Evening Star Newspaper, June 9, 1929, Page 62

THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, JUNE 9, 1929—_PART- 2 AVIA BY JOSEPH HE next addition to the Army's line of military air- planes will be an exceed- ingly fast twin-motored re- connaissance plane capable of flying at tremendous altitudes and over great distances. The new type, which will supplement the present observation squadrons, is regarded as essential because of developments since the World War. The shortcomings of the present observation plane for long range photographic reconnaissance work and adequate radio communica- tion service behind the fighting zones were made keenly apparent during the recent Army Air Corps maneuvers in Ohio. The twin-motored plane is well along in the development stage. The Army Air Corps has made some very definite recommenda- tions as to the type of plane re- quired. On tie basis of these pre- liminary specifications designs and models have been submitted by the Curtiss, Fokker, Douglas, Martin, Keystone and Consoli- dated companies. TION S. EDGERTON. also is understood to be in proc- ess of development. The theory upon which the re- connaissance plane is based is not new, though there has been no iconcentrated effort made since the World War to develop a spe- cialized plane of this type. Dur- |ing the great European conflagra- tion of a decade ago allied fight- ing pilots experienced moments of bitter chagrin because of their in- ! ability to climb up to where Ger- 'man Rumplers went insolently and cheerfully about their busi- ness of spying out military doings below. | The Rumplers sacrificed many things to gain altitude. They |carried no guns and they were | very lightly built. But they could | climb when climbing meant some- thing more than the ability to get cool on a hot day. The Rumpler pilots, as their flimsy ships |droned contentedly through the cold, thin upper air, were prone to fllr a derisive hand over side as allied pilots raged below, stand- ing their pursuit planes “on the prop” in an effort to climb up PLAN CLOSE STUDY OF AVIATION NEEDS | Mrs. Willebrandt as Corpora- | tion Counsel to Probe Al Legislative Enactments. | Mrs. Mabel Walker Willebrandt | whose resignation as Assistant Attor | new General has been announced b; | President Hoover, will begin a thor ough study of national and State la affecting aeronautics when she assum her new duties as counsel for the Avia- | tion Corporation, about June 15, it has ! been announced by Graham B. Gros- venor, president of the corporation. | ““Although initiated by the Aviation | Corporation in conformity with its pur- | pose to promote every phase of Ameri- | can acronautics advance,” said Gros- | venor, “the entire indus s well as | interested governmental agencies, will | be asked to co-operate in Mrs. Wille- | brandt's survey. Sees Need of Unification. | “our laws governing and impinging | upon aviation need unification. State | statutes pertaining both to the opera- | tion of aircraft and to aviation as an { industry lack uniformity. A program |and policy for their standardization is | essential. 'THREE NEW PLANE * RECORDS CERTIFIED {International Air Federation Approves Marks Set With Payloads. Three new world records for plunrsg carrying various types of payloads have been certified by the Federation Aeronautique Internationale, according | | to word received here this week by the | National Aeronautic Association. Two of the records were won by Germany. supplanting former United States and | | French records, and the third was a| new French record. | The new world record for speed | made by seaplanes over a 100-kilometer | course carrying a payload of 500 | | kilograms, or 1,102.31 pounds, has been | made by Rolf Starke, German npilot. | Starke flew over the course at a speed | of 161511 miles per hour at Warene- munde, Germany, May 7, in a Hienkel | HD-38 seaplane powered with a BMW 600-horsepower engine. He broke the record of 147.263 miles per hour made with the same load over the same dis- tance by Lieut. Stephen Callaway of the Anacostia Naval Alr Station. at Hampton Roads April 23, 1927. A\ PARADE of RECORDS proving FRANKLINS march of progress 4 ALL THESE AMAZING ROAD RECORDS ARE NOW HELD BY FRANKLIN Los Angeles to New York and return—6692 miles in 6% Germany also has won the world record for the greatest pavload carried in a landplane to an altitude of 2,000 meters, or 6.671.7 feet. Pilot Steindorf, While the details of these de-lclose enough to let go a burst of | ““Mrs. Willebrandt is ideally qualified signs are closely guarded mumryimachine gun fire, for this undertaking which she will | The French also had one of | pursue along with her general duties as secrets, it is no secret that the |p g B San Prancisce 1o Les Angeles—412 milles in 7 bours performance indicated by manufacturers for the new ships will open entirely new fields of operation in the air. The pro- posed reconnaissance planes, though they will be used for ob- servation work, are not to be con- fused with the observation ships now in use. They will not sup- plant the observation type. It is the hope of Air Corps tac- tical experts to obtain a type of plane which can operate at ex- treme altitudes, entirely above the range of the fighting ships. The reconnaissance planes will be stripped to the bare essentials in order to attain altitude. De- fensive equipment will be almost negligible. No offensive uip- ment of any description will be carried. Operate at Great Height. 