Evening Star Newspaper, December 29, 1929, Page 61

AVIA BY JOSEPH MONG the important aero- nautical events of the year 1929 in the United States has been the revival of gliding, practically abandoned in this country since the time of the ‘Wright brothers’ famous glider experiments during the first two or three years of the century. Glider clubs have sprung up all over the country under the im- petus of a wave of glider enthusi- asm which is bowling over thou- sands of young men and women. Many professional pilots are tal to gliding for pleasure. A rge and very successful glider school has been conducted during the greater part of the year on the coastal dunes of Cape Cod, where many notable flights have been made. The American soaring record has been pushed up time and again, now standing at a little more than 1 hour and 21 minutes of continuous flight. ‘The National Glider Associa- tion has chartered chapters in many cities and towns, among them the Washington Glider Club in this city. The local club now is well along with the construc- tion of its first glider, a primary training model, embodying fea- tures of several of the most suc- cessful gliders. When this glider is completed -and flown four other gliders are to be built, embodying whatever changes in construction may be suggested by experience with the first model. Glider Prices Reduced. Line production methods have been established in the manufac- ture of gliders in this country, and one of the largest glider pro- ducers, having reduced the price of primary gliders to $435, ex- pects to sell at least 1,000 of the trim little craft during the com- ing year. In Europe, where gliding has made its greatest advances, chief- ly because the Germans were forced to it by the terms of the peace treaty, the sport has con- tributed greatly to the popular- ization of flying by giving the younger generation an actual contact with aviation. It has pro- duced better pilots and keener knowledge of the effects of air currents upon aircraft. Lufthansa, the great German air transport organization, re- quires that its pilots be gradu- ates of a glider school. The Ger- man soaring record today is 14 hours and 43 minutes, and cross- | country flights of many miles in length have been made by skilled soarer pilots. In summing up an account of glider activities, Dr. Wolfgang Klemperer, one of the world’s at authorities on motorless , declared that gliding “combines sport with education, art and scientific research, a com- bination rare in this materialistic age and not unworthy of encour- agement from those who con- sider it a sacred privilege to con- tribute toward the development of new art and science.” A. A. A. Enters Aviation. Another of the significant events of the year has been the entrance of the American Auto-| mobile Association into the field of aeronautics, an indication of the grip aviation is getting on the every-day life of the country. ‘The association has established an air and travel service through its local divisions, including the District of Columbia Division. rimary importance of the association’s work and of similar activities, which may be under- taken by other non-aeronautical organizations, is in the field of public education in the general aspects of aviation and their ap- K}lclfion to business and private If the association does no more than to induce its members who plan to take airplane rides to make certain they are flying in ln&ecud and licensed planes and wi licensed pilots, it will have Jjustified its entrance into the field of aeronautics. ‘The District of Columbia Divi- slon’s air travel bureau will keep up-to-date information on aero-! nautical regulations, including| licensing, operation and owner- ship of aircraft, licensing of pi- lots and mechanics, marking of licensed and unlicensed aircraft, inspection of aircraft and air| traffic regulations. Will Give Information. It will assist in the handling of aviation weather forecasts and will distribute official aviation maps. The bureau will keep rec- ords of airplane schedules and tariffs on all the important air transport lines and will maintain a list of accredited aviation| schools for the benefit of pro- spective students. Records of airports will be kept as a means of assisting pilots in {lmnlng flights to portions of he country with which they are not familiar. A consolidated ticket office will be maintained, at which bookings may be arranged | for flights to any part of the country or neighboring countries. The air travel bureau, as a part | of its educational work. plans to keep statistical information, showing the public what airl TION S. EDGERTON. transportation is doing at all times. This will include statis- tics showing the safety of air travel as cnmlured with other means of travel. Safety Comparison. Department of Commerce fig- ures show that during the