Evening Star Newspaper, February 3, 1929, Page 63

NEW PLANE ENGINE LACKS CRANKSHAFT Light Power Plant, Weighing Only 359 Pounds, Tests 445 Horsepower. By the Associated Press. KANSAS CITY, February 2.—An alr- plane engine revolutionary in design and appearance, which has no crank- shaft or valves and the pistons of which operate as shuttles to revolve a spiral cam on the propeller shaft, is under development here. The engine, which weighs but 359 pounds complete, tests between 400 and 445 horsepower with the shaft turning 1,200 revolutions a minute. The idea of the engine grew out of trouble experienced with valve and crankshaft engines by George E. Frank- lin, Miles <City, Mont., the inventor, while he was a final test mechanic for the Government at Detroit during the war. He began working on the design in 1919, in which year he obtained his first patents, 16 Cylinders Air Cooled. ‘The air-cooled cylinders, 16 of them, %ie horizontally around an octagonal case, eight at each end. Two opposing cylinders are cast in a single barrel of siuminum alloy lined with steel. On the inner side of the central sec- tion of the barrel is a slot through which a shaft and bearing deliver power from the piston rod to a spiral groove around a large cylindrical cam through which runs the propeller shaft. “The opposing pistons and rod con- necting them are cast in one unit. At the center of the piston rod is attached the bearing shaft, which acts to the cam groove. As one piston fires, its «p- ing piston is on compression and fires !:mdum; after the completion of the power stroke of its mate, giving a shut- tle-like action. Engine 48 Inches Long. Behind the gylinder case is the gear case, the distributors, supercharger and carburetor. The engine is 48 inches long and 16% inches in diameter. Explaining the advantages of the en- gine, Franklin says the first has fewer ‘working parts to wear out; smooth, vi- brationless operation because of the cushioning of the power stroke at its end with the compression stroke of the opposing piston; less weight per horse- power, and compactness. Every other cylinder of the engine may be removed and replaced with plates to make an 8-cylinder engine of approximately 200 horsepower. Will Be Thoroughly Tested. Pranklin's work is being financed principally by Miles City citizens. He is assisted by John T. Sugars, ‘also of Miles City, young mechanical engineer. Franklin was induced to come to Kan- sas City to build his engine through efforts of E. E. Porterfield, jr., president of the American Eagle Aircraft Com- pany, who believes in its possibilities. Franklin says the engine probably will not be placed in a plane until next Spring after thorough tests. — o CANADA INAUGURATES NEW AIR MAIL SERVICE Route Connects Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax and St. John. New Canadian airmail service be- tween Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Hali- fax and St. John was put in operation last week, resulting in 8 ssving of 20 hours on mail deliveries’ between Mon- treal and St. John and fax. A schedule is being worked out to make connections between the mail planes and transatlantic steamers sailing from from St. John and Halifax. Eastbound transcontinental mail is transferred at Ottawa from trains to mail planes, leaving at 6 a.m. daily. Toronto mail arriving in Montreal by plane is combined there with the Ot- tawa mail, leaying Montreal at 7:30 am. and arriving at St. John shortly after noon and at Halifax in time for &fternoon delivery. ACOSTA NOW A BUILDER. Hoted American Flyer Heads Air- plane Manufacturing Plant. Bert Acosta, one of America's fore- most, fiyers, who was pilot of the Byrd plane on its transatlantic flight, has gone into the airplane manufacturing fleld and is president of the Acosta Air- weraft Corporation, which will manufac- ture amphibian planes designed by Ac‘i‘.;:" has e company acquired a large automobile plant at Trenton, N. J., l:d is converting the plant for the manu- facture of the planes, which will be of standardized design for commercial use. House Bill Provides Air Terminal. Establishment of a large Eastern air Serminal on Governors Island, N. Y., is provided in a bill introduced in the House this week by Representative Fiorello H. LaGuardia of New York. ‘The field would not be equipped as an airport, but would serve merely for the Bermudans Cold Toward Suggestion Of U. S. Air Line HAMILTON, Bermuda ().