Evening Star Newspaper, January 5, 1930, Page 63

. AVIA BY JOSEPH HE year which has just be- gun i8 expected by many aviation people to mark the t:genlnl of a new period in e development of commercial ayiation in the United States—a period of .stabilization, of settling down and of careful planning for sounder future growth. The few years of hurried ex- pansion which now are culmina- ting in the shutting down of number of the weaker aviation production plants and a general state bordering on financial col- lapse were ‘certain to result in a succeeding term of more conserv- ative expansion, based wupon thorough study of the needs of modern aviation. The past year has witnessed the the throwing of tremendous capi- tal into aviation and the growth of great aviation combines, which have absorbed one after another of the smaller independent con- cerns. The recent financial dis- turbances have been a powerful factor in bringing to a close the “boom period” of aviation. Outstanding Feature of 1930. “The outstanding feature of 1930,” said Clement M. Keys, president of North American Aviation and its subsidiary com- panies, “probably will be tre- mendous growth in the number of miles flown, especially in air- mail and miscellaneous services. Well founded and well financed industries in the trade now can see their way clear to a sound and contsructive growth in 1930.” ‘The coming year probably will bring, for the first time, intense! competition in all branches of the aviation industry and a concerted effort on the part of the leading companies to sell the business man and the general public on aviation. There will be efforts to improve airplane design rather than to rush prcduction on any type of design which may seem to meet current ne>ds. Forecast of General Business. The year also may be expected to bring acvances in the general business management of aviation and in methods of marketing and servicing of aircraft and aviation engines. Many salesmen will find employment in the aviation field. The Ryan division of the Detroit Aircraft C ation, for example, has begun the creation of a na- tional sales organization, with an airplane dealer in every town and city of more than 10,000 popula~i tion. This is typical of the trend which may be expected to become more pronounced during the year. The deferred payment plan has appeared in the marketing of air- planes, and 1930 probably will witness the granting of more lib- eral terms of financing and a more general use of the plan. There also is room for improve- ment in the application of in- surance to aviation, and the year may witness important steps in this direction. Air Transport to Grow. There probably will be notable expansions of air passenger, mail and express lines during the year, attended by even greater reduc- tion of travel time. The aeronau-| tics branch of the Department of Commerce, in the Air Commerce | Bulletin, predicts that in the near future “we shall undoubtedly have transcontinental service which will carry us from coast to coast in 34 hours. We shall also have, eventually, transoceanic | serv’ice for both passengers and| mail.” In a brief review of the finan-| cial aspects of aviation, the aero- nautic branch officials said: “Avi- ation stocks and securities have recently declined. So have prac- tically all other industrials, and | it is not a circumstance peculiar to aviation. “The conservative investor who has purchased aviation securities in sound organizations for the ‘long haul’ rather than quick turnover for immediate profit- taking, will find himself in much the same position as the early investors in other transportation| securities. The impending prog: ress in the aircraft industry wAl | be orderly, sound economically, | and along lines that have been clearly indicated. The returns should be consistent, adequate| and certain.” Resales a Problem. As was the case in the auto-| mobile industry, the marketing of trade-in used planes threatens to become a serfous problem. The number of used planes which will | be traded in for new planes or which may be resold will be greatly increased during 1930, it is 4,906 airplanes whose ownership During the past year there were 4906 airplanes whose ownership was transferred, according to rec- ords of the Department of Com- merce aeronautics branch. This ‘was more than double the number | Boart |Chamber of Commerce and the TION S. EDGERTON. of transfers of ownership during |way to an even greater increase /in the used plane business this year. | Dealers have established service | organizations which overhaul and refit airplanes for resale. Inde- | pendent firms have been set up to | handle all makes of used air- | planes and engines. In recognition of the serious- a|ness of the used plane problem, |the Department of Commerce, under the terms of the air com- | merce act, has put into effect reg- | ulations providing that airplanes which are resold also must be re- licensed. Such regulations, it was pointed out, are necessary to guarantee that used planes are airworthy when they are sold to new