first six months of 1929, though 6,379,- 776 miles were flown on contract airmail and passenger lines, not a single passenger was killed. In all other airways operations only 7 passengers lost their lives. In the year now coming to a close 12 passengers have been killed in approximately 11,000,000 miles of scheduled airways flying, or at the rate of approximately one passenger death to 1,000,000 miles. Statistics of the Interstate Commerce Commission show that THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTO! D. C., DECEMBER - 29, 1929—PART FOU¥ BYRD AND MANLY AR FORCES SLATED | AWARDED MEDALS Naval Man and Inventor Are Placed in Smithsonian’s Hall of Fame. By the Associated Press. A man who fathered aviation before {it was a fledgling and another who has ridden the skies to world fame Lave been honored with the Langley medal for ploneer achievements. The late Charles M. Manly . and Admiral Richard E. Byrd are placed by the Smithsonian Institution in its “‘aviation hall of fame” with Wilbur and Orville Wright, Glenn Curtiss, Gustave Eiffel and Col. Charles A. Lindbergh. Presentation of the medals will take place on Admiral Byrd's return next Summer from Little' America, at the bottom of the world. The posthumous award to Manly, to be delivered to his oldest son, honors 6,500 persons were killed and 85,- 560 injured as a result of the op- eration of railroads in 1928. Dur- ing that year passenger trains traveled 521,349,000 miles and freight trains 601,648,000 miles, or a total of 1,122,997,000 miles. The fatalities were at the rate of 1 per 172,768 miles. In all classes of civil air trans- portation last year 70,472,000 miles were flown, with a loss of life, including all flying person- nel, of 368 and the injury of 672 persons. These figures include all accidents due to student train- ing, airmail flying, test flying and acrobatics. Including all this extrahazardous flying, which does not enter into air transporta- tton in any form, one life was lost for every 191,500 miles trav- eled, slightly better than the rec- ord for the railroads. Award Stresses Safety. Emphasis was given to the in- creasing safety of flying by the awarding of the Schiff trophy for the first time to the naval flying organization which flew the great- est number of hours during the year without serious accident to personnel or material. The first organization to win the coveted trophy under the new rules was Training Squadron 7 of the 11th Naval District, San Diego, Calif. During the past fiscal year the squadron planes flew a total of 8,159 hours, cover- ing approximately 571,000 miles, in the training of 478 students and the qualifying of 157 others for further training. This remarkable achievement was realized by 6 officers and 18 enlisted pilots, under command of Lieut. Thomas Gerry Fisher, acting as instructors. Not a single student or instructor was scratched during the year and there were only three minor acci- dents, including one broken wheel, a bent strut and a slight collision between two planes on the ground. The record is all the more re- markable when it is considered that it was won by a training squadron engaged throughout the year in what is considered the | most dangerous stage of an avia- tor's career—the training period. Diesel Motors Flown. In the field of material develop- ment the most important events of the year have been the appear- ance in actual operation in the air of the heavy-oil aviation engine and the development of several types of giant aircraft, notably the giant German Dor- nier Do-X and the Junkers J-38. The first American-built Diesel aircraft engine to be operated successfully in flight made its appearance last Spring. It is a radial air-cooled nine-cylinder motor, the details of which have been kept secret by the Packard engineers, who designed it. A demonstration test of this motor was made during a successful flight from. Detroit to Langley Field, Va. and return. The mo- tor, though admittedly not yet perfected, seems well along the road toward practical utilization. In Germany a new Junkers heavy-oil motor, which is an adaptation of the Diesel principle, has been test flown and gives promise of eventual development as a motor of great power for use in large aircraft. There now are no reliable aircraft motors of more than 600 horsepower rating. ‘The Junkers aircraft Diesel is constructed on the two-cycle principle, but is of unusual de- sign, having two opposed pistons in each cylinder. Heat control is improved by division of the stroke between the two pistons and torque is said to be lessened by application of power from the opposed sources. Airmail growth in this coun- try, especially in the matter of poundage carried, has been rapid during the past year. Three im- portant extensions of the airmail network have been approved by the Interdepartmental Committee on Airways. They include a new Southern transcontinental route, connecting the existing lines st Atlanta, Ga., with Los Angeles; New York with St. Louis, by way of Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Co- lumbus and Indianapolis, and ALASKA LEADS WORLD per cent of the funds allotted to road port Association reportes. Louisville, Ky., with Dallas, Tex., by way of Nashville, Tenn, and Memphis. It is probable that these routes will be in operation before the end of next Summer. GLIDERS CLASSED AS WINGS OF THE FUTURE GIRL AIR PILOT BUFFALO, N. Y. (#).