— The recently published announce- ment that & United States con- cern planned to build & seadrome midway between New York and Bermuda failed to cause much excitement here. Bermuda officials see two rea- sons operating against such a project. In the first place, they say, airplanes cannot fly between Bermuda and the United States without the consent of the Im- perial Airways of London. Moreover, weather conditions are held to be too uncertain for the establishment of a regular fiying route. AUTOENTRY INAIR FIELD 1S HELD BOON Quantity Motor Production Expected to Cut Cost of Plane Types. BY DON BROWN. 1920, by the North American Newspaper Alliance.) The recent entry of several of the largest manufacturing organizations of the United States into the production of aviation motors on a quantity basis makes it safe to predict that the costs of the smaller types of airplanes soon may be within the reach of the aver- age automobile owner’s pocketbook. ‘Aviation motors generally represent 60 per cent of the cost of an airplane. If they can be brought down to a rea- sonable basis, the total cost of the air- plane itself can, of course, be reduced more sharply than it could by any other means. Typical of the above trend is the entry of the Lycoming Manufacturing Co. into the airplane motor fleld with 2 nine-cylinder, air-cooled radial type. General Motors also has started the production of a moderately-priced en- gine. Lycoming Develops 185 HP. The Lycoming engine, which was de- signed under the direction of Val Chonstedt, is rated at 185 horsepower at 1,900 revolutions per minute and ‘weighs 470 pounds. Reliability has been the first con- sideration in des it, Mr. Cronstedt says. “Doc” famous aviation engine mechanic, who has figured in several of the outstanding overseas flights, is associated in the production and distribution of the engine. Production models of the Lycoming engine and the General Motors aviation engine attracted much attention dur- i‘x(:x ;m recent automobile show in New ‘or] Radical Type Motor Demonstrated. A radical type of airplane motor, which its inventor claims will reduce by one-half the motor weight necessary to produce & given horsepower, is being demonstrated privately in Boston. ., The inventor is Harry A. Palmer of (Copyright, chanic of 25 years’ experience. The demonstration model wel 91 pounds and produces 56 horsepower at 930 rev- olutions, he states. The fundamental difference in the Palmer engine over previous designs is the use of the cam as a means of trans- mitting power from the cylinder to the crankshaft. In early motor construction, the cam was a device for controlling the action of motor parts, such as valves, and synchronizing their movements with those of other parts. So far as it is known, no one has ever before made a crankshaft go round by power pressure against a giant cam. By Palmer’s construction, half the moving parts of an ordinary motor are eliminated, including valves, tappets and a lot of parts which cause trouble. It is air cooled and has no lubrication system whatever, going back to the old two-cycle system of ofl and gas. NIGHT AIR LINE PLANNED. London-to-Paris Service to Be Es- tablished This Year. Night airplane service between Paris and London will be established this year, according to information received by the Department of Commerce. This will be the first time regular air trans- rtation for passengers has been at- 'mpted between two cities by night, al- though several experimental flights have been made. l’l:rrtw:i 1;‘111 use the """"fi lynt;no:u of airport lig] , Croydon and Le Bour- get nirpom'{nfhe two terminal flelds, being well equipped with flood lights, obstruction lights and signal lights. New International Air Line. A new air line between Canada and the United States, to operate from Winnipeg to Omaha, Nebr., with the airport of entry at Fargo, N. Dak, is to be inaugurated in the near future by International Airways of Seattle, Wash., according to a report received here by the Department of Commerce. A shut- tle line will connect Fargo with St. Paul Joading and discharging of passengers, | and Minneapolis and the existing mail and cargo. CYLINDER BARREL