Evening Star Newspaper, December 15, 1929, Page 77

AVIATION BY JOSEPH HE necessity for continued and augmented research and experimentation in aeronautics is stressed in one after another of the annual reports of the many governmental departments and bureaus which deal with aviation. The number of these reports which discuss aviation matters is astonishing. They “show that nearly every branch of the Federal Govern- ment makes use of aviation in some form or another or is con- cerned directly or indirectly with the physical or social problems created by flying. ‘The need for increased research runs like a keynote through the reports, civil and military alike. Various problems of airplane and motor structure, materials, air traffic control, aerial navigation, aviation weather forecasting and reporting, radio and other com- munications methods and aircraft instruments are being considered in nearly a score of different branches of the Federal service. It would be a heavy task to go through all of the scores of an- nual reports and, like Little Tom Horner, to stick in an explorative thumb and pull out the plums of aeronautical information. If one man were to do that conscien- tiously he would have time for little else during the pre-Christ- mas period when annual reports are in their prime. Even the most casual examina- tion of any bundle of reports se- lected at random will show that aviation has indeed taken hold in the Federal Government and is widening its sphere of influence into nearly every phase of gov- ernmental activity. Such unrelated branches of Government as the Smithsonian Institution, the Naval Observatory, the Bureau of Mines and the Navy Hydrographic Office are found at work on aeronautical problems. Many Bureaus at Work. ‘The Bureau of Mines is working on helium production for airships; the Naval Observatory is heavily involved in the designing and ex- amination of aeronautical naviga- tion instruments; the Smithsonian Institution long has been actively interested; the Navy Bureau of Yards and Docks is engaged in public works for aviation; the va- rious Federal medical officers must concern themselves with aviaticn medicine, especially the ‘surgeons general of the Army and Navy; the Washington Navy Yard and the Bureau of Construction and Repair are at work on aviation studies in wind tunnels and tow- ing basins; the Army Air Corps and the Navy Bureau of Aeronau- tics, naturally, submit reports on many phases of aeronautics; the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics covers the broad field of research, with the Bureau of Standards as its lesser rival; the Coast and Geodetic Survey, the Navy Hydrographic Office and others are handling aviation map- ping; the Department of Com- merce is involved in aeronautics through some 10 or 12 of its sub- divisions, including the Bureau of Lighthouses, the Federal Radio Commission and the National THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTO! S. EDGERTON. A strong brief for research and erimentation in the field of military aviation is made by Rear Admiral William A. Moffett, chief of the Navy Bureau of Aeronau- tics, in his annual report. Admiral Moffett’s Views. “Although our present types of planes are good,” he said, “they are still years from being stand- ardized. Continuous improve- ments must be made to keep in the forefront of advancing avia- tion knowledge. In order to do this, it is essential that a relatively large amount of this bureau’s ap- propriations be utilized for experi- mentation and development. “Even more effort in this di- rection is required in the future than in the past and the bureau strongly recommends that larger appropriations for this experi- mental work be approved by the department and urged upon the Bureau of the Budget and upon Congress.” These quotations are indicative of the general trend and there would be no point in using more of them. The need for research is recognized by all aviation peo- ple who are not fools. Those who are fools won't last long in the business and really make no dif- ference. Aeronautics has taken a strong grip on the life of today and, as the Department of Commerce aeronautics branch has pointed out, has become an integral part of our general transportation, even though many of us may not yet sense that fact. Its develop- ment is based on research and upon continued research must its future growth be founded. It is inevitable that aeronautics will be cast in a major role on the commercial stage of the imme- diate future. That is evident from the situation today. “If,” the aeronautics branch has inted out, “all air transport INFLYING TRAINING Capt. Frank M. Hawks Be- lieves Motorless Planes Aid to All Aviation. BALTIMORE, December 14.