owners. " The regulations provide that the resold plane must pass a thorough examination which will show whether it is in flying con- dition and is safe. Pilots’ Ranks Increasing. Many of the 29,000 student pilots who now hold students’ licenses issued by the Department of Commerce may be expected te begin flying “on their own” this year, and the ranks of licensed pilots, now numbering more than 9,000, probably will be swelled greatly. This great increase in aviators and the attendant increase in the number of planes sold and oper- ated will result in augmented pressure upon communities which have not provided landing fields or which have built airports in- adequate to their needs. In this connection there is to be an interesting session this month at the annual convention of the American Road Buflders’ Association in Atlantic City. The association has created a munici- pal airports section, which has made a general study of the air- port situation and which will re- port its findings to the associa- tion. The report will cover the municipal airports conference held in this city during the Fall. Of especial interest to the Dis- trict of Columbia will be an ad- dress by Edwin A. Schmitt, who has done all the preliminary en- gineering for the national air- port site at Gravelly Point for the office of the Army Engineer for the district of Washington. Mr. Schmitt has made a thorough study of the situation, and his paper is expected to throw new light on the general airport mat- ter here. Local Fields Under New Control. The close of 1929 witnessed the assing from the control of lacal terests of the National Capital’s two commercial airports. Wash- ington Mr&ort. the first to be sold, has been taken over by a power- ful New York and Delaware group and is being developed as an avia- tion terminal exclusively. On the last day of the year for- mal announcement was made of the sale of Hoover Field to offi- cials of a New Jersey airplane manufacturing concern,” which also has taken over Atlantic Sea- board Airways, International Air- ways, the Potomac Flying Service and the Gettysburg Flying Serv- ice, all of which have formed an| interlocking group. Both fields now are controlled | by the strongest organizations which have appeared in the local aviation picture. Hoover Field long has been regarded as a model for small commercial fly- ing fields, and Washington Air- port is to be developed as a first- class air terminal field, according to tl:a plans of its new manage- mont. Airpori Drive Planned. While these two fields will serve to keep the National Capital {on the country’s air transport map, they cannot be expected to remove the need for a large mu- nicipal airport, and the Atlantic City convention is expected to furnish added arguments for the construction of a local field. A vigorous campaign for the establishment of the sorely need- ed governmental airport here will be opened by the Washington of Trade, the Aeronautical National Aeronautic Association, at what promises to be an impor- tant meeting in the New Willard Hotel the night of January 13. Some of the most prominent leaders in the aviation industry will come to the meeting from as far as Detroit to present the ar- guments of the industry for a model airport in the National Capital. The Board of Trade has ob- tained for this meeting the origi- nal drawings submitted by win- ning contestants in the $10,000 Lehigh airports competition which closed recently. These drawings represent the latest achievements in the art and science of airport design. BERLIN AIRPORT CLEARS 183,845 MARKS IN YEAR Receipts From Restaurant Conces- sion and Admission Fees Add to Income, While many American airports struggling to break even on costs, the Berlin-Tempelhof airport, one of the world's largest airports and one of the oldest successful flelds, closed the busi- are with an operating profit of | assigned to Navy Patrol Squadron 8-S |change the course to ness year 183,845 marks, accordin, received here by the Commerce. Receipts of the operating company increased to such an extent that not only were operating expenses met and the funds required: for depreciation raised, but there were sufficient funds available to pay the interest on current loans. Receipts from restaurant concessions and visitors’ admission fees constituted en important item in the budget of the airport, and arrangements were made to increase these revenues by constru- tion of four large halls and enlargement of the restaurant facilities. Improve Roosevelt Field. velt Field, N. Y., is being im- proved by the construction of eight new steel and concrete buildings, which will to a report partment of ce :Ep and exhibition space. ’ NAVY FLYING BOAT PY-1 | ASSIGNED TO SERVICE Twin-Motored Craft, Which Was Tested at Anacostia Station, Attached to Squadron 8-S, ‘The big twin-motored Navy PY-1 patrol flying boat, which was at the Anacostia Naval Air Station during all of last Summer undergoing rigorous flight and performance tests, has been and will make the annual cruise into Southern waters with the squadron. | The