1t will be the mission of the re- connaissance ship to obtain in- formation of large scale enemy operations far behind the battle lines. Detailed observation will not be attempted and the mission will be executed from such tre- mendous altitudes that the planes will be invisible and inaudible from the ground. The planes will operate “on their own.” They will not be ac- companied by protective pursuit plane formations, since their field of operations will be so far behind the enemy lines as to prohibit such convoys. The reconnaissance pilot must rely upon the ability of his plane to outclimb the enemy to save his skin. ‘The crew of the plane, in addi- tion to the pilot, will include a skilled observer and photographer and possibly a radio man. Much of the value of the plane will rest in its ability to maintain con- tinuous radio communication with its Army headquarters. Visual ob- servation will be supplemented by photography. Retain Present Plane Types. For detailed observation work over the enemy lines planes of much thgrgtesent type will be re- quired. ese ships will operate at lower altitudes, since they must deal with detailed operations on the ground below. For protection they will rely upon speed and their own defensive equipment of four machine guns. ‘While the reconnaissance planes will deal with such gen- eral activities as railroad con- centration and industrial plants, the observation planes must cope with such detailed operations as individual truck and tank move- ments, troop concentrations, gun emplacements and field concen- tration points in the immediate zone of battle operations. While the present type of ob- servation plane has become fairly well standardized, such improve- ments as increased speed, greater carrying capacity, which means better cameras and radio equip- ment, fensive equipment are regarded as necessary. For this reason the Army is continuously seeking more specialized types of ob- servation ships. The latest experimental obser- | vation plane, an all-metal radial- | motored Thomas Morse job, was | attached to a Douglas observa- tion squadron at Norton Field, Columbus, during the Ohio ma- neuvers. Though the ban of mili- tary secrecy cloaks the perform- ance of new aircraft, it was learned that the new ship has a cruising speed of better than 125 miles per hour and can outfly, outclimb and outmaneuver other ships of its temporary squadron. A new Curtiss observation plane and more powerful de- | |eould do an extensive job of climbing. Though it was quite | frail and had a tendency to go to | pieces if the pilot stuck the nose | down too far, it was able to out- climb the German pursuit planes —part of the time. The immunity | of the Rumpler also began to fade as the war drew to a close and better pursuit ships came along. Observers Show Skill. The work of the observation squadrons during the Ohio ma- neuvers last month was regarded by military observers as excellent. Observation pilots in both Blue and Red air forces revealed them- selves to be industrious and re- sourceful gentlemen, skilled in the art_of theoretical war. The Ohio operations showed a need for a different type of mili- tary map. The pilot who had to fight with a la: e, much folded map was a sorely harassed per- son, who could give only passing attention to the war. So the Army map-makers have been asked to get busy and prepare some con- venient type of map which can be handled by a pilot who is obliged to do other things at the| same time, It was shown conclusively that aircraft radio equipment needs more attention, not only to find the extent to which it can be used but also to determine the extent to which it cannot be used. An effective but readily workable code must be devised. During the Ohio maneuvers Red messages from planes to the ground, trans- mitted by voice, were picked up by Blue stations and vice versa. Nevertheless, the code must be fast and simple. The prime im- portance in observation work is speed and if there are long delays caused in deciphering the code the value of the observations may be lost. ‘There also is need for telephone communication between the pilot and observer, it was demonstrated. This will be even more necessary when the reconnaissance planes are placed in commission, it was said by tactical experts. Squadron Observers Needed. Red and Blue army command- ers alike were warm in their com- mendation of the accuracy of the work done by the observation squadrons. The work of locating hostile formations was carried out with remarkable exactness of de- tail, the reports of the various observers coinciding time and again with a nicety that spoke volumes for the training of the personnel. While military observation must be intrusted primarily to the observation planes, there is need, it was developed