purchase of the Fokker airplane plants, after having recapitalized the air express organization for $5,000,000. The tentative line-up of this outfit includes the Univer- sal Air Lines of Chicago, which recently purchased the Robertson Airplane Corporation, air mail contract company. One of the principal obstacles to Washington’s inclusion on the proposed major air lines, the lack of adequate airport facilities, may be overcome if plans of the new International Airways Co. are realized. The proposed develop- ment of the fleld includes con- struction of hangars, concrete landing strips, seaplane beaching facilities, night flying lights and field markers, enlarged office and waiting-room accommodations, a restaurant and complete aircraft The field will be open to civil be invited to transfer its opera- Should _the Seaplane Service Planned. International Airways is plan- THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, NOVEMBER 4, 1928—PART . PREVALENCE OF FATAL AIR ACCIDENTS {Fiyer Draws Distinction Be- tween Mishaps and Crashes of Planes. Inexperience and Reckless- ness of Flyers Cited as Causes of Death. BY COL. CHARLES A. LINDBERGH. A while ago pilots at an air mail field watched a small plane being put through all sorts of antics close to the ground. It was a fairly good plane with & good motor, but it was being abused. | The amateur pilot . climbed sharply, looped near the ground, banked steeply only 100 feet up and did other things which made veteran pilots shudder. Then the motor faltered, the plane slipped, and down it came to crash and killed both Fllot and passenger. That accident could have been foretold; every Enod pilot on the field knew it would appen. They could not do anything about it, for there is no way of pre- venting a man from committing suicide if he will not listen to the advice of men who know more than he does. And flying knowledge comes only with long exgerlence, here are too many airplane crashes nowadays, and they increase with the increasing use of airplanes. Most of them are avoidable and are due to in- experience or carelessness on the part of the pilot. There are recorded in the newspapers almost as many crashes as automobile accidents. - An automobile smash-up in a part of the country re- mote from the field of the newspaper does not attract attention, but any air- plane crash is apparently news, al- though automobile fatalities are far more numerous. This is probably due to the fact that there is a tremendous interest coupled with a natural fear of airplanes. Every new crash, no matter what the cause, retards the progress of flying. Mishaps Not Crashes. I am making a distinction here be- tween real crashes and mere accidents deal to differentiate between the two. They can educate the public to realize that a crash is not always the fault of the plane. I have found in reading ac- counts of airplane accidents that there are many popular misconceptions of the cause of fatalities. A plane going into a “nose-dive” is put down as a com- mon cause of trouble, whereas few ning the operation of a seaplane passenger service from this city to Norfolk, which now is accessible only by an overnight boat trip or a roundabout railway trip by way of Richmond. The seaplanes will cover the distance in two hours. The new concern also has an- nounced that it will establish a regular passenger service to New York. This city also is to be given di- & Co., Hemphill, Noyes & Co. |rect connection, through the new- Dillon, Read & Co., National Air |ly announced railroad - airplane Transport, now operating air mail | combine of the Pan-American lines from New York to Chicago | Airways system, with the proposed to Dallas, Tex.; the Pennsylvania Railroad, Northwestern Airways, Pynchon & Co., Curtiss Airplane & Motor Co. and Curtiss Flying Service. 'This group is said to have a financial backing of more than $10,000,000. A second of the air transport giants includes such powerful companies as the Wright Aero- nautical Corporation of Paterson, N. J.; the Keystone Co. of Bristol, Pa.; the Loening Aeronautical Corporation of New York, the Aviation Corporation of the Amer- icas, which includes Pan-Ameri- can Airways, whose announce- Latin American seaplane lines. ‘While this is the only local tie-up with the lines of the major trans- port lines now coming into exist- ence, it is expected that direct connecting links will be estah- lished when adequate airport fa- cilities are made available here. The developments of ‘the past few days seem to indicate the es- tablishment of commercial avia- tion in this country on a solid footing as one of the major trans- portation methods, to be consid- ered in the same light as those established carriers, the railroad and the automobile. FLYING GUIDEPOSTS WILL BE GIVEN TEST Tlluminated Markings on Roof of Department of Commerce Build- ing to Be Tried Out. Members of the national airway marking committee, which is. seeking the establishment of a national system of guide posts for the aviator, will fly over Washington tomorrow night to observe new types of illuminated roof markings on the roof of the Depart~ ment of Commerce Building. The committee members are to be | taken up soon after dark in an_ Army Fokker transport plane from Bolling Field. After observing the markers from