PY-1 is a new type of patrol plane, developed as an adjunct of the famous line of Navy PN patrol planes, and is designed for long-distance patrol missions with full military load. Fol- lowing the successful tests at Anacostia, a commercial version of the big patrol plane has been turned out, and & num- ber of these planes will go into pas- | senger, mail and express service be- tween the United States and South | America on the lines of the New York, | Rio and Buenos Aires Lines. As com- | mercial planes they carry 20 passengers, | mail and baggage. Automatic Hangar Doors. An electric monorail “locomotive” to move hangar doors has been installed at the Cleveland municipal airport. | push buttons. | the previous years and points the | | the parachutes will be a dance and Pover provide 100,000 square feet of hangar |is conveyed through flexible cables, and' the “middies” and 60,000 square feet of office, | the doors are operated by means of 11;E SUNDAY STAR, VASHINGTON, D. C., JANUAKY 5, 1930—PART FOUR. VATORS STUDY | [sours = monor or smmioves | ICE ON PLANES !Formation Serious Problem Under investigation at Anacostia. During the last month Navy test; | pilots at the Anacostia Naval Air-Sta- tion have engaged in a study of the action and effect of ice formation upon |airplanes in fiight. The formation of ice i one of the serlous problems in connection with Winter flying, having caused many forced landings, especially jon the mail runs. . A local test flight was made around the flying field on one of the days dur- ing the month when ice formation was at its worst. The temperature of the alr was between 31 and 32 degrees,| just below freezing, with a steady drizzle falling from very low clouds. The moisture froze immediately upon con- tact with the ground. The flight was made by Lieut. A. P! Storrs in a Navy F6C-4 fighting plane with & J-6 radial air-cooled motor, Lieut. Storrs circled the field at 800 feet, remaining at that altitude 15 min- utes. At the end of this time an in- crease in motor speed of 100 revolutions per minute was required to maintain the original air speed and altitude be- cause of the formation of ice. Lieut. Storrs reported that there was | a distinct stiffening of the controls and the plane seemed appreciably heavier. ‘The ice formation could be seen build- ing on the wings and tail. The plane was landed after 20 minutes of flight and examined. A solid layer of ice, approximately one-sixteenth of an inch thick, was found on the leading edge | of the wings and tail, extending back over the entire surfaces in a very rough, wavy layer of varying thickness. All wires and struts were coated, as well | as the fuselage and cowling. No ice was found on the p ller. During the month the airmail planes on the Pitcairn run encuntered ice formation several days and nights, some of the ships coming in heavily loaded and several being forced to re- main on the ground, forwarding the mail by train. AIR LEGION PLANS PURCHASE OF CHUTES Dance and Card Party Will Be Given to Help Swell Fund. Learning that the Department of Commerce areonautics branch is con- sidering the promulgation of a regula- tion making the wearing of parachutes by aviation students mandatory, the District of Columbia Air Legion, in furtherance qf its policy of attempting to keep one step ahead of requirements, ?llnl to provide parachutes for use by ts members in solo flylng and dual instruction, it was announced last night by Alva Sole, president. ‘The first step toward purchase of card party in the Hamilton Hote) Jan- uary 11, the proceeds of which will go toward purchase of the first 'chute. The affair has been arranged by M. G. Dooley, chairman of the legion’s enter- tainment committee. A special feature of the evening will be the defense of his checker champlonship of the club by John Arthur Shaw. Tomorrow night, at 9 o'clock, the motion picture filny, “Happy depicting the various ways of making parachute {umm and how to handle a parachute in action, will be shown by Walker Chapman, parachute jumper of the legion. There also will an ex- hibition of motion pictures taken by Ernest I. Lewis, chairman of the Inter- state Commerce’ Commission, on a re- cent flight across the United States m the Transcontinental Alr Transport es, WASHINGTON. AERO CLUB IS TO HOLD ELECTION Adolf K. Barta Will Be Nominated | for President by Board of Governors on Monday. ‘The annual meeting of the Aero Club of Washington will be held immediately following & luncheon in the New Wfl-} lard Hotel at 12:30 pm., Monday, Jan- uary 13. The business will include election of officers. The board of governors Wllll submit one nomination for each office, as follows: President, Adolf K. Barta; first vice president, Dr. George K. Lewis; second vice president, Admiral | D. W." Taylor; third vice president, | Brig. Gen. Willlam E. Gillmore, as- | sistant chief of the Army Air Corps; | secretary, Lawrence E. Willlams; treas- urer, Dr. W. G. Brombacher, and trustees, Lieut. Col. C. de F. Chandler, retiring president; Prof. C. F. Marvin, chief of the Weather