—QGliders are making some of Buffalo’s future femin- ine aviators feel at home in the wide open spaces above the earth. They are the “wings” with which members of the Women's Glider Club are acclimating themselves to altitudes where some day they hope to soar at the controls of motored aircraft. The club is the first of its kind for ‘women in the country and was organ- ized by Maj. John Goetz, its instructor, who believes gliding is the most prac- tical and safe way for an embryo fiyer to get the “feel” of the air. One Special Advantage. “The glider gives one a chance to overcome at least one of the difficulties | of learning to fly—getting accustomed to the air—with a minimum of risk,” -Yls: Mrs. C'P:rlcl D;‘llfn wife of a piiot Wwho hopes to earn “wings." Mrs. Dallas is one of the two mem- of the club who thus far have been N itted to in 8 glider, “Gliding is & new thrill. I am crazy sbout it. It is as different from flying in a piane as sailing is different from motorboating. You just float through the air like a feather. There is little danger- If you do the right things, you land with no trouble.” Club Enrolls Seven Members, The club numbers seven young women at present, and all except Mrs. Dallas and Miss Rose Frank of New York City still are in the “ground” school. In eight lessons, Maj. Goetz hopes to aulli(y them for their first lessons in lying airplanes. The gliders are simply constructed with two wings and a seat in front at a control stick for the pilot. For the the achievements of the builder of the power plant for Langley's famous aerodrome, He was associated with Langley, third Smithsonian secretary, from 1898 to 1905, and in 1902 evolved the engine used in the full-sized plane whose two plunges into the Potomac River broke the heart of the inventor. Manly's engine has been charac- terized as the first “modern” aicraft @ engine in the world, a power plant made without a single example on which to base the design. Admiral Byrd was granted the medal for his pioneer flights over the North and South Poles, his transatlantic flight and the scientific achievements that resulted. The medal itself, 3 inches in diam- eter and ‘of gold, is the design of a famous French sculptor, M. J. C. Chaplain. —_— IN AIRPORT BUILDING Sixty-five Landing Pields Cleared, Although Population Is Only 60,000. Alaska today stands as the world leader in the number of airports and landing flelds in proportion to its popu-~ lation. Though it has a population of only 60,000, Alaska has Brlirpm'u, or s':p{::xlmnuly one to every 900 inhabi- nts. Much of the work of laying out land- ing flelds is being done by t‘;e Alaskan Roads Commission and from 30 to 50 building are going into the building of landing fields, the American Air Trans- The Langley medal for aerodromi Admiral Richard E. Byrd (upper left) and the late Charles M. Manly, engine builder. The photograph below shows Manly (left) and Samuel Pierpont Langley just before the flight of Langley’s famous aerodrome, October 7, 1903. los (upper right) has been voted to ploneer AIRMAIL LINKSU. §. WITH 22 NATIONS Longest Foreign Route in Operation Is From Miami The reason for this allocation of funds, according to Gov. George A. Parks of Alaska, is that the develop- ment of the airplane means more to the Territory than any other means of transportation, Point Barrow, on the Arctic Ocean, six weeks from Fairbanks by sledge on foot, while by airplane they are hours apart. th 30 days apart by dog teams, about seven hours by air, Nome and Fair| Alr mail and passenger service, sav- bz} ARMY PLANT SAVES $21,514 IN 19 MONTHS Repurification of Helium at Scott | ¢35t and west coasts and into Canada Field, Il1,, Saves Texas Shipment. ‘The Army’s helium repurification plant, operated at Scott Field, Iil., in connection with airship and balloon activities there, has saved the Govern- ment $21,514 above the cost of the plant in 19 months of operation, accord- ing to a report by Lieut. Col. John A. Paegelow, Army Air Corps, commandant of the field. ‘The plant was installed at a cost of $44,370 and during the past 19 months has repurified 2,662,713 cubic feet of helium at a cost of $1.25 per 1,000 feet. Prior to installation of the plant helium was drawn from the airship when in need of repurification, com- pressed into tanks, shipped to Fort Worth, Tex., emptied into a storage tank, repurified, recompressed, loaded into cars and returned to Scott Field. The cost of handling, freight and other expenses was $26 per 1,000 feet: Col. Paegelow has recommended to the War Department the installation of a permanent heHum plant at Scott Field. The Scott Field plant was de- signed by Dr. C. W. Seibel of the Bu- reau of Mines, and was installed and operated by civilians trained at the field, under supervision of Master Sergt. Herbert J. Bertram, Air Corps. 