Evening Star Newspaper, January 12, 1930, Page 60

2y AVIA BY JOSEPH LYING torpedoes that will be directed by radio from ground stations or air- planes, are planned for ex- perimental purposes by the Army Air Corps, according to Maj. Gen. James E. Fechet, chief of the Air Corps. The idea of the flying torpedo is not new, but since the close of the World War, there has been little actual progress in this direction. The Air Corps is planning to build three experimental aerial | torpedo planes, Gen. Fechet re- ported to the House appropria- tions committee. For the pur- poses of research, these planes will be equipped with complete radio control, but also will carry a pilot. Radio Would Be Used. The planes will be operated as much as possible by radio, but in case the machine gets off its course or out of control of the directional equipment, the pilot may take over the controls and land the plane. In time of war, however, the pilét would not be carried. The plane would be loaded with explosives and di- rected by radio against its target. Essentially, the torpedo plane would be small and of the cheap- est ble construction, since its usefulness would be limited to one flight. The experimental types will be of more permanent construction. The war models would consist simply of wings, fuselage, control surfaces, con- trolling mechanism and motor. Early experiments, Gen. Fechet said, show that some degree of radio control now is possible up to a distance of 90 miles. This can be extended almost indefinitely by mounting the control radio apparatus in an airplane which may control the flight of one or more of the aerial torpedoes. Damage Would Be Increased. If the Air Corps is able to evolve from its experiments a reliable torpedo plane, it undoubtedly would prove to be a weapon which would make the Big Bertha gun of World War fame a puny arm indeed. Not only would the range be increased enormously, but the accuracy would be improved and the amount of explosive brought to bear on the target would be greatly in excess of any explosive lh;% chl{ge k‘xlmwn l'/oday. 4 e rpedo plane experi- mental work will be conducted with funds provided for test and experimental purposes, $875,000 having been provided under this heading in the War Department appropriation bill as reported to the House this week. From this| fund the Air Corps will purchase a number of experimental planes of various types. Two two-seater pursuit planes, a type entirely new in this coun- try, are to be purchased. These planes will carry a gunner in a rear cockpit to protect the most vulnerable portion of the stand- ard pursuit plane. The two-seaters will form the top echelon in pur- suit formations, to cope with ene- my pursuit planes attacking from above and the rear, and pre- vent breaking up of the various echelons of the pursuit. These planes both will be constructed around air-cooled motors and will be kt_!eslxned for high - altitude worl Cargo Plane o Be Tested. Three new experimental type observation planes and three ex- perimental attack planes also are to be purchased, Gen. Fechet has reported. A single-engined cargo plane also is to be constructed for experimental use. This type will be used solely for cargo pur- poses, tri-motored ships being used for carrying personnel. ‘Two night observation planes are to be constructed for thor- ough tests to determine the prac- ticablity of setting up a standard plane of this type for use in the Army squadrons. These planes will be especially equipped for night flying and will be built for ease of landing, good visibility and for the use of flashlight parachute bombs. The experimental funds will permit the continuation of much experimental work on parts and equipment, including chemically- cooled engines and controlled pitch propellers. Approximately $100,000 of the appropriation is to be used for testing engines, air- craft equipment and armament items, including bomb racks, re- lease mechanism. Motors Are Redesigned. The development of chemically- cooled aircraft engines, which are expected to result in great in- crease in the efficiency of pursuit and attack planes was delayed by the necessity of redesigning the motors to prevent leakage of the cooling compound, which . works through cracks impervious to water, Gen. Fechet told the com- mittee. In the building of a water- IBATTLES SIMULATED NEARLY FIVE MILES ABOVE THE EARTH BY ARMY PILOTS OF 95TH PURSUIT SQUADRON OPERATING AT SAN DIEGO IN DEVELOPING HIGH ALTITUDE TRAINING TION S. EDGERTON. cooled motor, Gen. Fechet ex- plained, the interior of the water | Jackets is washed with a_sub- |stance on the order of liquid glass, which closes up any holes through which water might leak. }The ethylene cooling compound, however, dissolves any such coat-; ing and runs through. 