Bureau; Maj. ! Gen. George O. Squier and A. F., Zahm. Reservations may be made by mail or telephone throuxh the headquarters of the National Aeronautic Association, Barr Building, 910 Seventcenth street. LUFTHANSA"ESTABLISHES BLIND FLYING COURSE Pilots Learn to Handle Planes in' Heavy Fog or Night by In- struments Alone. { The Deutsche Lufthansa, the largest | European air transport company, has established a course in blind flying at | its Berlin-Staaken base to accustom its {pilots to handling planes in heavy fog |or at night by the aid of instruments alone, according to a report to the Department of Commerce from Assist- | ant Trade Commissioner A. Douglas| Cook at Berlin. The company has equipped three dif- ferent types of planes used on its lines with special blind flying equipment. The pliots are .seated side by side in these planes, the pilot under instruc- tion having his vision outside the plane | completely obstructed by frosted glass or shutters. The other pliot, acting as instructor, has an unobstructed view. The pilot in the closed cockpit can see nothing but his {lluminated instru- ments. From the instructor pilot he receives orders to hold a certain course, any given { course o to carry out maneuers By fituan:ufi: can be corrected by the | r through the second" s cond " set of Torpedo Unit Used in Training at Annapolis Back With Fleet. Torpedo Squadron 9-8, wi been stationed at Annapolis, Mhiic_?lslg:: June 11 last for duty in connection with the flight training of midshipmen at the Naval Academy, has returned to ths aircraft squadron of the scout- ing fleet, the Navy Department has| announced. While at Annapolis, where six tor- pedo planes were used by the squadron in the training of the midshipmen, officers and men of the squadron put i nm:tzm&‘flu ttlhe prescribed ction, including aerial navigation. o Ward (Scrap) Braley (above), shown with his first plane, is only 18 years old, but is a pilot and has built four planes. His latest creation (below) is named, C. like the rest, The Beezle Bug. YOUTH IS BUILDER OF FIVE AIRPLANES Kansan, 18, Graduate ' of Barnstorming School, Has Craft Rated by U. S. WICHITA, Kans. (®).—The Beezle Bug may be just another airplane to the public, but to Ward (Scrap) Braley it is the god of flight. scragz is only 18 years old, just out of higl own right, has designed and bullt four Beezle Bugs and is completing a fifth. Back in barnstorming days Scrap re- ceived his baptism in the air and free lance pilots gave him “stick work.” He was 15 years old when he soloed. There wasn't enough money to take him to a flying school, so he drew up blueprints. spread them before his fa- ther and sought permission to construct his own plane. ‘Weeks passed until one day the craft was completed with a grinning demon, “The Beezle Bug,” painted on one side.|in When Scrap’s big brother tested the flllne the father became so excited that e formed an alrcraft company and named the young son as chief engineer name for the plane came from an alteration of “Beelzebub,” prince of demons in the Bible and destroyer of files and plagues. “Beelzebub was a god,” young Scrap said, “and l:[ being a god ever could.be. That's why the first one | the‘name and all the rest will.” Recently the young engineer and his assistant, Shirley Campbell, who is 21, went to Washington to secure a satis- factory rating from the Department of Commerce on the newest Beezle Bug. They are probably the youngest bullders | Co. in the Nation. AIR EXPERT GIVEN NEW ASSIGNMENT Lieut. Harper Transferred From Burea of Aeronautics to Duty on Airplane Carrier. Lieut. Carl B. Harper, expert of the Navy Bureau of Aeronautics on the sub- ject of wing-slots and similar devices for contrullmghe flow of air over air- F‘lane wings below the stalling point, as been ordered detached from duty in the bureau here and transferred to duty aboard the airplane carrier U. 8. 8. Lexington, now on the Pacific Coast. Lieut. Harper has been conducting tests for a number of months with the Handley-Page wing slots and American ptations of the slots. He has di- vided his time between the bureau and the Philadelphia naval aircraft fac- tory . He has made a number of im- portant test flights at the Anacostia Naval Air Station. Recognized as one of the foremost authorities in this country on the use of wing slots to break u% stalls and spins, two of the greatest hazards con- fronting pilots, Lieut. Harper has writ- ten a number of technica pers and has delivered lectures on the subject before aviation and scientific bodies. 