28 POUNDS IS AVERAGE OF TRAVELER’S BAGGAGE Transport Association Makes Tests and Fixes 30 Pounds as Maximum. The average air traveler carries 28 pounds of baggage, according to tests made by the American Air Transport Association. Alr passenger lines have set 30 pounds as the maximum weight of baggage which may be carried by airplane without extra cost to pas- sengers. Extra charges are made for baggage in excess of this amount. ‘The decision to create a system of standard baggage weights for air travel was made at the annual conference of air passenger traffic men, which meets under auspices of the assoclation. The conference, in addition to dis- cussing means of increasing air pas- senger travel, is studying various phases of the industry with a view to creating a set of standards which will make the handling of passengers uniform on all of the country's 30 passenger airlines. NEW COURSE POPULAR. Massachusetts Aeronautics Ground Study to Be Expanded. ‘The new home study aeronautics ground course offered by the Massa- chusetts Department of Education is proving to be the most popular course given by the department, it has been reported to Department of Commerce officlals. The present 16-week course is to be enlarged. Prof. Myron S. Huckle, instructor of aeronautics for the Massachusetts Insti- tute of Technology and director of the State course, will be given assistants to head sub-departments. Massachusetts is one of the first States to offer a recognized standard course of instruc- tion in aviation. gt Bees Shipped by Airplane. One of the most unusual recent air- mail shipments was 105 queen bees, sent first fll'!:t they are towed along by men until y reach the proper altitude. For more e: , they are whirled high into the air drawn by automobiles, very much like a boy draws & kite, from Florida to California. Each bee Bttt xes a) one 3 little more than two days ufi the left Florida they were settling down thelr new Califosnia homes. to Buenos Aires. The United States now is connected He pointed out that|by direct air mail lines with 22 dif- is| ferent countries, the foreign air mail or | network covering 16,736 miles. five | longest of the foreign air mail routes are | operated by American contractors is the but only | Pan-American Airways line from Miami ‘The to Buenos Alres, Argentina, by way of the Canal Zone, the west coast of South America and Santiago, Chile. This route, recently opened, is 5784 iles long between Miami and Buenos Aires and connects with an uninter- rupted airway from New York Ciiy down the Atlantic Coast. The line cuts steamer time to half. On the east coast of South America the newly organized New York, Rio and Buenos Aires line is operating. Pas- senger and air mail services are avail- able into Canada and Mexico on both in midcontinent. Air mail and pas- senger services are available into the island nations of the West Indies. Foreign air mail routes linking the United States with neighboring coun- tries are listed as follows in a sur- vey just completed by the American Air Transport Association: New York-Montreal Detroit-Montreal .. Minneapolis-Winnipeg . Seattle-Victoria, British Columbia San Diego-Mexico City and Guatemala .... Miami-San Juan. Miami-Cristobal . Miami-Nassau Miami-Havana .. San Juan-Parama; Cristobal-Curacao Cristobal-Santiago .. Santiago-Buenos Alres. Brownsville-Mexico City Tampico-Merida ... Vera Cruz-Tepachula Tapachula-Guatemala . 560 115 DEVIGE MAY RECORD AIRSHIP ALTITUDE Problem Confronted in Diri- gible Flying Believed to Have Been Solved. AKRON, Ohlo (#).—An important problem of dirigible flying—that of de- termining altitude—seems near solu- tion, bullders here announce. Instruments now in general use are operated by atmospheric pressure and determine the relation of the airship to sea level only. ‘The Germans have developed an in- strument known as the echo-lot which was used successfully on the flight of the Graf Zeppelin around the world. The echo-lot is similar to a sounding instrument for measuring ocean depth. It measures the time sound takes to travel to earth from the ship and bounce or ecao back. Further research along this line is being conducted by Leo P. Delasso of the University of California, who is us- ing the Goodyear-Zeppelin blimp Vol- unteer as part of the laboratory. He is endeavoring to perfect