various altitudes the committee will recommend any changes which may occur to its members to improve the experimental installations, and another flight will be made later in the week. The committee has been authorized to select a type of marker for day and night use which will be designated as the uniform standard for the Nation. The Department of Commerce roof markers will be illuminated by flood lights and by electric light bulb out- lines. Both methods will be observed independently under different degrees of lighting intensity. The markings in use are chrome yellow on a black background, which has proved the best combination for visibility under all conditions of weather. It has been found that a large circle with an arrow pointing to the nearest landing field can be seen by daylight from a height of 6,000 feet. The committee is headed by. Col. Harry H. Blee, chief of the airport section of the Bureau of Aeronautics, Department of Commerce, and includes | Capt. H. M. McClelland, Army _Air | Corps; Lieut. A. P. Flagg, Navy Bureau | of Aeronautics: Woody Hockaday of the National Airway Marking Associa- tion; Charles I. Stanton, Bureau ‘of Lighthouses, Department of Commerce, and John Groves, airport section, De- partment of Conumerce. DINGER BECOMES CAPTAIN Bolling Field Lieutenant Promoted in Air Corps. First Lieut. Harry A. Dinger, Army Air Service, stationed at Bolling Field, has just received his commission as a captain in the Air Corps. Capt. Dinger is regarded as one of the most skiliful transport plane pilots in the Air Corps. 4e recently returned from a trip around the United States as pilot of the big Fokker transport plane in which Rep- resentative James of Michigan visited . the Army flying fields of the Nation on behalf of the House committee on mili- | tary affairs. | Capt. Dinger was born in Pennsyl- vania June 21, 1886, and was commis- sioned a first lieutenant in the aviation section of the Signal Corps November 27, 1917. He was transferred to the alr service July 1, 1920, 62 U. S. AIRPLANES ENTERED FOR SHOW Craft Manufactured in 14 States to Be Displayed in Inter- national Exhibition. BY DON BROWN. Sixty-two airplanes manufactured in 14 _States of the Union already have been entered for the international air- craft show, to be held in Chicago, | December 1 to 9, L. K. Bell, secretary of the Aeronautical Chamber of Com- merce of America, said today. “Many’ more exhibits may be ar- ranged before the entries close,” Mr. Bell continued, “but even now there are enough to make it the largest show of aircraft ever held in this country. “Thirty-four airplane manufacturers are to exhibit the 62 planes, 11 avia- tion engine manufacturers have entered 27 engines and 65 aviation accessory and material concerns have signed up for 87 booths in which to show their products. “Planes ranging from light, single- seater, low-powered sport models to the huge tri-motored passenger and freight transport ships of over 1,000 horsepower will be shown. “It was first planned to hold the entire show in the Cotiseum in Chi- cago,” went on Mr. Bell. “But it has already spread beyond that. We, ‘therefore, have arranged for the use of the First Regiment Armory, across the alley from the Coliseum. Awning protections will be stretched so as to connect the two buildings. “States where airplanes or engines are manufactured and which will be represented in the show are California, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Washington, Ohio, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Kan- sas, New York, Michigan, Maryland, New Jersey and Illinois. Others may be_added to the list soon.” Immediately after the Chicago ex- hibition many aviation experts and en- thusiasts are expected to fly from Chi- cago to Washington, where the Inter- national Civil Aeronautics Conference will be held, from December 12 to 14. Delegates from 54 foreign countries have been invited. The conference will celebrate the twenty-fifth anniver- sary of the first flight of a powered plane. Kitty Hawk, where the Wrights achieved this flight, will be visited by the delegates. (Copyright, 1928.) Enroll for Photography. ihree classes of Air Corps enlisted menh, comprising 31 students, are un- dergoing instruction in the photo- graphic department of the Army Air Corps technical school at Chanute Field, TIl. A class of 17 enlisted men is taking the course in the communi- cations department and in the depart- ment of mechanics the courses are fill- ed to capacity and enrollments have st?ppfl"d until additional planes are re- ceived. « in flying. Newspapers can do a great | LAID TO CARELESSNESS BY COL. LINDBERGH Army airplane executing an Immelman turn. —U. S. Air Service Photo. planes nose-dive; many spin in or sllp‘ to the ground. If newspapers would make it plain to their readers that many little mishaps are not ‘“crashes”—and I know that more and more newspapers are realizing the Gifference—they would help flying a great deal. Many of these accidents are unavoidable and not particularly dan- gerous. When a gust of wind gets on the tail of a plane, resulting in a ground loop, or when the wheels strike a hidden hole and the plane noses over, or when an emergency landing in a rough field results in turning m/er—‘ these are not crashes. - Seldom is the pilot