Evening Star Newspaper, December 22, 1929, Page 97

X SR D VR T William P. MacCracken, Former Assistant Secretary of Commerce in Charge of Aviation, Foresees Remarkable Progress in Aviation During Next Decade Air- - plane More Valuable Than Dirigible. BY C. WILLIAM DUNCAN. EGULARLY scheduled transatlantic air service is certain to come within the next 10 years, in the opinion of an outstanding aeronautic authority of America—William P. MacCrack- en, former Assistant Secretary of Commerce in charge of aviation. By 1940, therefore, readers of newspapers will not be astounded to see: “Americans! Spend a pleasant week end in Europe. See Westminster Abbey and the Tower of London on Saturday, visit Paris on Sunday and be back at your desk for work on Tuesday. Planes leave daily at noon.” Persons who have followed the progress of aviation closely have ceased to smile at almost any prediction within reason. Ten years ago few laymen, if any, would have dared to prophesy that a giant dirigible would have suc- cessfully crossed the ocean, carrying passengers, several times in succession; that a lone pilot would have made a nonstop flight from New York to Paris; that two men would have stayed in the air more than two weeks; that—well, one could go on indefinitely and still not list all the achievements of recent years. What was seemingly impossible 10 years ago has been accomplished. What is now ssemingly . impossible, to the lay mind, will be accomplished during the next decade. Consequently, semi- weekly and then daily air service across the ocean is far from out of the question in that period of time. No MAN in America is bettsr qualified to discuss aviation from the transportation angle than Mr. MacCracken. He knows the sit-" uation from both American and European angles, as he has spent two months of this year in Europe, attending as America’s representative, an extra session of the International Commis- sion for Aerial Navigation, visiting airports in the leading European countries and paying cour- tesy calls on aviation leaders who came to the United States to attend the Washington confer- ence last December. Mr. MacCracken has made several speeches, the principal one being the ‘Wilbur Wright Memorial speech before the Royal Aero Society of London on the day mark- ing the twentieth anniversary of Bleriot’s flight across the English Channel from Calais to Dover. Incidentally, the Assistant Secretary was not a “desk official.” having served as a pilot and in- structor in the Army during the World War. Weekly service across the Atldntic will be first instituted, and later followed by semi-weekly and then daily service, Mr. MacCracken believes, “These planes will carry a great amount of val- uable merchandisé and mail which will have to be transported frequently and rapidly,” he says. “For that reason the weekly service will quickly become obsolete.” “What type of airship do you believe stands the best chance of being a permancent trans- oceanic carrier, the lighter-than-air dirigible, the ‘fiying boat’ or the airplane?” I asked Mr. MacCracken, 5 ' “I am a heavier-than-air enthusiast and be~ lieve that the airplane has the ‘edge’ as the permanent winner,” he replied. “Nevertheless, I am endeavoring to view the situation from an unbiased viewpoint and give credit where credit is due.” “Creat praise is due Comdr. Hugo Eckener and the men associated with him in the flights of the great Zeppelin. They have done mar- velnus work. p “Many thought the cause of the lighter-than- air craft had suffered a great set-back when, in the Spring of this year, the Zep started off for America and had to turn back when four of her five motors went bad. But I believe she showed her greatness in temporary defeat, inas- much as she could actually proceed under only one-fifth of her total power. It was a splendid demonstration of what a lighter-than-air craft can do under adverse conditions. “Americans have already read something of Britzin's giant new dirigible, R-101, which made her second successful test flight October 18 with a six-hour cruise over the Midlands, visiting Birmingham, Leicester, Derby and Nottingham before returning to her mooring mast, “To the man on the ground each one of these giant dirigibles looks like the eother, but, as a matter of fact, they are not being built after any set standard. The R-101 is different from the Graf Zepn-lin. and othe's to b> bu'lt in the 2 future will differ from them in structure, en- gines, design and power plants. “This lack of standardization is one of th2 biggest factors against the lighter-than-air craft, in my