4 Development of a controllable | pitch and reversible pitch propel- | ler for use on supercharged air- |craft engines designed for high- altitude work is another impor- ‘tlnt experimental project now in progress, Gen. Fechet said. Such a propeller may be expected to | reduce the length of run needed | for take-off, increase the rate of | climb and improve the all-around performance at high altitudes. Compromise Search Fails. -No fixed-type propeller blade | which is efficient in the heavy air |at ground level is efficient at the 1high altitudes in which modern | military planes must operate. The | | effort in the past has been to ob- | | was not always good for the take- off and which would give only fair performance at extreme alti- |tudes. The adjustable-pitch pro- | peller may be set for efficiency jon the ground and then ad- justed for efficiency at any given | | altitude. Development of the aerial |camera has been going forward steadily, and during the past year the Air Corps camera of the Fair- child K-6 type has been used for photographs over a distance of ;227 miles. Capt. Albert W. | Stevens of Wright Field, flying at an altitude of 14,000 feet over Northern California, took a photograph that distinctly shows {Mount Rainier, near Seattle, | Wash. . | _ A heavy red filter is used, the filter_itself being so thick that the filament of an incandescent light bulb scarcely can be made out through the red screen. The emulsion is so sensitive, however, that an exposure of only one- fiftieth of a second, through the! filter, is used, thepenetration ob- | tained being due to the infra-red ray. Rays Pierce Cloud Banks. Through employment of the infra-red ray and its penetrative powers, pictures now may be made through clouds which obstruct ordinary vision, according to Gen. | Fechet. Vertical pictures, made |from an altitude of five miles through clouds which form a complete barrier to vision are so clear they will reveal persons walking on the streets, he said. As a result of the development of higher compression aviation engines, the use of ethyl gasoline on a large scale will be necessary during the coming year. The Air Corps expects to use approxi-| mately 65 per cent plain gasoline and 35 per cent ethyl gas. The new high-compression motor will not run on ordinary gasoline, it was pointed out. An example of the destructive effect of ordinary gasoline in the| new motor occurred when the old-type fuel was burnéd in a new bombardment plane motor. The engine was ruined in a short time through the detonation of the low-grade gasoline before the | proper point was reached in the compression stroke. Liberty Motor Passes. The past year has witnessed the final passing of the famous Lib- ! | erty motor as a standard installa- |tion for Army planes. The Lib- |erty was the American war-time | production motor and has been | used continuously since that time, ;smau changes in detail having| | been made from time to time.| | The appropriations bill for the |current year forbids the pur- |chase of any airplane equipped with a Liberty or any other en- gine purchased or built prior to | July 1, 1920. | _One of the important Air Corps developments of the year was the development of a bombardment plane which may be used, with | minor changes, as a commercial transport plane. This is the first |case in which the Air Corps has | been able to adopt a truly con- | | vertible plane, one which might| |in case of emergency be econ- | | verted from a commercial to a, military plane, either on the pro- | duction line at the factory or at |the repair depot from planes iaccually engaged in commercial aviation at the time. This plane is the heavy bom- ]bardment plane, known to the |Army as the “B-2” and to com- | mercial aviation as the “Curtiss | Condor.” The Condor is a twin- motored biplane using 800-horse- ‘power water-cooled engines. As a | transport plane it carries 18 pas- | sengers. Conversion of the trans- | port plane for bombardment use | is made possible through the fact that there is no nose motor to interfere with visibility and that | the plane is properly balanced for | | the carrying and dropping of | | bombs. i HINTON IS RE-ELECTED EXCHANGE CLUB HEAD Other Officers Named—Club Adopts Program for Promotion of Aviation. Re-election of Lieut. Walter Hinton, first transatlantic &uot as president of the Washington cl e Club was announced this week. ther officers elected are Col. H. K. Landers, Dr. H. A. Swanson and Harold Kraflt, vice its; M. V. lbach, assistant secretary; Charles Schermerhorn, secre- -treasurer, and Watson P. Shepherd, h D. Wyley, Godfrey Munter, R. F. Beresford, Dr. A. L. Riddick and Wil- liam A. Edelblut, members of the board of control. The Washington Exchange Club hes an aviation promotion program, advocating adequate airport construc- tion and proper air marking of cities and highways. Lieut. Hinton left this city during the ‘week to address the New York City Ex- Club Thursday night and the student body at Colgate University Fri- day afternoon. He addressed the stu- dents on the subject of oaponunltlen in aviation and copies