during the Ohio | war games, for trained observers in the bombardment and attack plane squadrons. Maj. W. H. Frank, head of the Air Corps Tactical School at Lan§lpy Field, Va., and chief air umpire during the maneuvers, declared that | there should be at least one skilled observer in each three- plane attack formation and a cor- responding percentage of observ- | ers in the bombardment squad- | rons. While there is little o{nportunity; for glory, but many splendid op- | portunities for hard work in the observation squadrons, they are, | from the standpoint of the Army as a whole, among the most im- portant of the aerial units. The preparations now in progress in- dicate a thorough realization of the real importance of unlimited observation in military operations and future developments are being awaited with keen interest lby all branches of the Army. PATRONS OF PLANE-RAIL ROUTE TO GET LUNCHEONS IN AIR ST. LOUIS (#)—Passengers on the ‘Transcontinental Air Transport, Inc. plane-rail route will take their lunch- eons in the air as they fly across the country between the Atlantic and Pa- cific Coasts. Between St. Louis and Kansas City and between Albuquerque, N. Mex., and Winslow, Ariz, on the West-bound trip, passengers will be served by the Pred Harvey Co., which long has operated the restaurant and dining car service on the Santa Fe Railroad. In the aft- ernoon there will be refreshments of tea, bouillon or ice cream. Luncheon, prepared in advance, will be placed aboard the planes in contain- ers which will keep the food hot until | served. Portable tables with special tableware will be set in front of each seat by the plane's courier when the hot meal is served. These tables also may be used for cards or writing. The tables and con- tainers were developed to meet the spe- \cific needs of the air liner dining service. A study of the most suitable diet for ir passengers is being made in prepa- | ration for the opening of the line July 8. On the trip eastbound, passengers | will be served luncheon between King- | man and Winslow, Ariz, and between Kansas City and St. Louis. Other meals will be served aboard the Pennsylvania Railroad trains and | at the Harvey restaurants along the | Toute. Westbound, there will be break- fasts aboard the Pennsylvania before reaching Columbus, where the first transfer to the air is made, and the second morning in the restaurant at Clovis, N. Mex. Dinners will be in the | restaurants at Waynoka, Okla., and in Los Angeles. On the eastbound trip, there will be dinner in the restaurant at Albuquer- que, breakfast in Waynoka, luncheon in the air and dinner aboard the train after leaving Columbus. BUILD 0DD GLIDER. LINCOLN, Neb. (#).—A glider to be . launched in much the same manner that a small boy shoots a pebble with | a slingshot is being built here by 10 University of Nebraska students. The launching device consists of a long rubber rope attached to the nose of the glider. While one group of help- PASSES DIFFICULT TEST. The big Navy XPY-1 Consolidated patrol plane, now under test at the Anacostia Naval Air Station, recently completed rough-water tests outside the Virginia Capes. Although the sea was exceptionally rough, the plane, which is the biggest flying boat in this coun- ers will hold the motorlecs plane, two |try, landed and took off successfully a other groups will stretch the rubber. Plans for the machine were obtained from & German inventor. Sharp, roup, expects the device to be ready L \ ¢ 5y hy the end cf the sehool vear. president of the glider club number of times, and seems to be an exceptionally -~od seacraft, according Willard | to the test pilots. An XPB-2 experimental plane from Anacostia also passed its rough- water tests off the Capes. the | their funny parasol planes which | the Aviation Corporation's legal repre- | sentative in Washington. Her famili- | arity with every aspect of jurisprudence and her membership on the aeronautics committee of the American Bar Asso- background of experience.” Grosvenor said that Mrs. Willebrand! affiliation with the Aviation Corpora- basis, effective about June 15. Corporation Capital $200,000,000. Organized last March with an au- thorized capitalization of $200,000,000, the Aviation Corporation is a holding and development company which al- ready has acquired extensive operating and manufacturing concerns, including Universal Aviation Corporation, Colo- nial Airways, Embry-Riddle Aviation Corporation, Interstate Air Lines, In Southern Air Transport, Inc., and Fair- child Aviation Corporation. It holds substantial interests in Roosevelt Field, Inc.; Aviation Corporation of America, Western Air Express and Bendix Avia- tion Corporation. CHICAGO POST OFFICE TESTS "AIR SHUTTLE’ Service Is Designed to Speed Trans- fer of Mail From Landing Field. CHICAGO, (&) —Post office officials here have been experimenting with an airplane shuttle service to speed trans- fer of air mail from the landing field. A truck and an amphibian plane were matched against each other— the truck making its way through nine miles of trafic while the plane sailed above, landing in the harbor at the foot of Jackson