an in- strument to record altitude with sea level as a basis. It is designed to show the distance from the surface of the earth regardless of whether the surface is smooth or mountainous. The pres- ence of a mountain ahead or at one side of a traveling dirigible would be recorded and shown as quickly and ac- curately as would the distance from the ground below. This instrument sends out a tone to the surface and records the time it takes to return. Delasso’s first prob- lem was to eliminate interference pro- duced by the dirigible’s multiplicity of noises. To accomplish this he built an elec- tromagnetic lyzer to record the en- tire “spectrum” of sound. He found the sounds to be largely in the lower reg- ister, indicating that a shrill note would be_most serviceable for his altimeter. The sclentist now is endeavoring to find a source of sound of a pitch that can be satisfactorily filtered through the airship’s noises and of sufficient inten- to actuate a recording device. PR Total. ONLY 11 STATES LACKING DIRECT AIRMAIL SERVICE Total of 130 Cities Connected in Giant Network Which Spreads Across United States. Only 11 States in the United States lack direct airmall service today, 130 cities being connected by direct airmaih network covering 37 States. These 130 citles, according vey made by officials of the ing Sys- tem, operators of extensive airmail lines In the West, are trade centers for areas having 60,000,00 population. The States which have no direct air- mall connections are Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, West Virginia, Mississippi, Arkansas, New Mexico, Ari- Zona, Montana, North and South Da- kota. Cities in most of these States, however, enjoy advantages of airmail Ume saving through train connections With points on the mail network. Curtiss Buys Bettis Field. Bettls Pleld, Pittsburgh, has been purchased Curtiss Alrgoru Corpora- tion, and will be improved to make it a service base and transport terminal, to & sur- Plan Baltimore Airport. Construction of a new 125-acre air- port 2 miles out of Baltimore is planned by Baltimore Al Inc., which has been capitalized at $5,000,000. INDIA SEEKS A “LINDY.” Aga Khan Offers Prize for Flight by Native Aviator. India is seeking & native Lindbergh. His highness, the Aga Khan, accordi to word recelved here, has offered, through the Royal Aero Club of Eng- land, a prize of $2,000 for the first solo flight by a person of Indian nationality from England to India or vice versa. The flight is to be completed within six weeks from the date of starting and the prize will remain open for one year from February 1, 1930. The British nOW operate transport service from Lon- don to Karachi, India. i NEW BRITISH CARRIER. England Expects to Commission Sixth Ship in January. England is expected to commission her sixth airplane carrier, the Glorious, some time in January. The'ship was begun as a cruiser and was converted. She will relieve her sister ship, the Cou- rageous, after sea trials. The six large carriers, grouped under the Fleet Air Arm, are the Glorious, ficun(eau!. Furious, Eagle, Hermes and rgus. e Sweden's Air Mail Increases. Air mail service has been growing rapidly in Sweden. ‘The volume carried in 1928 was 125 per cent greater than in 1927. Nearly 15,000 passengers were carried last year. FOR 5 MANEUVERS Join Army and Navy to Test Strength of Coastal Defenses. Five joint Army-Navy maneuvers, in which aviation forces will participate are to be conducted during the first six months of 1930, according to a ‘Model Aircraft BY GEORG! E WATERS. IR-MINDED American youth—the model-plane builders of to- day—continue their march up the mountain of knowledge to positions later as experts of aviation. Today a dispatch from Seattle to the column tells of Louls Proctor’s success as a model-plane pilot and builder. Louis, who was acclaimed a model aircraft champion of the United States, is now at work in the Boeing Airplane Co. factory at Seattle, engaged in the construction of minute miniature Tours European Countries. As a first-prize award, Louis toured throughout Europe, where schedule of operations announced by |he visited foreign landing fields the War and Navy Departments. The first of these maneuvers will take place at the Panama Canal Zone from February 25 to March 10, with the battle fleet participating as the naval unit, against the Army forces in and inspected various makes of planes. Officials there say he is an aviation authority in the mak- %ouis‘ accomplishment goes to- the zone, under command of Maj. |ward strengthening the state- Gen. Malin Craig. ‘The season, for which the date has not been set, will be held in the Philip- pines, with the Asiatic fleet as the naval unit, and Army forces under command of Maj. Gen. Douglas Mac- Arthur. The third maneuver, in Hawaii, will involve the naval forces based on Pearl Harbor and