—“Over- production is one of the dangers facing the industry today,” Capt. Frank M Hawks, who last June flew from New | York to Los Angeles and back in 36 hours, declared in a speech at the Bal- timore aircraft exhibition this week. H “There is curtailing of activities going | on in the factories and schools through- out the country,” he sald. “The high cost of flying, both .; to the cost of plane and cost of training, eventually may dampen the natural enthusiasm for this great game which exisits in thousands of kids and young men all over the world. There seems to me no better way of meeting this problem than by turning to the glider. Gliding Is Safe. “A plane costs from $2,000 to $3,000 at the lowest; a glidier can be produced for a few hundred. The student of glid- ing, when properly supervised, is as safe, is not actually safer, than mo- tored flying and receives an under- standing and feeling for the fundamen- tals of Symu possible in no other way. “All those who at g::sem, are kept out of aviation would be encouraged by gliding, which would, I believe, develop both the trained flyers we need and the potential popular market which the in- dustry needs so badly. Eventually thes| student would enter upon powered fly- ing with the rudiments firmly fixed in mind. Eventually, too, an increased in- terest in this sport might encourage the production of more stable and delicate planes, which might by the later addi- tion of a motor be converted to a new small tyoe plane that would really meet a popular need to an extent no plane at present does.” Capt. Hawks added that the industry is beginning to realize that gliding is a companion, not a competitor, of motored aviation, and that the leaders are be- ginning to back gliding schools and production. He also mentioned that air travel essentally is as safe on land or sea, although he admitted that the in- dustry has much work ahead of it to reach that ideal. “It is the world interest of youth in acilities which now exist were suddenly removed, the unfavor- able effects would be far-reaching, and we would appreciate that it has already become an indispens- able part of the general trans- portation scheme of the country.” Radio Aids Developed. One of the early developments of 1930 may be a “blind” landing at the Bureau of Standards radio test field, College Park, Md. De- velopment of a high-frequency landing beam, which will mark out by radio the gliding angle to be taken by a fog-blinded pilot in coming into the fleld, well along. The power of this beam broadcast has been increased, doubling the distance range, and efforts are being made still further to amplify it at the receiving end. Work also is being continued on an experimental 12-course visual radio range at College Park. A mutual coupling arrangement be- tween two loop antennas has been devised to bring about sharper beacon courses. The 12-course range has been under a disad- vantage as compared with the four-course beacon because of the lower sensitivity. This dis- arity has been reduced substan- ially by development of an auto- matic switch to shunt out of cir- cuit the pair of coils controlling Committee on Wood Utilization; the Treasury Department has un- der its supervision the United States Coast Guard and its grow- ing aviation activities; the De- artment of Agriculture operates ts own airplanes for cotton dust- ing and the Forest Service main- tains aerial forest fire patrol; sur- vey work of the Interior Depart- ment is conducted from the air; the Alaska Bureau of Public Roads works on airports and uses the airplane for inspection; the State Department has its own aeronau- tical worries—it would be possible to go on along this line for some time yet, but this paragraph al- ready is grown beyond all dictates of newspaper discretion. N. A. C. A. Urges Research. The latest of the Federal de- partments to become interested in aeronautical development is Labor, through its Bureau of Immigra- tion, which is concerned with the smuggling into this country by air the vibrating reed not in use. Naval officers recently made an inspection at San Francisco of a vertical radio beam which indi- cates on a pilot’s instrument board when the plane is exa!éuy over the transmitting apparatus The device is to_enable pilots to find fields shrouded in heavy fog. u] S aviation which is its greatest tribute and its greatest strength,” he said. “To harness this interest through gliding shall, I belleve, be the salvation of the airplane industry and its subsidiaries.” CHRISTMAS DELUGE AHEAD FOR AIRMAIL Managers Getting Ready for Huge Holiday Business—“Santa Claus Specials” in Service Schedule. The airmail is making ready for the Christmas deluge of business. Reserve planes, known as “Santa Claus Spe- cials,” are being placed at regular inter- vals along the New York-Miami route passing through this city and will be put into service as needed. ‘The northbound plane from Miami will load up at t city, ytona Beach, where it will receive mail from the spur line service to Orlando, Tampa and St. Petersburg; Jacksonville, Macon and Atlanta. A reserve plane will be available at Jacksonville if neces- sary. l'};om Atlanta the regular plane will proceed North and will be followed by a reserve plane which will pick up car- goes at Spartanburg, Greensboro and Richmond when necessary. At Richmond the mail will be loaded into a fresh plane for the last stage of the trip North. As many reserve planes will be maintained at Richmond as may be necessary to handle traffic on the North end of the line, picking