opinion,” continued Mr. Mac- Cracken. “It involves stupenddus expense. Anything for replacement has to be fabricated especially. Nothing it interchang:able, like an automobile part. The bag is made of gold- beater skin, obtained from the intestines of an ox. Each ox yields about one square foot. The tremendous amount of painstaking effort and expense can be estimated when I say that the R-101 has in it beater skins from 1,250,000 oxen. Experts are working on substitutes for this goldbeater skin, but have not found one as yet. The R-101 cost about $2,000,000. It 4s of 5,000,000-cubic-foot gas capacity. ’ “This. gives an idea of the labor and exp:nse involved in building a dirigible. Naturally, if anything happens to the craft it is a catéstro- phe to the owners.” “Are these the only reasons, in your opinion, why the dirigible is impractical as a permanent transoceanic carrier?” Mr. MacCracken was asked. “No. The lighter-than-air craft must develop more speed,” he answered. “The airplane has done so, but the dirigible has not. Seventy-five or eighty miles an hour won't do,” said Mr. MacCracken. ; $ - “The steamship Leviathan is one of the fast- est ships in the world. She can cross the Atlantic, westbound, in a little more than five days. People belicve in the safety of a large’ ship of this type, and those who ride in aircraft in futuré years will do so largely because of the time saved..- Plenty is being said about the rivalry of ‘transatlantic liners for specd honors, and more will be said’ during the next five vears.. No doubt liners will be built to average: around 33 or 35 miles an hour or more. What I am driving at is this: In 1940 aircraft will have to do bettcr than twice the speed of the fastest ocean liners to secure the necessar patronage. . “Another present impractical feature of the lighter-than-air craft is the handling of the terminals.” About 400 men are required to handie the Graf Zeppelin. The terminal diffi- culties involve a great deal of expense and inconvenience. “Because of all these obstacles to be over- come, I shall be greatly surprised if a fleet of these dirigibles is built and put in operation by 1932, as announced some time ago. “I am interested in American lighter-than- air experiments and would like to sce a service instituted between the Pacific Coast and the Hawalian Islands because of better weather conditions there. Weather means everything to the airman, and the California-Hawaii and South Atlantic routes are preferable to those of the North Atlantic.” “WHAT do you think of the type known as the ‘flying boat’'?” “While in Europe I saw the DO-X, the ‘flying boat’ designed by Dornfer. It is a most inter- esting object, with three decks and accommo- dations for more than 100 passengers, but no sleeping quarters. It is designed to carry 52 tons. It looked practical and able to alight on the water and ride out a fairly heavy sea. “October 21 of this year was a big day in the life of Dornier, for the DO-X made an amazing one-hour flight with a human load of 169—the first time in the history of aviation that so many persons have bzen carried into the air on any conveyanc:. “Bleriot, the first man to fly across the Eng- lish Channel, has designed a plane with wings w)ich are automatically released when the plane hits the water. The plan: becomes a boat with engine, propeller and rudder and is non-sinkable. Bleriot believes in the practi- cability of the ‘Armstrong islands,’ about which so much has been written. These ‘islands,’ if the plans of their inventor are carried out, will be anchored at sea and become airplane stations. “It is possible that one of these men or an- other ‘flying boat’ designer may come through with a winner in the next five years. But, as I said before, I have greatest faith in the land- type airplane, and when I speak of transatlantic service within ten years I am expecting air- planes to provide that service. If there are not too many bad breaks, it is probable that this service will come before 1939.” Mr. MacCracken do:s not agree with the per- sons who believe that the United States is far bshind European ' countries in commercial ' 7 AR TP O EEERIT.S THE SUNDAY STAR, W’ASH]NGTON,O D€, DECEMBER 7.4 105 s HETY S . William P. MacCracken, aviation expert, who declares that the United States now leads the world in commercial flying. 