1jeut. Harper has been on duty in the Bureau of Aeronautics since December, 1927. ' He was born in West Virginia, April 30, 1894, and entered the Navy from that State EUROPE TO TRY AIR-RAIL. Freight Service to Serve More Than | 100 Towns Planned. ‘The great Americ: air-rail passen- ger services will have a European cousin in an air-rail freight service now being worked out in England, according to information recelved here. Negotiations are under way between the Imperial Airways and rallway com- panies whereby goods will be gathered from more than 100 provincial towns and sent to London to connect with school, but he is a pilot in his| lane was as near to| it to me as anything |° air freighters to Continental Europe. U. 5. LEAD NIGHT FLYING DURING 1929 Canadian Department of Na- | tional Defense Lets Con- tracts for Beacons. While the Department of Commerce continued to install lighting equipment for night flying along United States air= ways during the past year other coun- tries were following its lead and in- augurating day and night airmail serv- ce. Canada has been especially active preparing airways for night flying and the department of national defense, which controls all aeronautical activi- ties in the Dominion, has let contracts for the installation of numerous beacons at airports along airways. After a thorough study of all airway lighting systems .the. Canadian govern- ment has adopted the standards of the United States, though for the present it will place its beacons at greater in- tervals than the ¥0-mile standard used this country. © On-course lights will Coce” meral Inditating. the sostion ! icating of the beacon along the airway. On-course Lights Changed. ‘The Department of Commerce during the year changed the design of on- course - lights, which project a fixed besm’% ight along the axis of the air- m 14 to 1 The department now uses red course llfh'-s at isolated beacon locations to in- dicate that, no" lan m:mg« e available, and resq its- &t | where intermediate ‘larding flelds or e bepatment e Department Com- placed with the u 3 ~course lights which was the largest ever placed for alrway or. airport lighting equip- ment. It called for supplying 400 24- inch revolving beacons equipped with course light flashers and auxiliary front mirrors to replace the louvres formerly used. Seven hundred 18-inch on- course lights are included with the bea- cons. These. beacons and on-course lights, now being shipped, are to be in- stalled - early this year on.new airways all over the country. New Type Bases Used. ‘The Department.of Commerce also is obtaining: 150° rew t; bases, designed by Government engineers, for 24-inch beacons and course lights. They will replace the old type of -base furnished to the Post Office Department for the first lighted airways. The old bases were not designed for the addition of on-course light flashert The Department of Commerce also is installing a few electric code beacons, consisting of two lamps mounted one above the other at the focal point of fresnel lenses and a; ed to flash a definite code: These lights are mounted on 20-foot, steel towers at points where closer marking is required than is af- forded by the standard 10-mile beacons or for the marking of transmission lines crossing rivers or Government property. . ACTIVE FLYING CLUBS IN NATION NUMBER 146 Survey Made by National Associa- tion Covers Activities in 1,200 U, 8. Cities. ‘There are 146 active flying clubs in operation in the United States, it was announced last night by the National Aeronautic Assbeiation follow! u of 1,200 cities, conduct the Private Flying Club committee o1 the assoclation. Many of the clubs do not own planes, it was revealed by the survey, ana only a few carry any form of insurance. The flying club fleld is being culti- vated by the light plane manufac- turers, who see in it many outlets for | their product. The flying club movement is recog- nized as a stimulation to private flying, which can be obtained in no other way, due to the splitting up of cosus |leading _aviation companies; | Government and other Gove id| ficials connected with aviation, officers 0 BE PRESENTED Aviation Industry Leaders to Hold Meeting Here on January 13. Leaders of the aviation industry in the United States will present the in- National Capital of a model municipal alrport at a meeting in the New Wil- lard Hptel January 13. The meeting ‘was arranged by the Washington Board of Trade with the co-operation of the National Aeronautic Association and the Aeronautical Chamber of Com- merce. The meeting promises to be one of the most important in the history of the campaign for a National Capital afrport and will bring together members of the Senate and House, Federal avia- tion officials and leaders of the dustry from all parts of the country. Henderson Will Speak. Among the speakers will be Col. Paul Henderson, former Second Assistant Postmaster General in charge of air- | mail, who is known as the father of the modern airmail system and who now is vice president of Transcontinen- tal Air Transport and National Air Transport and an executive of other Senator Hiram Bingham of Connecticut, wi time fiyer and president of the tional ~Aeronautic _Association; Maj. Gen. John J. O'Ryan, president of Colonial Air Transport, and probably . S. “Casey” Jones of the powerful Keys-Curtiss-Wright group. It is expected that the record at- tendance of 1,200 at last year's airport meeting held by the Board of Trade will be materially exceeded this year, as a resuit of the co-operation of the two leading aviation bodies. Among the guests of