Army forces under command of Maj. Gen. Fox Conner. ‘The fourth, in May, 1930, will test the harbor defenses of Long Island Sound and will involve the scouting fleet and Armamtroopl commanded by Maj. Gen. Prest Brown. The concluding man- euver, in July, 1930, will be an attack on the harbor defenses of San Fran- cisco by the battle fleet, the Army forces being under command of Maj. Gen. John L. Hines. ‘The maneuvers will test the existing defense projects and plans, and are ex- pected to solve probiems presented in the co-ordination of air, anti-aircraft and harbor defense forces of the Army in the defense against the elements of an attacking fleet; to improve tactics and technique of the defense arms; and to develop efficient communication and team work among all elements of the defending forces. e exercises wil continue day and night, actual war conditions being sim- ulated, as far as ible. Posts will be darkened at night and simulated air combats will occur between the two air that the exercises will y th the solution of many rising in connection with joint action of the Army and Navy in coast defense. FLORIDA CITY ENGAGES BLIMP FOR PLANE MAIL St. Petersburg Demonstrates Appre- clation for New Postal Air Service Contract. When airmail service was extended to St. Petersburg, Fla, a few days ago that city put on a special dirigible transfer of mail from the city post office to the waiting airmail plane, ac- cording to officials of Pitcairn Aviation, alrmall contractors on the line passing through this city. Postmaster R. M. Hall of St. Peters- burg, in the cabin of the Goadyear blimp Vigilant, lowered a rope over the roof of the downtown building, to which one pouch of mail was fastened. ‘The pouch was drawn up and the air- ship flew to Piper-Fuller Field, where the pouch was lowered to Pilot Elmer G. Cross, who placed it in his mail plane with the other pouches and took off for the North. 8t. Peterspurg broke the record for first-flight poundage on the New York- Miami airway, it was announced, send- ing & total of 29,558 pleces of mail, weighing 563 pounds, 8 ounces. This is believed to be a record for the United States, Pitcairn officials said. TAILLESS Pl:ANE FLIES OVER HIGH MOUNTAIN Storch Proves Its Quality by Successful Drive Over Tallest Peak. - Germany's revolutionary tailless air- plane, the Storch, has proved that it can fly hy crossing the highest point of the Rohn Mountains, according to a report to the Department of Commerce from Consul R. W. Heingartner, Frank- fort-on-Main, Germany. Because of the lower air resistance claimed for the Storch and the fact that its supporting and control surfaces are contained in a single unit, it can be powered with a very small engine, the cross-mountain plane having been equipped with an air-cooled 10-horse- power motor cycle engine, ‘The plane has a total weight of only 500 pounds and a _crulsing speed of about 90 miles per hour. It is steered by horizontal and vertical stabilizers attached at the ends of the wings. The horizontal stabilizers are used for climb- ing and diving and the vertical stabil- izers cause the plane to bank and turn when operated singly. Operated to- gether they serve as a brake. The pro- peller is of the pusher type, mounted in back of the wing. BROWN_PROMOTED.— Airmail Pilot Made Captain in Re- serve Corps. Arthur Brown, airmail pilot on the Interstate Airlines Chicago-Atlanta con- tract airmall line, has been promoted to a captaincy in the Army Air Corps Re- serve and placed in command of the 426th Attack Squadron in the Sixth Co;ps Arehu. - rown has been flying passengers and mail on the Chicago-Atlanta rgsx since last May. He was in the Army Afr Service during the World War, and after the war barnstormed for a short time with Col. Charles A. Lindbergh. Germany’s Air Corps Badge Approved. The War Department has approved a distinctive badge for officers and en- listed men of the Air Corps Technical School, Chanute Field, Rantoul, Ill. The motto on the shield is to be “Sus- tineo Alas (I sustain the wings).” e University Air Course. The University of Southern Cali- fornia is giving & new course in physics of the atmosphere for the benefit of aviatiors and prospective fiyers. | not pelteve it, this adobe building, of ancient Indian architecture, is ane of the most modern air- in Southwest. nd and modern pieces. The d It is the Transcontinental Air Transport station at Albuquerque, where, be- from Los Angeles and San Francisco will have supper. The waiting room room boasts hand-carved tables and chairs, Local forms of architecture are found at all of the T. A. ments of the country’s renowned fiyers. Col. Lindbergh, in an address to scores of the model builders at Philadelphia last year, declared that without the now prevalent interest in the building and flying of model ships progress in avia- tion could not be carried