CAM GROOQVE United States air mail network. EXHAUST —— CHAMBER Y CAM GROOVE THE SUNDAY AIRPORTS T0 SPEND 94,000,000 IN 129 Budget for This Year Esti- mated After Survey of 1,116 Cities in U. S. By the Associated Press. NEW YORK, February 2—The Na- tion’s budget for airport developments in 1929 is set at $94,000,000 by Walter H. Sandt, jr., of New York, after a sur- vey of plans completed by 1,116 cities for improvements of some kind during the year. By far the greatest amount of the money, Sandt says, is to be expendet by the 643 existing municipal and State airports, which have budgeted more than $80,000,000 for their 1929 needs. The survey was made by Sandt for Air Transportation, a weekly trade publi- cation. Private Ports to Spend $14,000,000. Although the number of private air- ports is nearly as large as municipal airports, their total expenditures will not be much greater than $14,000,000. ‘The expenditures will provide for new hangars, machine shops and service building, grading and construction of runways and landing areas, passenger terminals, night lighting equipment, traffic control towers, mooring masts and in many cases for additional land to effect an extension of present factilities. ‘The estimated total value of the 1.116 airports in the United States, according to Sandt’s survey, is $101,400,000. At the end of the year it is estimated that the value of the Nation's airports will be in excess of $200,000,000. The amount allows for increase in land values as well as $94,000,000 budgeted for improvements. Michigan Leads with $5,271,000. In the tabulation of returns from the first 299 airports studled by Sandt in his survey Michigan leads all States in the amount of money to be spent with a budget of $5,271,000. Massachusetts is second with $4,040,000, and California a close third with $3,815,550 budgeted. Minnesota is fourth with $1,107,000 and Tllinois Aifth with $802,000. ‘The survey, according to Sandt, in- cludes only plans already made for air- port improvements during the year. Uncompleted plans which are in an embryo state were not considered as a part of the total amount to be spent. NATIONAL AIRPORTS CONTEST ANNOUNCED Competition for Best Type of De- Dorchester, Mass., an automobile me- | 0P sign to Close November 1. Prizes Total $10,000. A national airports competition to obtain the best type of design for per manent construction and to concentrate for the first time the attention of the technical people of the country upon this important phase of aviation devel- ent, was announced this week. The competition will close November 1 and prize money totaling $10,000 has been gm by the Lehigh Portland Cement Additional awards may be made and negotiations are in with sev- eral cities contemplating the construc- tion of airports to obtain formal recog- nition of the winning designs as a basis for the new airports. The winning de- signs will be made public and are ex- pected to do much for commercial aero- nautics development. - Harvey Wiley Corbétt, architect, is chairman of the program commitiee, which will draw up specifications for the competition and will be chairman ‘of the jury of awards. Other members of the committee are: Raymond Hood, na- tionally known for his work on the Chi- cago Tribune tower; Prof. William A, Boring, dean of the School of Architec- ture, Columbia University; Francis Keally, who recently completed an arehi- tectural study of European airports; Parker Morse Hooper, editor of the Ar- chitectural Forum; C. Stanley Taylor, general manager of the competition; George B, Ford, city planner and de- signer of airports;. Porter Adams, ex- ecutive secretary and past president of the National Aeronautical Association; - Maj. John Berry, manager of the Cleve- land Municipal Airport and chairman of the airways and airports section of the Aeronautical Chamber of Commerce; Louis K. Bell, secretary of the Aeronaut- ical Chamber of Commerce, and Harry s;l;wnmchlld, editor of Airports Mag- azine. el i e HUGE ROTATING BEACON. Permit Granted for 8,000,000- Candle-Power Equipment. ‘The Department of Commerce has certified for operation an 8,000,000~ candlepower, 24-inch rotating beacon on the roof of the' Rand Building at Buffalo, N. Y. An auxiliary searchlight is mounted below the main beacon and throws a beam of light