honor will be members of the joint congressional commission on the District of Columbia airport, members of the District of Columbia subcommittees of the Senate and House appropriations committees, the chajrmen of the Senate and House District commmittees, other members of Congress interested in aviation legisla- tion, F. Trubee Davison, Assistant Sec- retary of War for Aeronautics; David S. Ingalls, Assistant Secretary of the CITY AIRPORT PLEA | dustry's plea for establishment in the | Model Aircraft BY GEORGE WATERS. “holida; I IVE model airplane pilots, flyin meet” staged by the were advanced to higher classes after they flew their tiny ships for the required time given by lea their planes in the recent trict Model Aircraft League, e officials. " * The five-boys are Joseph Bakersmith, Douglas Phillips, Walter Everett, Emerson Thomas and Buddy Hodgson. Improvement Is Marked. The fact that these flyers were advanced shows marked improve- ment in the league’s flyers during Winter meets. A certain amount of perfection in the construction and flying of the miniature mod- els is necessary before a flyer can be advanced. They are first given a plane which can be easily flown and built, and as they gradually become more experienced build- ers and pilots plans for more in- tricate models are ¥lven them. Bakersmith, Phillips, Thomas | and Everett were advanced to Class D, while young Hodgson stepped up to Class E. Towles Is a Winner. The contest began with the| class for aces. Robert Towles, a leading District pilot, thrilled spectators at the tiny airdrome| when his neat model soared about | the room for 3 minutes and 12 2-5 seconds, to win for him first place in his class for hand-launched scientific models. Ernest Stout, one of the model plane pilots who made good at Louisville in the national model aircraft finals, was a close second in the hand-launched model con- test. Harry McGinniss was third. In Class A, Billy Streets was de- in this phase of the John Pendleton $rlumphed over his opponents when his shi) first honors in Class B. class Billy Von Berenwits was sec- ond and Jack Callan third. Willilam Pizzini Wins, In Class CeWilliam Pfzzini won first place, and second and third laces went to Monroe Branden- urg and Blair Bennett. Walter Everett was given first %llee in Class E, with Albert rescher second and Joe Baker- smith third. In Class F, Buddy Hodgson won first place, while Emerson Thom- as was second and Denny Wil- liams third. John Williams refereed the meet, with Bob Willlams and H. S. Harbour as timers. . Next Meet January 25. The next meet of the District Model Aircraft League will be held at the Macfarland Junior High School miniature airdrome January 25. The league will hold meets throughout the Winter season. Plans on which the league and its council are stili industriously at work have been made for | monthly city-wide meets. This {will enable all model alrcraft clubs and other similar organiza- place winner my clared winner and ‘Frank Salis- bury second. There was no third- | tions to prove just what flyers are | the best. AURAL RADIO RANGE SERVICE AND WEATHER DATA PLANNED vy for Aeronautics; W. Glover, Second Assistant Postmaster Oem’c in charge of airmail; Maj, Clarence M. Young, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Aeronautics; Maj. Gen. James E. Pechet, chief of the Army Air Corps; Rear Admiral William A. Moffett, chief of the Navy Bureau of Aeronautics; chiefs of the aeronautics bureaus and divisions of the Federal ernment of- from the Army and and officials of local ing-flelds. flelds ;gnmer: fiy- . Drawings to Be Exhibited. One of the important features of the meeting will be the exhibition of the {20000 Lebigh sisporta. ompei: 8 ), a o tion, ‘recently closed. m drawings show the most modern airport designs, based upon all available experienee in airport construction and operation. . J. Murphy, president of the Board of Trade, will preside. Plans for the meeting are being made the avia- tion committee, headed by Lawrence E. Williams, chairman, and by Robert J. Cottrell, assistant secretary of the —_— ARNALL SERVIE 70 SOUTH SPEEDED Pitcairn Aviation Announces Faster Schedule to Latin American Countries. Following the reduction of air mail rates between the United States and Latin-American countries recently an- nounced by the Post Office Department, there has been a speeding up of air mail schedules between all points as far south as Guatemala City, it has been announced by Pitcairn Aviation, con- tract air mail operators on the New York-Miami line passing through this city. Air mail from the National Capital or other points along the Pitcairn line i8 flown to Atlanta, connecting there with the air mail lines to the Cia Mexicana de Aviacion base at Brownsville, Tex. A letter from this city will reach Mexico Olt{n-c 1:55 p.m. the second day after malling and Guatemala City at 3:15 p.m. the third day, it was an- nounced. Dally service is provided to Mexico City, which is on a “cut-off”’ air mail Toute from Tampico. At Tampico mail for more southerly points is flown as