5 - “We were behind them three years ago, but sinc: then we have -overtaken and passed them,” he says. Backing up his statement as to the progress of the United States in aviation in recent years, he pointed out that airplanes are traveling about 60,000 miles by schgdule every day in America, and that the non-scheduled flying is more than treble the scheduled flying. Scheduled flying consists of the T. A. T. planes and mail planes, whilé non-schedulsd flying includes the planes carrying sightseers, aerial photographers, newspaper reporters, forest pa- trolmen, student instructors and business men. This total mileage is far in excess of any other country in the world. There are 7,000 civilian-owned airplanes in the United States, and not one-third of that number civilian owned throughout the rest of the world. Business men, Mr. MacCracken opines, are rapidly being convinced of the worth of the airplane as a time and money saver. “WHAT it all means is this: 'We have right here in America an immense ‘air labo- ratory,’ as it were, where we are learning a lot of valuable information every day. This expe- rience will be of untold value not only for trans- continental development, but also for trans- oceanic work when the time is ripe for that. “Among other things, we do know that the airplane is standardiz:d, that one costs from $10,000 to $60,000 instead of from $2,000,000 to $4,000,000, as is true of the dirigible. We also know the airplane has the necessary speed and can land easily on a good landing field. “As I look into the future I think America is going still further out in front of the Euro- pean countries, because commercial aviation in America is not held down by Government sub- sidies but carried on by private initiative. It is a blessing we have none, becaus: in the case of a subsidy a government sets a definite limit, and aviation in that country will not progress beyond the limits these funds provide. The European countries ar: operating under gov- ernment subsidies.” “But what about the American people as pas- sengers, Mr. MacCracken? Do you think we are as ‘air-minded’ as Europeans?” “I'll answer that question by saying that 50 per cent of the people who have flown in Europe to date are American tourists. “As to sightseeing, more people fly over Washington every year on such expeditions than over all the European capitals combined. “Americans are becoming and will become ‘air-minded’ just as fast as they go into the air, learn something about flying, gain confi- dence in it and associate with those who know ite practicability and realize its value.” “Finally, do you think that these endurance tests for hours-in-the-air records have any practical value?” I asked. “Decidedly,” he replied. “They demonstrate how long a plane can actually stay in the air without landing by the process of refueling from another plane. It means that a plane may save fuel weight—receiving -its fuel from refueling planes—and devote that space to pas- sengers or cargo. This would be very valuable in case the ‘Armstrong island’ plan was ever successful. Planes in lhe air would not have to tand, but could receive their fuel from the refueling planes stationed on the ‘islands. Also, these tests stimulate manufacturers to build better planes and better motors. “Nothing in the world today is coming so fast as aviation. Its speed nearly takes the breath of one who is in close touch with an that is going on. It is my hope and belief that the United States of America will be & world leader in aviation as she is in so many other projects.” (Copyright, 1929.) Government Seizes Ether. AN echo of the World War has been sound-. ed through the seizure, by Federal agents, of 108,300 quarter-pound tins of ether which was found unfit for anesthesia. é The shipment, discovered in New Jersey, was part of a war stock which remained unused at the end of the hostilities and which was in storage until 1926. Examination at that time disclosed that it had deteriorated in storage to an .extent where it fell considerably below" the Government standards. . The ether was sold for use in dry cleaning, laboratory work, and as a starting fuel for motors. It was found, however, that the ship<" ment seized had been used partially for hose< pital work after being labeled anesthetic ether.' Because of the violation of the terms of the’ bond, the Department of Agriculture seized alf’ that remained. MoreMeat and Butter Stored, EITHER the stock raiscrs are producing meat faster than last year or the consumers are” a little behind in their eating, for the stock in cold storage on December 1 was more than 50,- @ ¢ 000,000 pounds ahead of last year. The present’ amount represents about six pounds for each' person in the United States. There is about a pound of butter apiece in storage, also, an increase of 40,000,000 pounds’ over last year,