of his new book on the same subject were presented to members of the New York Club. — Black smoke signals will be used by tlots out of violations. alr police to order alr becauss of air traffi GARBER WILL REVIEW [ HISTORY OF AVIATION Smithsonian Curator Will Address Glider Club at Meeting Tuesday Night. | Paul Garber, curator of aeronautics | at the Smithsonian Institution and sec- | retary of the Washington Glider Club, | will speak on the history of aviation at | & meeting of the District of Columbia Air Legion at 8 o'clock Tuesday night in the legion headquarters, room 711 International Building, 1319 F street. The legion will have as its guests mem- bers of the Washington Glider Club and others interested in aviation. Following Mr. Garber's lecture the le- gion will hold a business meeting to consider changes in the by-laws, in- cluding a plan for junior memberships and an article providing for honorary an4 life memberships. It is expected that each member who obtains his lim- ited commercial pilot’s license while flying with the legion will be granted an active life membership. Preliminary o zation work for the creation of a glider unit of the le- gion has been completed by a special committee headed by T. J. Waggy and & site has been selected near the Hybla Vluue? Airport, just below Alexandria, Va., for pri ry gliding instruction. Ap- plication fog & charter has been made o ‘the Natighal Glider Association, {tain a compromise type, which to | Fechet Thinks 2,500 Should | partment .. SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, JANUARY 12, 1930—PART FOUR. Losing Consciousness in Thin Air and Falling 12,000 Feet a Thrill. FIGHT 130-MILE WINDi One of the important military devel- opments now in progress is the high altitude training program of the 95th Pursuit Squadron, Army Air Corps, San Diego, Calif. Tests are being made which will lead, before next Summer, to regular tactical operations at an alti- ture of 25,000 feet, according to Army officials. During the past few weeks pilots of the squadron, which is equipped with Wasp-engined Boeing P-12 pursuit planes, supercharged and carrying oxy- gen tanks, have engaged in prelim- inary training at extreme l]!ltudes, The flights have been made with full fuel and military loads and have included two-plane formations and simulated aerial combats at an altitude of nearly 5 miles above the earth. The Boeing pilots have had many unusual experiences in the cold, thin air at this attitude. it is revealed in reports the War Department. One pilot, Lieut. D. D. Graves of B Flight, 95th Pursuit, while flying at 25000 feet, lost | the adjusting screw from his oxygen ap- paratus and became unconscious from | lack of air. When he recovered, he was in a spin at an altitude of 13,000 feet, having been revived by the increasing density of the air as his plane spun down out of control. Encounter 100-Mile Wind. Two pilots of the 95th, sent up to make the first attempt at formation fiying at 25000 feet over Rockwell Fleld, encountered winds in excess of 100 miles per hour, against which they could make no headway. One of the pilots upon gaining the required alti- tude found himself above the field. He headed into the wind and flew continu- ously in one direction for 25 minutes, remaining above the fleld all the time. The other pilot, having failed to make allowance for the wind, found himself over Mexico and unable to gain a foot toward his home fleld until he dropped out of the zone of the tremendous wind | aloft. The high altitude flying is regarded as of the utmost importance, in view of the fact that future combat maneu- vers undoubtedly will take place at ex- treme altitudes. The one maxim which always holds good in aerial combat op- eration is “in altitude lies strengt) The man above always has tremendous advantage over an enemy below. The operations at Rockwell Field be- gan with individual altitude flights to acquaint the pilots Wwith their extra equipment and to accustom them to op- erating in the rarefied air at high al- titudes, it was stated by Capt. H. M. Elmendorf, Air Corps, commanding of- ficer of the 95th Pursuit Squadron, in " | erations. Boeing P-12 pursuit plane of the type used by the 95th Pursuit Squadron, Army Air Corps, in high altitude tests at Rockwell Field, San Diego, Calif. an article written by him for the Pratt & Whitney Bee-Hive. The highest altimeter recording in the squadron to date is 28,500 feet. Since such an altimeter recording can be only approximate, the little Boeing pursuit planes will be equipped with double barographs for future runs. Three Main Elements. ‘The program of altitude flying. Capt. Elmendorf said, comprises three main elements: “1. Individual engineering flights, in which each pilot takes the plane to its abcolute ceiling, runs wide open gas and oil consumption tests at alti- tudes ranging from 15,000 to 25,000 feet, learns to use the oxygen equip- ment and accustoms himself to operat- ing in the cold and rarefied air. These flights also include acrobatics at about 25,000 feet, such as loops, fast and slow rolls, etc., to familiarize the pilot with the maneuverability of the plan: at_altitude. 