far South as Vera Cruz each Monday, Wednesday and Friday, connecting there with the fast service to Guatemala City, operating each Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. This means that a letter mailed in this city Monday afternoon will be delivered in Guatemala City Thursday afternoon. ‘The recent rate reduction announced by postal authorities listed air mail for Guatemala at 15 cents for each half ounce, including all charges. The do- mestic rate in the United States, 6 cents for the first ounce and 10 cents for each ldd':‘tlorl\-l ounce, applies to all points exico. Lloyds Enters Aeronautic Field. Lloyds of shipping fame will appear in the aeronautical field in the near fu- ture, and airplanes as well as ships will be classified. A committee of Lloyds register of shipping has completed ar- rangements for the issuance of certifi- tates to aircraft. Paris to Stage Air Show. ‘The twelfth internatione! aeronauti- cal exhibition will be held in the Grand of airplanes and the subsequent upkeep costs. ¥ . Palais, Paris, in November, 1930. WINNER IN $100,000 SAFETY CONTEST The Curtiss Tanager, which won the international safe aircraft contest, Formal award of the prise will be made greatest advance in aerodynamic safety without loss of efficiency. It departs from conventional standa for the Promotion of Aeronautics. adjudged to have demonstrated the biplane, powered with a-Challenger air-cooled engine. T fing | Atlantic Coastal Airways Installations to Mark First Few Weeks of the New Year. Installation of important new Fed- eral radio and weather reporting facili- tles along the Atlantic coastal airways will mark the first few weeks of the radio range beacons of the aural t along the New York- Atlanta airmail route, flown by Pit- cairn Aviation, is being completed by the Bureau of Lighthouses, Department of Commerce, and the service is to be extended in the future to Miaml. The Navy Department has announced that preliminary arrangements have been completed for the extension of the Navy weather reporting network to include several important points to the south and northeast of the National apital. This network augments Weather Bureau and Army weather stations in the United States. The radio range service will be avail- able to pllots of all planes equlgped wi ving apparatus, and the Na will make its full weather service avail- able to all pilots who apply for infor- m‘!‘nge beacon stations are being con- structed in this city and at Richmond, Va.; Greensboro, N. C.; Spartansburg, 8. G., and Atlanta. Other stations are proposed for the future on the south- em end of the route at Jacksonville, Titusville and Miami, Fla. Drovldlns continuous radio range service up an down the coast from Florida to Boston, since radio range stations now are op- erating on the New York-Boston route, flown by Colonial Airways. Set for Each Plane. ik ‘When installation of the ground sta- tions from this city southward to At- lanta {s completed, Pitcairn Aviation officlals have announced, each mail plane on the line will be equipped with a simple tuned receiving set, utilizing screen grids, a non-regenerative detec- tor, two or three stages of tuned radio- frequency and two stages of audio-fre- quency amplification, with an over-all amplification of about 1,000,000. The pilot will receive the signals through a head set built into his helmet. ‘The d stations will broadcast automatically at.the rate of 22 ngnnu per minute on the direction I the alrway. The conventional and “N” type of aural signal will be used. To one side of the airway the “dot- dash” signal forming “A” in the radio code will be broadcast. On other side the “N.” or “dash-dot,” signal will be heard. When the pilot is on his true course these two signals will merge and the pilot will hear the sound of a long dash. Thus if he veers to one side of the course, the long-dash signal indicating that he is on the course will cease and he will hear either the “A” or “N" signal and will be able to tell im- mediately that he is off the course and to which side he has wandered. By correcting his line of flight until the single long-dash signal again is heard in his head phones he can once more reach his true course though he may have no sight of the ground. Every 15 minutes the radio range sig- nal will be broken by the station opera- tor, who will come into the eircuit with radio telephone and speak the station's identificaticn, followed by a detatled ‘weather report and the correct time. If fog blots out a fleld tbward which the plane is flying the operator can in- form the pilot and tell him where he can land safely either short of or beyond the fogged-in area. Weather Reports Bi-Hourly. ‘The Navy Department has announced that in the near future it will estab- VY | lish a system of bi-hourly weather re- ports from the following new points in its Atlantic network: Urbana, Va. Princess Anne, Md., and Dover, Del. In addition there will be available at the Naval Air Station, Hampton Roads, Va., similar bi-hourly reports from Cape Hatteras and Cape Lookout, N. C. Bi-hourly