street, not far {rom the post office. In tests the })hne has averaged a saving in time of 25 minutes each trip. ‘Whether the system will be adopted depends on further tests and Washing- ton's approval. Saving in time, it is expected, will be balanced against added expense. STUDENT AT GEORGETOWN GETS AIR POST IN CUBA Gerard Grossman Appointed Traf- fic Manager in Camaguey for Pan-American Airways. Gerard Grossman, a graduate this year from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, has been op- pointed traffic manager in Camaguey, Cuba, for Pan-American Airways, Inc. He is the second student of the school to receive an important aviation appointment, Alfred S. Reynolds, who recently entered the school, having been appointed assistant general manager and director in the Jensen Aircraft and Marine Corporation, effective upon the close of the present school term. Grossman is a native Cuban, having entered the local school after complet- ing 18 months’ work at the University of Illinois. He will leave for his duties at Camaguey immediately after his graduation. BALTIMORE SUBSIDIARY ORGANIZED BY CURTISS New Company Will Acquire Title to Airport Soon to Be Constructed. BALTIMORE, June 8 — Baltimore Air Terminals, Inc. has been formed as a subsidiary of the Curtiss organi- zation and will acquire title to the air- port to be constructed here. Curtiss Atrports Corporation will own all the capital stock of the Baltimore sub- sidiary. Approximately 250 acres of land in the northern section of the city have been acquired by the subsidiary and it is expected the local airport will be ready for operation in a few months. This is the only large airport here which 1s not located near the new municipal airport or on the waterfront. Plans of the company provide for the construction of central buildings containing three hangar units of ap- proximately 120 by 100 feet each, af- fording space for the housing of air- planes. Above the hangars will be con- structed double-tiered grandstands seat- ing over 2,000 spectators. ey SERVICE FLYING CHIEFS TO BE GIVEN DEGREES Gen. Fechet and Admiral Moffett Honored by Military College. The degree of doctor of aeronautical science will be conferred upon Maj. Gen. James E. Fechet, chief of the Army Alr Corps, and Rear Admiral William A. Moffett, chief of the Navy Bureau of Aeronautics, by the Pennsyl- vania Military College, at Chester, Pa., June 19. An aerial exhibition will be staged over the college curing the ceremonies. Fifteen Army planes will take part in the demonstration, including three pur- suit ships from Bolling Field, six ob- servation planes from Mitchel Field, N. Y, and six bombardment planes from Langley Field, Va. Maj. Hugh J. Knerr, commanding ' the 2d Bombardment Group, will be in charge of the pro- |gram. Army and Navy pilots partici- pating will rendezvous at Mustin Field, | the Philadelphia Naval Aircraft Fac- tory airport, at 11 a.m. Friday. “Sea Hawk” Commissioned. Lieut. D. W. Tomlinson, former leader of the famous Navy acrobatic forma- tion, the “Three Sea Hawks,” has ac- cepted a commission as a lieutenant in the Naval Reserve. He is engaged in . commercial aeronautics in “California. | ciation give her a peculiarly appropriate | tion would be on an annual retainer ! German, on April 17 climbed to this height with a load of 14.220 pounds in a Rohrbach Roma powered with three | BMW 500-horsepower engines. The pre- vious record, which has stood for four vears, was made in France in 1925, with a load of 13.228 pounds ] Pilots Paillard and Camplan, French, have broken the previous French record for speed over a distance of 1,000 kilo- meters with_a payload of 1.000 kilo- grams, or 2,204.12 pounds, making the trip at_a speed of 137.198 miles per hour. The plane used was a Bernard, with a 600-horsepower Hispano Suiza motor. The previous record also was held by Paillard. FLIGHT OVER CHANNEL TO BE COMMEMORATED Fete Planned at Calais for Hop 20 Years Ago by Louis Bleriot to Dover. CALAIS, France (P.—July 25 will | mark the twentieth anniversary of the | first flight across the English Channel by Louis Blerfot. The occasion will be celebrated by a fete here and by the issuance of & | stamp designed by the president of the Aeronautical Society of the Pas de Calais. The Channel crossing was made in 31 minutes from Calais to Dover, Eng- land, July 25, 1909. and not S o / aCflfiC THE FULL-SIZE FOUR-DOOR SEDAN, 3695 THE : Chr'yslcr-built Plymouth completely upsetsall traditions and notions in low-priced motor cars. When you make it a matter of cold- blooded business to familiarize yourself with everything that low-priced cars in general have to offer, all the inner voices tell you that the newly-refined Plymouth is the car for your money. days — beating previous record by 10 hours, 36 minutes. New York fo Chicago minutes—beating pre minntes. New York to Miami— 1541 miles in 31 hours, 10 iminntes — beating previous record by 7 hours, 57 minutes. Los Angeles to Phoenix and return (Desert Derby)—892 ‘miles in 17 hours, 47 minutes — beating previous record by 1 hour, 11 minutes. 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