2 “2. Formation flights at service ceil- ing, beginning_with the element of 3 planes, the flight of 6 and working up to the entire squadron formation of 18 or more planes. On these flights the formations will be put through mnr;{tuvers as preparation for tactical work. “3. ‘Tactical problems, including in- dividual combats and flights of 3, 6 and 12 planes operating against eacn other in simulated combat. These ex- ercises will be designed to give as near a representation of actual combat at altitude as can be obtained without the use of machine gun bullets.” Operations at 25,000 feet, Capr. Elmendorf explained, cannot approach the simplicity and ease of sea-level op- The clothin’ pilots must wear to keep them-" selves from freezing, the fact that the pilot’s reactions are slower than noi- mal, complicate the flying at 5 miles above sea level. Temperatures of ap- proximately 40 degrees below zero are found at 27,000 feet, he pointed out. “At such a high altitude,” Capt. Elmendorf wrote, “for normal stunting it is necessary to dive and increase the intense cold, the bulky | speed of the planes before undertaking loops and similar maneuvers. There is a tendency for the plane to fall off more | quickly if it loses speed. The reason for this, of course, is simple and ob- | vious. The rarefied air gives the wings | less support than at lower levels. Need of Flexibility. “When we get into the big formation | work we probably will find it impos- sible to take the larger formations w the absolute ceiling of the plane. “A fighting squadron in formation needs flexibility in individual planes, and if each ship is pushed to its maxi- mum altitude the squadron not only would have no flexibility, but also would have individual planes unable to keep up with others, “A minor carburetor adjustment, a propeller slightly off | other maladjustment might diminish the plane’s maximum ceiling by 1,000 feet or more. Such differences also make it difficult to maintain close formation. At a 25,000-foot altitude planes in close formation fiy not 15 feet apart, but from 200 to 300 feet apart. We shall attempt to learn how close we can fly and maintain our in- tegrity as a unit. “For practical purposes a distance of approximately 200 feet between planes will keep them in proper tactical forma- tion. Close formations are undertaken principally for show purposes. When we fly in formation 5 miles above the earth the pilots dare not approach too near to each other because oxygen failure may cause one to become imy,’ or even to spin down out of formation unconscious. “A peculiar and interesting phase ot altitude flying is the effect that lack or loss of oxygen has on a person. | His physical reactions closely "follow | those of one who has looked too long upon the wine while it is red, and has reached the point where he imagines | he is, par example, walking a straight line while in reality going zigzag. The pilot believes himself functioning per- | fectly all the time while he is grad- ually losing consciousness.” pitch or some | PROGRAM |Double Barographs to Be| Used in Work by Pur- suit Planes. |COMBAT TACTICS APPLIED| Capt. Elmendorf's squadron now has only 15 planes available for altitude flying, but he expects delivery early this year of an additional number of Boe- | ing P-12's, which will permit extensive tactical exercises. The exercises will include firing at towed sleeve targets. 2,880 Pounds Loaded. The Boeings carry two machine guns, 106 gallons of gasoline and 1,200 rounds of ammunition, or a total weight of 2,880 pounds loaded. A flight of three or more P-12 Boeings can climb in for- mation to 25,000 feet in about 35 min- utes without pushing the motors. The pliots begin to take oxygen at 15,000 | feet and so far no physical ill effects | have been noted except those resulting | from extreme cold. " Though the pilots wear approximately | 50 pounds of clothing each, they be- come cold at great altitudes. He must use his hands considerably, not only to handle his ship, but to keep his fingers from freezing. Capt. Elmendorf froze all the fingers of his left hand while on an absolute ceiling test. ‘The 95th Squadron, now engaged in these tests, was organized during the World War and took part in many notable offenses. Lieut. Quentin Roose- velt was one of its pilots at the time he was killed in action. The squadron | began operations in the Champagne sector February 19, 1918, and planes of the squadron engaged in 250 combats, bringing down 47 enemy planes, while participating in the Champagne, Lor- raine, Marne, Aisne-Marne, Oise-Aisne, St. Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne offen- sives. Capt. Elmendorf’s juniors in com- mand are Lieut. I. A. Woodring, com- manding A Flight; Lieut. K. J. Gregg, B Flight, and Lieut. J. Hopkins, C Flight. The Boeing P-12 is the only pursuit plane powered with air-cooled engines used by the Army Air Corps. It has a high speed of 165 miles per hour and a landing speed of 56 miles. The speed at high altitudes is considerably re- duced, as is the case with all airplanes, because of loss of propeller efficiency in the thin air. The P-12 climbs at the rate of 2,400 feet per minute from sea level, or 15,500 feet in 10 minutes. The wing span is 30 feet over all, the length 20 feet and the height 9 feet 7 | inches. _ The upper wing area is 141.4 | square feet and the lower 86.1 square | feet, or a total of 227.5 square feet. | The area of the ailerons is 213.8 square feet, the stabilizers 219.7 square feet, the rudder ‘8.2 feet, the elevator 13.4 and the fin only 1.8 feet. 10,000 AVAILABLE WARFLYERS URGED Be in Actual Service in Regular Army. For a major emergency the United States should have 10,000 trained mili- tary pilots upon whom it could call for immediate service, in the opinion of Maj. Gep. James E. Fechet, chief of the Army Air Corps. Of this number there should be 2,500 in actual service in the regular Army, he believes, In testifying before a subcommittee of the House appropriations committee | during consideration of the War De- | appropriations bill, Gen. | Fechet declared that there are only 4,000 first-class pilots in the country who are fit for military service without | special training. These men are in the | Army and Navy Air Services or are kept ' in continuous training through the Re-? serve system. There are 1,064 Reserve | pilots ready for emergency duty, he said. ‘War Training Necessary. ‘The ordinary commercial pilot whn‘l has had no military training is not | available for emergency duty, Gen.| Fechet pointed out. Before he can be | used he must be given a general mili- | tary training. Many commercial flyers, never can be qualified as military pilots because they fail to possess qualifica- tions which a fighting pilot must have, | but which are not required for ordinary | | fiying. | The military pilot must fly instinc- tively and not mechanically, he de- clared. He must be able to fy tight, close formations and to carry out his| work without endangering the other | men. “Some men,” said the Air Corps| chief, “cannot fly that way, because they just absolutely cannot fly close. Their nervous makeup prevenis them from domng it. Others, when they are close, are so occupied in watching the other ships that they make poor forma- tion fiyers. Some Calculate Every Move. “Some men have not the ability to ever stop being mechanical. In other words, every move they make in the airplane is thought out and calculated. ‘Those are what we call mechanical fly- ers. The man who is going to fly freely and accurately and comfortably does his work more or less by instinct, after he is taught. In other words, when he wants to make a steep bank he does not figure ‘I have to pull the stick back so much and kick on so much rudder.’ He simply does it. He does his bank and he does not think about it. That is, he does not make a constant, voluntary effort to think of what he has to do to perform that particular maneuver.” In addition, the military pilot must know the use of machine guns, the use of bomb sights and the dropping of bombs, aerial photography and obser- v He must have military ing, ground work on engines and instruments and navigation. He must know enough of military tactics and operation to co-operate intelligently with ground forces. Many commercial pllots would require from two to eight months training to become good mili- tary pilots, Gen, Fechet estimated. WOMEN IN MARYLAND URGE FLYING INTEREST Special Dispatch to The Star. BALTIMORE, January 11.—A cam- paign for increased membership of their club and greater interest in aviation among their sex has been inaugurated by the Women's Flying Club of Mary- lend. “We want every woman in Maryland interested in aviation by the end of this year,” said Miss Sophie Spieker, local aviatrix and president of the clu’ “There is no reason why womei purpose of -this club to see that air- mindedness is created among our sex. We also want to aid the aviation in- dustry in general.” The club was formed only a few weeks ago and has 15 charter members, as Capt. Thomas Carroll Will Supervise Design to Insure Safety.» der Construction, Will Cost $600,000. $600,000 expansion of Washington Air- Bridge, has been placed in the hands of Capt. Thomas Carroll, Washington aviator and aeronautical engineer, who ranks as one of the best pilots this country has produced. Capt. Carroil, teclinical adviser of the Federal Aviation Corporation, which is backing the project, has been elected as vice president of Washington Air Ter- minals Corporation, in direct charge of the program. A student at Georgetown Law College, in’this city, when the United States en- tered the World War, Capt. Carroll has spent most of his life since that time engaged in airplane test work, the most hazardous branch of peace-time avia- tion. He not only has been called upon to face great dangers in the testing of unknown types of planes, but has had to manufacture dangers deliberately so that they may be studied with the eye of science, with a view to circumventing them. Served as Pilot in France. As a lieutenant in the American Air Force in France, Carroll was one of the few acceptance pilots in charge of test flying new planes delivered to the Army. In a day before the use of parachutes became customary, this work often sug- gested an enormous question mark. He won such renown in France that ! 