or his passenger injured. As planes ' improve and landing fields become more numerous these accidents will diminish. Real crashes are generally complete washouts, both for the machine and those in it, and they are caused as a rule by the fault of the pilot. Only a small percentage of all accidents can be attributed to the engine or the plane. ‘When a pilot stunts close tq the ground or puts a commercial plane through stunts which it is not supposed to stand, only one result, and that a tragedy, can be anticipated. If the plane stands the strain it is luck, for it is generally sémething which the manufacturer did not intend to build into his machine. Occasionally we read of the wings of in style . . tive style . . to a justly famous name. For Oak- land will announce it soon ... A New All-American. Air Mail Planes Carry Orchids and Parts of Machines American air mail planes, in addition to carrying 210 tons of mail, or 1,250,000 -letters, each month, are carrying 2,500 express shipments. ranging from orchids to 200-pound machine parts. There are now 102 scheduled stops on the air mail routes and 44 cities used air express service last month. Banks, motion picture pro- ducers, insurance companies and advertising agencies are the largest air express users, but the month’s shipments included products ranging from foods to parts for electrical generators, currency, stocks, bonds, medi- cines and other commodities. an airplane coming off. It is unheard | of for this to occur in ordinary flying | with a plane of reputable manufacture; if 1t happened it would ruin the reputa- tion of the builder of the plane. Only recently, however, two or three planes have apparently disintegrated in the air when rolled or put to some other un- usual strain which they were not sup- | posed to withstand. A pilot who takes‘ a light commercial plane up and dives it at full speed straight down with motor open should expect structural failure. There are only a few commer- | cial machines in the country which | would withstand such a strain, and none should be used for this purpose. Something must be done to check | inexperienced stunt flying if aviation Is not to be retarded. More and more | planes are being used, more pilots are | being turned out of flying schools every day. It is natural that in learning to fly after they have been turned loose by the instructors some of these pilotsi should have accidents, but they can be minimized, just as automobile acci- | dents may be made less frequent, Dy‘ careful driving. If a pilot is uughh the limitations of his plane, and if he | realizes his own limitations, there is | no reason why he should not in time become an experienced flyer and be able to get around the country in safety. The recent Ford tour and the trans- | continental races were the best proofs in recent years of the safety of modern | flying. There has never been a serious accident in the Ford tours. Planes have had forced landings because of engine trouble; landing gears or wheels have broken and tipped them over on their nose; but repairs have been made and the planes have gone on. In the Ford tours the routes have often been | sver mountains and through bad weath- er, but the pilots have come through safely. The planes have been of all types, with all kinds of motors. The success of these tours has been a strik- ing demonstration of what can be done in safety with modern planes in Very soon now . . . in just a few days « « « Oakland will make its big an- nouncement . . . presenting a car the like of which you’ve never seen. A car created by a group of engineers famous for their contributions to automotive design. A car pro- duced in the world’s most modern automobile plant . . . one you’ll be glad you waited to see. So original « 80 brilliantly executed you’ll hardly believe your eyes. Be prepared to see a car creating an entirely new conception of automo- '« a brilliant successor straight flying. Acrobatic flying should be left to experts or the military services. ‘The transcontinental races were an even more remarkable demonstration of what can be done by pilots who are careful and know their work. The lanes were generally flown with heavy loads and close to the limit of their speed, which is hard on motors. There was not a sln?]e fatality, although some of them had forced landings on ground where it would be difficult to bring a plane down. There is no doubt that planes have been improved to a point of complete structural safety, and also that with reasonable care on the part of the pilot they are as safe as any other means of transportation. Nothing so annoys the pilot who has devoted his life to aviation and who wishes to build up in the public mind confidence in aireraft as foolish flying. 1t is criminal for careless and ignorant pilots to take up passengers. The av- erage person knows nothing of airplanes or pilots and will often intrust his iife to a pilot who has no right to fly any one but himself. When a passenger is killed in such circumstances, it is very seldom that any one but other pilots realize that it was inexperience or recklessness which caused the crash. American Accessories Co., Inc. Georgia Avenue & Upshur Street Servie nes 0 34 and 5457 d Service Columbia. 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