on. He urged these model-plane pilots to continue the good work, and in time they would be rewarded by a great country, whose main fea- ture of warfare and transporta- tion would be aviation. Miss Earhart Encourages. Amelia Earhart, addressing a playground association, sought to encourage girls in the flying and building of model ships. She said that the kitchen might be a good place for some girls, but that there were others who were as clever with their hands as any of the stronger sex. And scores of others, the great- est flyers of the day, spend a good deal of their time in sponsoring Road Construction Contractor Travels Over Jobs in Plane The airplane has entered the road construction business. J. F. Dexter, road construction contractor of Dallas, Tex, for- merly averaged 4,000 miles of automobile travel per month on the inspection of road construc- tion projects. Tiring of this diffi- cult program, which kept him away from home almost contin- uously, he turned to aerial trans- portation, Today he is able to inspect all of the projects in 70 hours and now enjoys home cooking regu- larly. DUTCH BUY PURSUIT SHIPS FOR COLONIES Curtiss Gets $250,000 Order for Craft to Be Used in East Indies. American military pursuit planes will make their appearance in the Dutch Esst Indies as a result of a $250,000 order placed by the Netherlands Indian overnment with the Curtiss Aeroplane ixpon Corporation for eight Curtiss Conqueror Hawk pursuit planes, spare airplane and engine parts and spare en- ines. 8 Shipment will be made by steamer to Java. The planes will be of the stand- ard type used by the Army Air Corps in its pursult squadrons. Netherlands In- dia now has a well organized military air force, comprising experienced pilots, modern types of planes of different types, adequate landing fields, well equipped work shops and an excellent technical staff, according to reports received here. Army and navy pilots have partici- pated in aerial mapping and nurveylnx of the most inaccessible volcano an swamp areas, charting of reefs danger- ous to water navigation, flying of n-all and passenger service, crop dusting over the tea plantations and other peace-time missions. A large military flying school is lo- cated at Kalidjatti and an_air force depot at Andir, Bandoeng. The naval fying camp is at Sourabaya. Recently a private air transportation enterprise has been formed under the name of the Nederlandsch Indische Luchtvaart Mij, subsidized by the Netherlands In- dia government, and service has been opened between Batavia, Bandoeng, Saramang and Sourabaya, with exten- slons planned to include Sumatra and Singapore. LAST OF MAR.TIN BOMBER PLANES CLOSES CAREER ‘Number 4’ Makes Farewell Flight From France Field, in Pan- ama Canal Zone. ‘The last flight of what is believed to be the last Martin bombardment plane in the Army Air Corps has been made and one of the famous types of military planes has passed out of the picture. A report to the Air Corps News Letter from France Field, Panama Canal Zone, describes the last flight of the fleld's Martin, known on the records as ‘“No. 4.” This plane was manufactured in 1923 and has been in the service con- tinuously since that time. It has had two major overhauls and five sets of engines. ‘The Martin was developed as & war- time bombardment plans and was powered with two Liberty engines. "CHUTE MANUAL ISSUED. Instruction Booklet for Beginners and Others Published by War Office A parachute manual which forms a means of instruction for the beginner and a guide and reference book for the experienced parachute worker has been made Pub\lc by the War Depart- ment. Coples may be obtained from [ms Public Printer, Government Print- I.nhoflum e booklet contains sections on parachute construction principle, speci- fications for parachute materials, para- chute maintenance. and repair and in- structions for the use of parachutes. Several diagrams show the appearance, dimensions and method of packing the standard parachute. YOUNG WOMAN A WINNER. Miss Vera Brown Now Ranks as Flying Girl Reporter. Miss Vera Brown, for 10 years a re- porter on the Detroit News, recently won her wings under difficult conditions and now is said to be the one of the two fiying girl reporters in the United 8. She took her Department of Com- merce tests successfully in rain and fog at the Gratiot Airport, Detroit. She was initiated into flying when she wrote a series of aviation features and now has more than 30 hours in the air, Miss Mary Goodrich, aviation editor of the Hartford Courant, Hartford, Ly also holds a private pilot's license, won &lnce she took up her newspaper career. craft. the model-plane movement. Lieut. Walter Hinton, pioneer transat- lantic flyer, is Washington's boon to the model-plane movement. Since his historic flight some years ago, Lieut. Hinton has sac- rificed many hours of