p mall at Washington, Baltimore, hiladelphia and New York. Mail operators are prepared for the heaviest Christmas airmail business in The same type of apparatus has been used on Federal airways and is another example of what being done to conquer the great- est single obstacle to scheduled air operations. Hinton Lists Opportunities. The opportunities in aviation which exist for the average man or woman, in flying and non-fly- ing capacities, are discussed in a masterly fashion in the first of a series of books on this subject by Walter Hinton, first transatlantic ilot and president of the Avia- ion Institute. After giving a comprehensive view of developments in every of unlawful aliens. One of the shrewdest appraisals of the aeronautical situation yet to come from the governmental agency is included in the fifteenth _ annual report of the National Ad- visory Committee for Aeronautics, which closes with a pressing ap- peal for more research. “The committee,” says Dr. Jo- - seph S. Ames, chairman, “believes that the continuous and sys- tematic study and investigation of the basic problems of flight is the most fundamental activity of the Government in connection with the development of aeronautics, and in the discharge of its re- sponsibility under the law recom- mends the continued support of its work in the fields of pure and applied research in aeronautics.” In transmitting the report to Congress, President Hoover em- phasizes again the necessity for “continuous scientific research” on the fundamental problems of flight. branch of aviation, based upon a most thorough and lnte!figent survey, Hinton outlines the avail- able line of approach for the man or woman who wants to get into aviation in any of its multifold aspects. He gives advice based on long experience to the young man who wishes to become a pilot and describes his chances for ad- vancement in his chosen profes- sion. The book also includes a de- scription of the manner in which business and the professions may profit from aviation, the savings which may be effected by more rapid transportation and the new fle?ds of eaterprise which may be opened. v This is a book which should be of value to any one considering a career in the newest of the great industries and one which will give the layman an unusually compre- hensive view of what modern aviation is all about, how it has grown and where it is likely to go. “BUSINESS™ FLYING EFFICIENT, ADMR. MOFFETT DEMONSTRATES Rear Admiral Willlam A. Moffett, chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics, Wavy Department, has convinced his friends that flying can be made a part of everyday life and points to the fact that the oft-quoted possibilities in avia- tion for the traveling business man are actually here. Admiral Moffett left his office at the Navy Department at 2:30 o'clock Mon- day afternoon for the Naval Air Sta- tion at Anacostia. There he took off at 3 pm. in a plane for Lakehurst, N. J., passing the Navy dirigible Los Angeles in fiight before landing at Lakehurst at 4:30 pm. At that station he spent an hour conferring with officials and ting the new stub mast and handling arrangements. Then Admiral Mofett took off from Lakehurst aboard the Los Angeles at 5:30 p.m. and flew over Keyport, Staten Island, N. Y.; the Narrows, Battery k, in downtown New York City; lower Manhattan and up the Hudson River as far as Yonkers, N. Y. Return- ing, the Los Angeles flew down Broad way, New York’s famous show-way, a ‘lr?:w‘“ O'ni;”o to ;.002 {,eet, col"l:tllé‘h uing over airport at Jersey s N. J, to Elizabeth, Trenton, Phflldzi’- phia and the Navy Yard, Camden, N. J., ‘ and Atlantic City and went on a short cruise out to sea, landing at Lakehurst at midnight. After spending the night at Lake- hurst, Admiral Moffett took off yester- day morning at 8:30 o'clock in a trans- port plane and arrived at 10 am. at the Naval Air Station at Anacostia and shortly thereafter was back in his office at the Navy Department, where he spent a busy day deliberating over giant dirigibles, the proposed West Coast air base and other matters in the far-flung realms of aeronautics. NEW AIRMAIL ROUTE. Airmail service between France and Madagascar has been inaugurated after a 10-day flight by a Farman-191, equip- ped with a single 230-horsepower en- gine. according to a report received by the Department of Commerce from As- sistant Trade Commissioner H. C. Schuette, at Paris. Stops were made at Oran, Ksabl, Cequilhatville, Elizabethville and Broken Hill. The expenses for the trip were t& 1929 French aviation budget, in an item of 750,000 francs for “trial flights for opening of"Mirlines to French Indo-China and Madagascar.” is | smooth delivery of greeting cards and gifts. history and operations and traffic offi- clals have laid out plans to assure D.C. AIR LEGiON PLANNING AERONAUTICAL CARNIVAL Special Contests to Be Held for 22 Members Who Have Soloed ) in Past Year. Plans for the largest civilian aero- nautical carnival yet held in the Na- tional Capital are being made for next Spring by the District of Columbia Air Legion, it was announced last night by Alva Sole, president. The Legion will hold contests during the carnival for its 22 members who have soloed during the past year. There will be a race between members who have purchased their own planes and spot landing contests between the five members who have qualified as para- chute jumpers. A national flying circus is to be brought here for the event and ar- rangements are being made to fly Washingtonians over the city at $1 a ride as a means of winning more con- verts for aviation here. .