1n'1920 he was appointed chief test pimt of the national advisory committee for aeronautics and manager of its flight research section at Langley Field, Va., which he organized and conducted for nearly nine years. ‘The list of his achievements at Lang- ley Field is long. Once he took up for test an unbalanced plane, with boxes of sand on the tips of each wing, ar- ranged 50 they could be dropped by pull- ing a cord. The first box went over without difficulty, but the second re- fused to budge and the sand, slightly moist, froze and refused to spill out. There appeared to be no pouigmty of landing without cracking up. He climbed and then put the ship through such a series of acrobatics that observ- ers feared it would fly apart. Enough sand was dislodged to permit landing at high speed. Intricate Problems Studied. Carroll also experimented witlt the “black moment” to determine what caused a pilot to lose him eyesight in a prolonged fast turn and to find means of preventing this dangerous blindness. He found it could be prevented by yell- ing at the top of the lungs or by wear- ing a tightly-laced polo player's belt. either method serving to retain blood in the head during the terrific cen- trifugal moment resulting from the turn. He flew long distances at not more than 3 feet above the ground and later above the water to determine the effect of such proximity between plane and earth on the air currents and “lift.” At such times a sneeze or an involuntary muscular twitch might have caused disaster ‘Was Chosen Test Pilot. ‘When the Guggenheim fund for the promotion of aeronautics offered a $100,000 prize for the safest plane de- sign, Capt. Carroll was selected as test pilot. The competition resulted this week in the awarding of the prize to the Curtis Tanager. Recently Capt. Carroll had made an shouldn't have just as big a part in | intensive study of the general airport the industry as the men, and it is the | situation in the National Capital and it was largely upon his recommendation that the development of Washington Airport was determined upon. The field is to be developed purely as a passenger and mail terminal, with all student training, servicing and shopwork trans- well as several other membgrs who have Joined recentlgfs ferred to the company’s thousand acre airport near Alexandria, Va. Terminal Addition, Now Un-| | Technical design, from the safety standpoint, of the new Washington Alr | Terminal, now being constructed by a | port, at the south end of . Highway | WASHINGTON AIRPORT PLANS IN HANDS OF E XPERT AVIATOR CAPT. THOMAS CARROLL. MEXICO GOOD WILL FLYER IS COMING | Col. Roberto Fierro to Start 10,000-Mile Flight About March 1. ‘The National Capital will be the first [ stop to be made on & 10,000-mile good | will flight by Col. Roberto Fierro of the Mexican air force, commandant of Valbuena Field, Mexico City, beginning about March 1, according to a report received here this week. Col. Fierro will make the long flight from the capital of Mexico to the Capi- tal of the United States as a return courtesy to Col. Charles A. Lindbergh and his entire flight as a tribute to the late Capt. Emilio Carranza, killed in New Jersey while on a good will flight to this country as an official represent- ative of the Mexican government. Will Cross Atlantic. Col. Fierro's flight will take him to Washington, New York, Havana, South American cities and across the South Atlantic to Paris and London. He will use a duplicate of Col. Lindbergh's new plane, the Lockheed Sirius low-wing monoplane. Construction of this plane is in progress at Burbank, Calif., under personal supervision of Col. Fierro. It is to be completed late in February and will be the second of the new Sirius models. The flight has the official sanction of the Mexican government and will be sponsored by the new president, Ortiz Rublo, & personal friend of Fierro, and the governors and military commanders. of 27 Mexican states. Wings Won in 1922, Col. Plerro won his wings in 1922 and made his first long flight in an ex- perimental plane from San Diego, Calif. to Mexico City, a distance of 1,200 miles. His next major trip was a_ good-will flight to countries in Central America and South America. He was forced down several