busy days to the making of addresses, en- couraging American youth to build tiny ships and interest themselves in the world's leading science. Contest at Macfarland. Friday model-plane pilots mo- mentarily forgot Santa's gifts and flew their tiny ships in the con- test held by the District Model Aircraft League at Macfarland Junior High School. Hand- launched scientific and rise-off- ground fuselage models were flown. The column goes to press on Friday, and it was impossible to get the results of the meet. They will be published in next week’s column. New quarters for the Capitol Model Aero Supply House were es- tablished Thursday at 2037 K street and now are open for busi- ness. The newly organized clubs at the Maury, Edmonds and Wheat- ley graded schools will begin the actual flying and construction of models after the holidays. Teach- ers at the three schools are spon- soring the clubs. NATURAL GAS GIVES INCOME T0 AIRPORT Seepage, Once Regarded Joke, Now Pays Field $3,000 Each Week. By the Associated Press. KANSAS CITY, Kans.—Fairfax Fleld, one of the Nation's largest airports, rapidly is becomeing rich, but not from aviation. Natural gas production from 14 wells on the airport is responsible for an in- creased income that now totals more than_ $3,000 a week. Geologist claim, the field may produce 50,000,000 cubic feet of gas a day without deep test development. They joked about it when gas seepage caused the first well to be drilled early. in 1928. Since the first successful test, however, flow has increased com.l.nulllt Now more than 3,000,000 cubic feet sold daily to heat factories at the air- and to public utilities. Open flow from all wells. most of which are located away from the main landing field, has reached 23,000,000 cubic feev. a day. Twenty per cent of this will be available for commercial purposes at the present pressure, it is estimated, and .airport officials believe at least 10 per cent will be sold. Discovery of so many unexpected wells has caused gas production to as- sume the proportions of a business rival- ing the airport’s own activity. 3 Deeper tests to ascertain possibilities of even greater yield are under consid- eration. Geologists believe oil or gas would be found in substantial quantity at deeper levels, PRSP READY-TO-FLY GLIDERS, PUT ON SALE FOR $435 Reduction Announced by Associa- tion Sponsoring Machnies as Training for Aviation. Ready-to-fly gliders of the primary training QYpe now may be purchase for as little as $435, according to the National Glider Association, which is sponsoring gliding and soaring in mo- torless airplanes as a sport and means of aeronautical training. One of the largest glider manufac- turing companies in the country has been able to reduce its prices nearly $150 by the institution of line uc- tion and more_economical methods of manufacture. The company expects to make and sell approximately 1,000 gliders in 1930. In this city at least two glider clubs have been organized and expect to be gin flying late in the Winter or early next Spring. They are constructing their own gliders for primary training purposes. SAN DIEGO HAS FIRST WESTERN GLIDER CAMP ‘W. H. Bowlus, Record Holder, Is Chief Instructor at New School. ‘The first glider camp in the Western United States has been opened at Mount Balomar, near San Diego, Calif. W. H. Bowlus, head of the technical training department of the Airtech School of Aviation, is chief instructor. Bowlus recently established ‘s new American glider and soarer record by a flight of 1 hour, 21 minutes and 9 4-5 seconds, exceeding by a few minutes the flight made by Dr. Wolfgang Klemperer: in the Allegheny Mountain country near Uniontown, Pa. ‘The first American glider school has been in operation for some time on the Atlantic Coast at Cape Cod, Mass, where a number of remarkable glider flights have been made. There has been a great increase in amateur gliding operations in California and several col~ lege glider clubs are active there. MAITLAND TRANSFERRED. Pacific Flyer, Stationed Here, Or- dered to Duty at Duncan Field. Lieut. Lester J. Maitland, pilot of the Army Fokker transport plane on the first flight from the United States to Hawall, is to be transferred from duty in the office of F. Trubee Davison, Assistant Secretary of War for Aero- nautics, to the Air Corps Training Center, Duncan Field, Tex. Maj. Ralph Royce, cummlndlnl? the famous First Pursuit Group, Selfridge Field, Mich, has been assigned to duty in this city in the office of the Army chief of staff, effective June 30, 1930. While on leave he organized and headed the first aerial police force of ‘chlcun‘ l Hangar Used as Shop. The = 3d Attack Group, Fort Crockett, Texas, now is using a_ new hangar, recently constructed there, as & machine shop, aerial repair and para- chute department. A beacon light is under cogstruction at the field. N