- MICHIGAN AERONAUTICS BOARD NOW FUNCTIONS Body to Supervise Building and Operation of Airports, Fields and Flying Sckools. The newly created Michigan State Board of Aeronautics, established under a law passed by the 1929 Legislature, has begun to function, with a working capital of $10,000 raised by an extra g‘nwnne tax, it has been announced ere. ‘The board will supervise the construc- tion and operation of airports, fields and | fiying schools. Charles B. Mayo, chief engineer of the Ford Motor Co., is ' chairman of the board. with Capt. Roy ollins as executive director Firsht as his assistant. "o Land adjoining the State College at Lansing has been acquired as a site for a State airport. It adjoins the State Police Barracks, a fact which it is be- lieved will aid materially in law en- | forcement. PILOTS ARE NEEDED. Demand for Mail Flyers Still Ex- ceeds Supply. CLEVELAND (#).—In spite of the sfl.st of pilots flowing from the many ying schools of the country, there are still none too many of the timber re- qk‘z“gd llo; ni':lgn‘g the l:s m:ll.tnccordln arl F. Egge, president of the Na- tonal Alr Pilots” Assoclation. i r mail work requires a degree rience which s not common, fl: id, and salaries are still as high as they were when the alr mail service was started. ‘The air pilots' association has 750 members, a fourth of whom are execu- A mobile weather bureau and radio D. C, DECEMBER 15, broadcasting station has been developed by the Boeing System to radio news on storms originating along the line of the Chicago-San Francisco airmail and passenger line. Several of these automobile stations have been put in commission in of their kind. The photograph shows a ‘Wyoming. They are said to be the first wind velocity recorder, ceiling projector and wind cone on top of the car, a radio mast mounted in front of the machine and a hydrogen tank on the side for use in inflating pilot balloons for recording upper air winds. COASTTOOAST ARVAL SPEEDE New Schedule Will Save * Large Sum on Interest- Bearing Securities. SAN FRANCISCO (#).—This month will see the lopping off of another 60 minutes in the transmission of airmail between the Atlantic and Pacific Sea- boards. ‘To the transcontinental traveler this means only an hour saved, but in the movement of interest-bearing securities between San Francisco and New York a saving of thousands of dollars in in- terest and insurance charges is signified. During the deluge of stock transac- tions in recent weeks West Coast finani- cial houses transmitted by air nearly $100,000,000 in securities daily. Trans- america, leader of the Western stock market, sent more than $75,000,000, the largest individual mailing, to Eastern buyers in a single day. $25,000,000 Average. ‘Twenty-five million dollars a day, bankers estimate, is the average value of securities carried from the San Fran- cisco district daily. Speed boats and amphibians will be the principal factors in cutting down the time between San Francisco and Oakland's 845-acre municipal airport. Public utility commissions have au- thorized both services to start this month, with the speed boat company offering 20-minute service, while the amphiblan company promises to span the bay in 10 minutes or less, against the present average of an hour and a half in transporting mail by auto truck and ferryboat between the two points. Near Post Office. ‘The two services will land their craft near the Ferry Bullding, San Francisco, which is just across the street from the Ferry Post Office, San Francisco’s larg- est distributor of mail. ‘The boats will use a recently constructed channel running up to within 100 yards of the Oakland airport gulxanm, while the “ducks” will use the eld. The boats will carry 30 persons, ex- clusive of pilot and two armed guards, across the 1243 miles of water at 25 miles per hour, and make seven round trlgs dally. ix-place amphiblans will be used by the flying service which will conduct the air taxi operations. NEW PASSENGER-FREIGHT PLANE ROUTE PLANED Recently Incorporated Firm Pro- poses Line Between Baltimore and Southern States. BALTIMORE, December 14.