in the direction of the Buffalo Municipal Airport for the guidance of night flyers. ‘The light is owned and operated by the Marine Trust Co. and is in opera- tion from dusk to dawn nightly. COMBUSTION SPARKPLUGS SKETCH SHOWING ACTIONS OF PISTONS ON CAM IN FRANKLIN AERONAUTICAL CAM ENGINE An airplane which has no crankshaft or valves is the invention of George E. Franklin (right), Miles City, Mont., The photograph above shows the complete motor and the diagram grooved cam, built as & unit with the propeller shaft smechanic. It is to be manufactured in Kansas City. below explains how the engine transmits power to the . i STAR, WASHINGTON, D. T, FEBRUARY 3, LARGER AND FASTER PLANES CHIEF OBJECT OF BUILDERS A period of competition among American airplane manufacturers to produce larger and faster planes and, necessarily, larger and more powerful motors, appears to be well under way. The demand for speed and yet more speed in the air mail and air trans- port flelds is having an important in- fluence on airplane design and prom- ises to result in evolution of a number of new high-speed commercial airplane models. As the aerial passenger traffic in-| creases there is a demand for larger planes which will carry more passen- gers, with resulting economy of opera- tion, and which at the same time will sacrifice nothing of speed or luxury. As a result the leading big plane manu- facturers of the world are to be rep- resented this year by the production of planes of their designing in this country. Land Planes a Specialty. The new Curtiss-Caproni Corpora- | tion will produce large land planes, amphibians and flying boats, using the modified plans of Gianni Caproni of Italy, one of the world's foremost de- signers of large planes. The big Dornier flying boats which have been so strikingly successful in | Europe also may be built in this coun- try. Dr. Claude r now is on his way to this country to discuss plans for the production of flying boats of the Superwal type in the United States. Huge new 12-motored Dornier flying boats, weighing 50 tons each with full load, are being built in Germany for transoceanic service from Europe to this country by way of the Azores. | jpeed 20-passenger plane | 4 -DOOR CLOSED CAR of unique design, produced by Vincent Burnelli, leading exponent of the flying fuselage type, has begun a tour of the country. This plan, with folding land- ing gear and two 650-horsepower fusé- lage-inclosed military type motors, has a top speed of 145 miles per hour, and even faster speeds are expected with modifications now in process. Plans Big Military Aircraft. Chance Vought, famous for fast mili- tary planes, is at work on a six-pas- senger plane designed for a top speed | of 175 miles per hour. The second Keystone-Loening Patrician, a 20-pas- senger monoplane, is clipping off 150 miles an hour top speed on test flights at Bristol, Pa. Anthony H. G. Fokker, who was among the earlier European big-plane men to come to this coun- try, is building fast 32-passenger four- motored _planes. Igor Sikorsky, the famous Russian big-plane pioneer, is planning a four-motored flying boat for American manufacture. A large fleet of the new Boeing mail planes, which have almost pursuit- plane speed, is flying the airways of the country, especially those of the West. National Air Transport has re- placed a number of its old mail planes with much faster Curtiss Falcons. Present Trend Indicated. The application of the big Curtiss 650-horsepower Conqueror motor to the commercial plane field is indicative of the present trend. The Ifalian Isotta- Fraschini motor now is to be built in this country in models rangipg from 80 horsepower to a big 18-cylinder motor which has produced nearly 1,200 horsepower. ‘This big motor, accord= L STRONGEST LYCOMING MOTOR MORE HORSEPOWER THAN ANY OTHER CAR PER cuslicC THERMOSTATIC. INTERNAL WINDSHIELD 1IJUR CHASSIS HEAT EXPANDING . INCH DISPLACEMENT LUBRICATION 1929—PART 2. GERMAN AIR SERVICE INCREASES IN YEAR Despite General Improvement, However, Aeronautics Is Not Declared Paying Enterprise. Civil aeronautics In Germany main- tained a steady rate of improvement, free of sudden or disconnected devel- opments, during 1928, according to a report received here from Vice Consul P. H. Hubbard, at Berlin. From January to September, 