reports are broadcast at present from 7 am. to 3 pm., daily from Navy flying flelds at Hampton | Roads, Quantico, Va., Anacostia, Phila- delphia, Lakehurst, N. J, and Dahl- gren, Va. oot of s 1 e of nce [ lying across the gppflhxnneck River, an area of rapid weather cha . This is a heavily traveled Navy airway be- tween the National Capital and Hamp- n Roads. The Princess Anne and Dover stations will handle reports of aid to pllots flying the Navy airway between Hampton Roads and Philadelphia. ‘The reports from the two North Carolina coastal stations will be includ- ‘ed in the Navy net broadcasts from Hampton Roads for the guidance cf aviators flying dwon the coast past the dangerous and stormy North Carolina capes. Civilian pilots contemplating long flights along the Atlantic Coast in the sixth and seventh naval districts, in which these stations are included, may receive special weather reports from naval radio cumgm stations along the coast by application to the commandant of the district or districts through which he is planning to fly. Upon re- quest for weather reports, the radio stations will be prepared soon to fur- nish dispatch reports conraining in- formation similar to that now available through the Navy net, the Navy | partment has announced. NAVY’S AIR FIGHTERS UNDERGO TRAINING Flying Squadrons in Scouting Fleet Put in Two Days in Battle “Practioce. ‘The roar of the Navy's fighting air squadrons has been heard over the Vir- ginia coast in the vicinity of Hampton Roads for the past few weeks as the aircraft squadrons of the scouting fleet underwent active battle training. Scouting Squadrons 6 and 7-S began extensive operations with tactical for- mation practice, culminating in two days of f,'m operations with Scouting Squadron 6-8, general utility squadrons and patrol squadrons. ‘The operations included a torpedo attack by the torpedo planes on a theo- retical battle line regmenmd by & tar- get on Virginia Beach. Scouting squad- Ton 6-S commenced installation of the new type radio loops recently adopted for use of the scouting squadrons. Observation Squadron 2-8 partici- pated in tactical exercises, new 02U-4 observation planes having been received. Some time was spent by the pilots of the squadron in practicing blind flying. Observation Squadron 3-B has been training new pilots for individual bat- le practice, completing the course with lwo days' active practice with Torpedo dron 9-8, which has just been transferred to Hampton Roads from Annapolis, Md. General Utility Squadron 2-8, one of the high ranking squadrons in the iff Trophy contest for the squadron having - the highest msored by the Daniel Gi eim Fund New York tomorrow. plane was s only in the use of vin': slots, on $he leading edge of the upper wing; wing flaps, on the trailing edge of the upper wing, permitting a change camber, ailerons of full floating type, constituting presented. competition began last June, with 15 planes - the tips of the lower wings. Tests of the planes entered in the ~—Underwood & Underwood. LY safety record for the year, continui m%wmblm:nem practice on towe tal 3 T T, Bell Named to Chamber Job. Formal appointment of Luth K. Bell as general manager of the Aeronautical Chamber of Commerce has been an- nounced by Frederick B. Rentschler, | the New York headquarters of the av tion Industry’s organizatisn. Mr. Bell | |ATLANTA HANGAR T0 CHANGE ROUTE | Piteairn Airmail Service Announces Terminal Point in Georgia. Change of routing of mail planes on the Pitcairn Aviation airmail line from New York to Miami, passing through this city, ml¥ follow the completion next month of a hangar and shops at Atlanta, Ga., it was announced here last week. When the shops are completed many of the facllities of the Richmond sta- tion, now one of the terminal points on the line, will be transferred to Atlanta The engine overhaul shop, parachute service, supply base and purchasing or- ganization, and also a majority of the operations accounting probably will oe concentrated in Atlanta. Plans are also being made for the complete overhaul of mail planes there, including repairs on fuselages and wings and for re-covnrl.ng,‘ It is probable that when the addi- tional facilities are installed in Atlanta, Pitacirn officials said, mail planes will fly all the way from New York to Al- lanta, changing pilots only instead of pilots and planes, at Richmond. They also may fly from Atlanta directly ta Miami, changing pilots at Jacksonville and Daytona Beach. o With the opportunities afforded by the more complete shop equipment for complete checking over, it will be pos- sible to operate the planes all the way between New York and Atlanta and between Miami and Atlanta without splitting the route into four operating ivisions, it is believed. —_— AVIATION NEEDS AIRCRAFT DRAFTSMEN COLUMBIA SCHOOL OF DRAFTING - Enroll any time—Day and Evening Classes. Continued throughout the year. Correspondence Instruction. has been acting general manager since shufy tion of 8. S. Bradley last Send for Free Catalogue 13th and E Sts. N.W. Iletro. 5626