—A pas- senger and freight airplane service be- tween Baltimore an the Southern States, and also along the Eastern sex- board, is proposed by the recently in- co?onud East Coast Alrways. he airway concern has asked the city to give it at a nominal rental a shore property containing about six acres near the city. The company wishes to use the site for the landing and taking off of amphiblan planes. The company will be allowed to occupy the property, however, only until the completion of the municipal air- rt under construction at Dundaik. when that project is completed the airways company is expected to utilize the airport facilities. —Boeing System Photo. HANGAR SPRINKLER STUDY 15 PLANNED Bureau of Standards Will Conduct Tests on Four Types of Fires. Tests of the efficiency of automatic sprinkler systems in controlling hangar fires will be undertaken at the Bureau of Standards this Winter in a regula- tlon concrete and wooden hangar now being constructed there. The tests are expected to settle a controversy over the requirements of a proposed code with respect to the sprinklers. ‘The national committee on wood util- ization of the Department of Com- merce, which now is making a study of the subject of airport structures, is co- operating in the work of the fact-find- ing committee on automatic sprinkler protection for airplane hangars and is constructing the experimental hangar for this purpose. ‘Wood, Concrete Hangar. ‘The hangar, in the Bureau of Stand- ards grounds, will be of wood with a concrete foundation and floor and will be 65 by 80 feet, inside dimension, with an 18-foot clearance between floor and roof trusses. The hangar is to be ready for tests within six weeks. Three conferences have been held at the request of the National Board of Fire Underwriters to discuss with the aviation industry the board’'s proposed code for the construction and protec- tion of airports. Two of these confer- ences were held in this city under the auspices of ‘the aeronautics branch of the Department of Commerce and one at Chicago under the auspices of the Aeronautical Chamber of Commerce. At all three conferences the industry objected to the requirements of the code with respect to automatic sprinklers, as a result of which the national board has agreed to postpone the promulga- tion of its code pending the making of a series of tests to determine the effect- iveness of the sprinkler system. Committee on Tests, ‘The committee in charge of the tests is composed of Col. Harry H. Blee, di- rector of aeronautic development of the aeronautics branch, Department of Commerce, chairman; W. S. Garland, Bureau of Aeronautics, Navy Depart- ment; R. W. Hendricks, Underwriters’ Laboratories; Ira G. Hoagland, Nation- al Automatic Sprinkler Association; Frank M. Kennedy, Army Air Corps; W. Laurence Le , Aeronautical Chamber of Commerce; Nolan Mitchell, Bureau of Standards; H. E. Newell, National Board of Fire Under- writers, and Starr Truscott, National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. The Bureau of Standards will fur- nish personnel and instruments. The tests will include four types of fires— fire from exterior source, fire starting inside of an airplane wing due to faulty wiring, fire starting in an airplane fuselage due to gasoline leak and fire ;urnng from gasoline on the hangar oor. The committee is in need of airplanes to be used in conjunction with these tests and has asked the aeronautical industry to donate unserviceable planes for this purpose. Designs Small Plane. SAN ANTONIO, Tex. (#).—Joe Pal- mer, veteran San Antonio pilot, has designed a small tri-motored plane pow- ered by three 62-horsepower motors. In it he is able to take off in less than 150 Ilz‘et. Its crulsing speed is 85 miles an ur. AIRMAIL TIME CUT AGAIN 7 tives at aviation concerps. o Radio Photos in Air. BERLIN (). —Weather map have been successfully sent to & e in mid-air by radie, ‘ The I hour in '.rlmrom alr mal ipal flying flel dml‘.%khnd. e map shows how speed boats e speeded 60 s passen| ‘r;‘xfia ‘service from the West Coast to the East will %2 y%///é%// Z ) and amphibian_airplanes will save an gers from San Francisco to the munic- D.| Naval Air Station at Coco Solo De- 1929—PART FOUR. | BECOMES REALITY Conversation Is Successfully Accomplished Over Line Covering 275 Miles. Two-way radio telephone conversa- tion between an Army observation plane {and a ground station 200 miles away, { followed by continuous radio telegraph communication up to a distance of 275 | miles, has been accomplished by Lieuts. R. O. S. Akre and L. M. Bawsel, student officers, taking the communications ‘wuru at the Alr Corps Technical | School, Chanute Field, IIl. | The suc§essful demonstration took | place during & cross-country flight from Chanute Field to Decorah, Iowa, a dis- tance of 275 miles. Throughout the flight they were in continuous two- radlo communication with the com- munications department ground radio station operated by Sergt. Lawrence Bullington, for 2 hours and 45 minutes. Equipment Described. ‘The school airplane, a Douglas 02-C, was fll“llimed with radio transmitting and recelving set of the Army type SCR-134, and transmission was on tone telegraph at a frequency of 500 kilocy- cles. The ground school station, using tone telepgraph also, sent on & fre- quency of 350 kilocycles, During the flight the ground station frequently heard Lieut. Akre, pilot, and Lieut. Bawsel, observer, talking to each other above the interphone system in- stalled in the airplane, and at a dis- tance of about 200 miles a two-way tel- ephone conversation was held between the plane and the ground station. Previous Tests Successful. Several days before this demonstra- tion, two-way