1928, there were 88,034 passengers carried by the Lufthansa, as against 77,241 for the same period of 1927, an Increase of 14 per cent. These figures include only paid flights. The mileage flown showed an Increase of 20 per cent and the amount of baggage carried an increase of 11 per cent. Freight traffic, which in the past had been neglected, increased 74.5 per cent, to a total of approximately 1,750,000 pounds. A 10 per cent increase was recorded in the amount of newspapers and mail. “The Lufthansa,” Mr. Hubbard re- ported, “hopes that a further increase in aeronautics will enable the organi- zation to function with smaller sub- sidies from the Reich and the various states, although it realizes that it will require much time and many improve- ments before aeronautics in Germany is a paying enterprise.” ing to a report just received by the Department of Commerce, has com=- leted a 50-hour block test and 150 ours’ flying tests in Italy with unex- pectedly gratifying results. or NEW AIRPORT RUSHED. Congressional Station, Rockville Pike, Ready by Spring. ‘Work is progressing rapidly on the Congressional airport, located on the Rockville pike near Ha.li;lne. Md. A steel hangar, 80 feet by 120 feet, is to be erected soon. Conditioning of the landing area will be hurried so that the fleld can be used mmg. Additional planes are to be purc! to augment the two now in service there. NEW AIRPLANE MOTOR PASSES RIGID TESTS| Powerful Isotta-Fraschini Engine Is Undergoing Final Examina- tions at Rome, U. S. Is Told. A powerful new Isotta-Fraschini air- plane motor, which has an effective of 1,070-horsepower and is one of the largest airplane motors ever built, has passed two successful tests, one on the block and one in the air, and now is undergoing final tests, according to a report received here from D. F. Spencer, United States trade commis- sioner at Rome. ‘The motor was tested 50 hours on the block and 50 hours in the air. After the successful conclusion of both runs the Italian air minister ordered an additional 100 hours in flight. The tests were encouraging, Mr. Spencer reported, and the big motor is the only one of its power rating to complete such rigid tests. 95 FRAME UNDER BOHNALITE CONTROL BRAKES STARTER 425 -INCH WHEELBASE ANY CAR HYDRAULIC SHOCK ABSORBERS g L START CONSTRUCTION OF ALBANY AIRPORT Colonial Airways to Have Honor of Establishing Second Pas- senger Terminal. ‘To the Colonial Airways System, ap- parently, will fall the honor of estab- lishing the second international air pas- senger terminal and “airport of entry” in the United States. Construction al- ready has begun on a combined hangar and passenger terminal on the Alpany Municipal Airport, which is to cost $70,000 and will be second only to the acilities of Pan-American Airways, Inc., already in operation at Miami, Fla. The hangar itself will be 120 feet square, with space for two tri-motored passengers transports, which are to be pu’ in service next Spring, as well as the regular Pitcairn and Fairchild mail planes which ply between this city and Montreal. Beside it will be a 20-by-120-foot enger wing, with waiting rooms, facilities for customs, immigration and public health inspectors and offices for employes of the company. OFFICIAL . AUTO-LITE SERVICE GENUINE PARTS CREEL BROS. 1811 14th St. NW. Potomac 473 STRAIGHT EIGHT STEEL STRUT PISTONS DUAL CARBURETION DUAL MANIFOLD 4' - WHEEL HYDRAULIC BREWSTER NON-GLARE BUTTON ON DASH Why pay more for a Six? This Straight Eight is as economical -and will bring a higher re-sale value. Come, drive and compare. 6-80 Sedan $1095; 8-90 Victoria $1495; Prices £. 0. b. Auburn o1 Conneraville, Ind. \ 2526 Que St. N 6-80 Sport Sedan 3995 8-90 7-Passenger 6-80 Cabriolet $1095; 6-80 ll;’il 120 Sedan $1895; Victoria $1095: 120 Sport $179% 1. Airmail postage has been reduced to S cents for the first ounce and 10 cent for each additional ounce. Use Airmail daily for quicker communication. Sedan "”"w 8-90 M:::-’l".“’ll 890 Speedster $1495; 120 Phacton Sedan $2095; "2” AUBURN AUTOMOBILE COMPANY, AUBURN, INDIANA Sheridan Garage W Joseph Raflo Leesburg, Va. 1712 Conn. Ave. Pot. 44 Roanoke Model Garage Roanoke, Va, 91895; $169%; 25 Qs Equipment other than siandard astra. WARRINGTON MOTOR CAR CO., Inc. Penn Motor Co. Clarendon, Va. Pine & Connor Winchester, Va.