communication was main- talned continuous with the Army air- ship TC-11-27 while it was flying be- tween Scott Field, Ill, and Chanute Fleld and return. The airship main- tained contact with both fields through- out the flight by talking with each one alternately, with the result that the air- ship crew was kept informed of weather conditions at both fields and the fleld personnel knew the exact location, al- ::tude and speed of the airship at all imes. SOUND TONE SOUGHT FOR NEW ALTIMETER Search Is Made for Unit Which ‘Will Filter Through Plane Noises. LOS ANGELES (#)—Search for the source of a sound which will filter through noises aboard an airplane is being conducted by Leo P. Delsasso of the physics department of the Univer- sity of California, in an effort to per- fect a precision altimeter. An altimeter which will accurately record the height of an airplane over the ground over which it is flying with- out the calibration needed in the pres- ent atmospheric altimeters is one of the at needs of aviation. Del , working with funds made avallable by the Guggenheim Fund for the otion of aeronautics, hopes to develop an “acoustic altimeter” which will measure height by the time it takes a sound to travel to the ground and echo back to the airplane. One of the chief difficulties, Delsasso found, was the multiplicity of sounds aboard aircraft. He was faced with the necessity of finding a tone entirely different than any of those of aircraft. has been accomplished and now the task is to find the source of such a sound which will be of sufficient pitch and intensity to actuate the recording device. An “acoustic altimeter” would be of inestimable value to aircraft because it would permit pilots caught in fogs over unfamiliar territory to know exactly how high they were. OLD GENERATOR USED FOR LANDING LIGHTS velops Power From Discarded Radio Device. ‘The Naval Air Station at Coco Solo has reported the development from an old radio.generator of a generator to | supply the mark 1 landing lights with current for use over longer pe: than 1s possible with batteries. e generator, which increases the total weight only 12 pounds, is said to provide sufficlent current to maintain the light at full intensity not only while flying, but also while taxiing and while gliding with a dead engine, the light continuing to burn until the airplane has landed and the speed decreased to 25 miles per hour. An old, burned-out plate transformer from a type SE-1385 aircraft radio transmitter was dismantled and re- wound to form the light generator. Switches in the control cockpit enable the pllot to start the generator and to use either port or starboard landing light at will. MARINE FLYERS REVIVE OLD PIN-POINTING GAME Airmen at San Diego Locate Ob- scure Places Marked on Map by Mere Dot. SAN DIEGO (#)—“Pin pointing” is | a new name for an old army game | that marine flyers here are playing under the direction of Maj. Ross Rowell. Maj. Rowell, who won the flying | cross for his extraordinary aerial serv- ices during the late Nicaraguan cam- paigns, learned there the value of ob- servation. Pin-pointing is intended to develop that faculty. Rowell flies over the country, locating on the map a farm house here, a silo there, a blasted tree somewhere else. He marks the location on the map with a pin point. ‘Then the shows the map to his flyers. “Go out and find a farm house at this point,” he will order, “and bring back a picture of it.” AIRMAIL RATE CHANGED. Mexico Applies New Schedule to U. 8. 'and Guatemala. New airmail rates which apply both ,to domestic mail and to mall destined | for the United States and Guatemala | have gone into effect in Mexico, accord- T | | trict was organized yesterda; HE first model aircraft club in the elem¢ntary schools of the Dis« y. The new joint club formed at th 'Maury and the Edmonds Schools, located at Thirteenth and streets and Ninth and D streets northeast, respectively, will begin fne building and flying of model planes immediately. Advisers for the club are John H. lellams, Community Center model plane instructor; Paul Edward Garber, author of books on model plane building, and Robert Williams, Walter Roth, W. H. Robin- son, E. R. C. Hartley, E. L. Cooney, C. E Moore, model plane devotees. Hope for More Clubs. With the organization of an aero club in these two schools comes the hope that other schools in the District will become interested enough in model aviation to form a club of their own. Miss Helen Blackistone is in charge of the Edmonds-Maury group. Results for the last meet of the Dis- trict Model Aircraft League held at the Takoma Park School follow: In the class for aces—First, John Sul- livan, 10 points; second, Robert Coles, 9. Luther Schmidt and Harry McGin- nis tied for third place, both aggregat- ing 8 points. n A class Prank Salisbury was first with 15 points, and Billy Streets second with 8 points. B class—James Murray, first, 13 points; second, Billy Von Berewitz, 9 points, and John Pendleton, third, wi 8 points. Wichle Makes 12 Points. | Class C—Robert Wiehle, first, with 12 points; Monroe Brandenburg, second, |6 points, and Blair Bennet, third, with |5 points. In this class Bernard Von Berewitz and Lloyd Barrett tied wita ‘Bennett for third place. | Class D—George Petrides, first, with 13 points; Philip Bremen and Richaril Widemere, tied for second place, with 9 points, and Ray Davis was third, witl 7 points. \ Class E—Frank Ball, first, with § points, and Tom Jeffers and Joe Streets, tled for second place, with 5 points, Third place was won by Lloyd Bushing with 4 points. Class F—John Magnusson, first, with | 5 points; George Baker, second, with 4 points, and John McNary, third, with 3 points! ‘The meet was refereed by Walter Roth. The timers were E. Young, Rob- ert Williams and Miss Nancy Moore. At the climax of the contest the Ta- koma Park Aero Club was recognized as a factor of the District Model Air- craft League. F. L. Harris is in charge of the newly formed club. Clubs Make Progress. Much progress is reported from the two model aircraft clubs in the junior high schools of the District. Following the excellent showing made by members of the Powell Junior High Aero Club in recent meets, the club was recognized as a part of the District Model Aircraft League. ‘The new members of the Powell Club are Richard Albee, John Everhart, Dana Garfleld, Andrew Howe, Joseph Crosby, Albert Drescher, John Fealds, Victor Orios, William Sheen, Robert Phinney, George Petrides, Jack Bates, Leo Sab- batini, John Edwards, John West, Abraham Lincoln, Donald Stewart, Thomas Riley, Raymond Davis, Charles Stauffer, Roy Prince, Willis Danielson, Joseph Parks. Reginald Hodgson, David Copenhagen, Joseph Kramn, Richard . Coombs and Mrs. Myrtle Brodie, [Jack Shulman, Chester Morris, Eugene [Jllman and Jame Spokes. The Fowell Club met Zhursday, when plans fhr teaching the new members the art jof flying and butlding of models were discused. | Practice Flights Made. Mempers made trial flights with their planes/in_the auditorium of the school. | Georgf: Petrides, publicity director of the dub, and Raymond Davis have obtaifed the highest standings in con= tests /staged by the District Model Aire craft/ League this year. A/letter from young Petrides in re- garg to activities of the club follows: ‘/oonsidering that most of the flyers wote beginners, the . boys of Powell Jfinjor High School did not make a ad showing at the recent model air- craft meet.” In class D, George Petrides won sec- ond place and in class F, Andrew Howe ‘won second place. Raymond Davis and Andrew Howe were promoted to class D. Richard Cosby, Albert Drescher, Dana Garfield and Charles Stauffer were promoted to class E. Clubs Continue Flights. ‘The two outstanding model aero club of the city, the Capitol Model Aero Club and.the Chevy Chase Club, con- tinue practice flights and the building of new planes for the coming contest for the silver cup awarded to the model aircraft club each year which ob- tains the most number of points during the contest staged by the league. The Chevy Chase Club last week elected Ernest Stout president. Others j elected were Pelham Walton, vice presi- dent; Joseph Galiliher, secretary, and Paul Bowker, treasurer. A letter sent to the column by John | Magnusson, director of publicity, con+ cerning the progress being accomplished y the Chevy Chase Club, follows: | “Under the able leadership of our resident, Ernest Stout, the Chevy 'hase Aero Club feels that it is taking fI’ for its most successful season flight. They do not scout around for good {fvers but make flyers out of all their members. Rapid progress is being made on the glider, with the grateful aid of Lieut. Walter Hinton, and is expected to ready by January 1. To those who do not know what our glider is like: It measures 16 feet from [ose to tail and has a wingspread of 45 feet and will cost the club about $100. he wing will be built in three sections. 'he glider is covered with blue cloth, as jts name Blue Heaven indicates. It /s of German origin and is of the glider jcarer type, the plans being made hy |[Ernest Stout. We expect to take it to |Harpers Ferry for flights. The club |also is going to build a preliminary |training glider, which will be flown near (here to enable the members to get the |“feel” of the air before atempting higher flights. NEON LIGHTS, PENETRATING FOG, HELD AID TO AVIATION Tests Show Greater Efficiency Over Incan~ i descent Lamps, With Better Visibility. o European Airpc.ts Use Them. The efficiency of neon light, par- icularly as applied to aviation, has been demonstrated in tests recently made by the electrical testing labora- tories of New York and the Polytech- nic Institute of Brooklyn, according to reports received here. The tests were conducted to show a scientific explanaiion of the power of neon light to penetrate fog, a factor making it of invaluable aid to aero- nautics, and to determine the compa: ative visibility of neon and an incan- descent lamp with a red color filter. ‘The tests showed that neon night possesses_its maximum energy at the point in the visible pectrum having the greatest transmission under adverse weather conditions, resulting in greater penetration and visibility, it is claimed, than any other character of light yet groduced for commercial purposes. It supposed that the longer waves of the light in the higher transmission ranges are less scattered by the mois- ture particles in the air than the shorter wave length. ‘Tests made between neon and in- candescent light behind a standard red signal lens with the same input of current to the 1me.ry terminals of the excitatio coil operating the neon tubes and the incandescent lamp, and with necessary corrections applied, it is announced, reveal that for the candescent unit to have visibility equal to the neon unit it would require a can- dlepower of 126, rather than the 94 candlepower actually emitted. Europe Uses Neon Lights. Europe has used mneon lights for its airports for some time, having taken a lead over the United States in this re- spect, according to surveys made by lighting engineers. Croydon Afrport, London, has a famous neon beacon; Templehof, at Berlin, has the entire landing field out- lined in neon tubes, and Le Bourget, at Paris, also utilizes neon largely. The German Lufthansa organization is placing neon lights at every five kilo- | meters on -two new air routes—from | Berlin to Halle and Leipzig and Han- over to Cologne. In this country neon beacons now are being used at the airports at New- ark, N. J., Kansas City, Louisville, Ky., Altoona, Pa., Cleveland, Hartford, Conn, and at others. Extensive use of the lights is made in California and new neon beacons are being established all the time as a result of the indorse- ment of pilots who have had experience | with them. There has been a misconception of the efficiency of neon lights recently because of erroneous impressions drawn from a report of tests conducted at Moody Point, Me, in the opinion of lighting experts. Both neon and in- there under the same mechanical con- ditions witiout allowing for differences in the physical character of the two types of lighting, it was pointed out. Conclusions Held Meaningless. The tests, because of failure to take into consideration the differences in the sizes of the luminous surfaces of the two lights, it is said, resulted in conclusions whith were meaningless in so far as their practical application to beacons and other airport lighting devices is concerned. The desirability of the type of red light produced by neon tubes is demon- strated by tests made by the Bureau of Standards of the penetration of overcast weather conditions by lights of various colors, which reveal that light of the longer wave length, in the red end of the spectrum, plerces misty atmosphere more easily than light of any other color. The advantage of using neon lights, it is claimed, is that the tubes produce a red light of the proper penetrative quality without the waste of power caused by use of color filters and because of the long life of the neon tubes, which is said to be more than 10,000 hours under ordinary conditions. NAVY LIEUTEil:lANT WINS - GLIDER CERTIFICATE Ralph 8. Barnaby Is First American to Receive First-Class Pilot's Award. Lieut. Ralph S. Barnaby of the Navy Bureau of Aeronautics is the first American glider pilot to qualify for the first-class glider pilot's certificate and annual sporting license of the Fed- eration Aeronautique Internationale. Lieut. Barnaby has been presented with the three-star button of the Na- tional Glider Association. This but- ton and the international certificate were awarded as a result of a recent glider flight he made at the Cape Cod Glider School ‘Taking off from a dune used by the school, Lieut. Barnaby flew several miles down the coast of Cape Cod and then returned to his starting point, after an intermediate landing. Mappers Locate Mountain Lake. One of the results of the Navy aerial mapping _expedition in Alaska during the past Summer was the discovery of a mountain lake, capable of producing 45,000 horsepower through hydro-elec- tric development, within a few miles of candescent lamp lights were tested Nome. AIR EXPRESS SERVICE NOW AVAILABLE TO AND FROM ing to a report to the Department of | Commerce by Assistant Commercial At- tache Albert E. Nufer, at Mexico City. The new rate is 20 centavos, about 10 cents, for each 20 grams, regardless of class, representing a decrease in first- class postage, but an increase in second, third, fourth and fifth class mail. Each plece of domestic mail, in addition to the airmail stamp, must bear a l-cent “Pro-Infancia” stamp. Planes Suppll_nt Horses. - “Steeds of the sky” will take the lace of horses that thundered before and a lan fleld, completed by May, 150" " % Commencing December 16th WASHINGTON the Railway Express Agency will inaugurate Air Express Service between Washington and Pittsburgh over the Clifford Ball Line, making direct connections via Cleve- land with the transcontinental air express service. Shipments will be accepted weighing not more than 200 pounds per plece at a value not to exceed Call $5,000.00 per shipment. Service and Special Delivery is provided for all air express. ximate time The ap, e from 35 hours. Los Angeles ‘Washington to San Francisco or For further information, apply: RAILWAY EXP Address: 1414 RESS AGENCY F Street NW. Telephone: National 1200