times at points where it was impossible to obtain spare parts, but each time repaired the plane him- self and continued. In one case he was forced to biild a wooden wheel to_replace one damaged in landing. Dur} the recent Mexican revolu- tion, Col. Fierro was in full command of the air force sent against the rebels and took a major part in breaking up the revolution. Near the close of the fighting he was forced down in rebel mountain territory, escaping after be- ing given up for lost. “Fly-It-Yourself” l’lTn l;romoted. A “fly-it-yourself” airplane company will establish branches at 50 leading airports within the next few months, it has been announced. An order haz been placed for 100 sport biplanes, which will be rented to licensed pilots at 815 per hour. \ NEW ARMY AIRPORT ITEM 1S REPORTED Steps Actually Under Way Looking to Abandonment “of Bolling Field. The first step toward the abandon- ment of Bolling Field by the Army Air Corps and_establishment of a perma- nent Air Corps post in the District of Columbia was taken this week when the House appropriations commiitee | reported to the House the War Depart- ment appropriation bill carrying an jtem of $666,000 for the purchase of land for the proposed new field. The land to be acquired is the flat | open expanse to the south of Bolling | Field and adjoining the site of the old | steel plant at Giesboro Point. This | site is approximately 25 feet higher than Bolling Field and is capable of development as an all-direction landing fleld. Unsuited for Permanence. Bolling Field is unsuited for develop- ment as a permanent fleld, the War Department believes, because it is too narrow, being safe for landings and | take-offs only in two directions, and | because it is so low as to be subject to | flooding at times of high water in the Potomac River. Bolling Field has the unsavory rep- utation of being the wettest and mud- diest field used by the Army, With the possible _exception of Selfridge Field, Mount Clemens, Mich. Not only is the i field unsuitable for development as l‘ fiying field, but, because of its low and damp character, it is unhealthful as a place of residepce for officers and men of the post. Established during the World War period on a temporary basis, Bolling | Field never has been developed for permanent occupancy. All the barracks and other buildings are of flimsy wooden construction and the hangars are among the poorest types in use by the Army. Several serious fires have occurred at the fleld, resulting in the loss of considerable equipment. The entire site, acquired June S, 1920, by the Government, includes 339 acres of filled ground along the Po- tomac River and Eastern Branch, only a portion of which is available for fly- ing purposes. The latest report shows 69,250 square feet of available hangar space, whereas 105,600 square feet will be required to meet the needs of the five-year Air Corps building program. The report submitted to Congress in connection with the appropriation bill hearings shows that 16 officers and 323 men are on duty at Bolling Field. An appropriation of $80,000 was au- thorized at the last session of Congress for construction of permanent buildings | for the Air Corps in this city, but none of it has been expended owing to the lack of a permanent site. CUT AIRMAIL RATES TO LATIN AMERICA| General reduction of airmail rates to Sout! Central America, h America and the West Indies became effective dur- ing the week as a result of the in- creased volume of this mail and the importance which is attached to the development of this service. The reductions amount to as much as 10 to 15 cents per ounce to some of the countries served. In view of the grow- ing economic relations between the United States and Latin America, the reductions are expected to be of great value in promoting trade between the countries. ‘The new schedule of rates is as follows: ~Argentina, 55c. & half ounce; Bahamas, 5c.; Barbados, 20c.; Bolivia, 40c.; Chile, 50c.; Colombia, 30c.; Costa Rica, 20c.; cao, Bonaires and Aruba, 30c; St. Mt tin, St.. Eustatius and Saba, 20c.—Ecua- dor, 30c.; Guadeloupe, 20c; Guatemala. 15c.; Guianas (British, French and Dutch), 30c.; Haiti, 10c.; British Hon- duras and Republic of Honduras, 15c.; Leeward Islands, 20c.; United States and British Virgin Islands, 10c.: Mar- tinique, 20c.; Nicaragua, 15c.; Panama, Model Aircraft BY GEORGE WATERS. model So tory has been built right in B AH Jove! The boys and girls of dea’ ol’ London are going in for lane flying with vim and vigor. ‘bloomin’ ” enthused are they that a model-plane fac- the heart of town, where between 60 and 70 employes work in the mass production of various types of model ships, hundreds of which are sent abroad. According to a recent article in a London aviation magazine, the models produced at the factory take off under their own power and fly from 200 to 800 yards. Cite Flying Contrast. Well—if English friends will take no offense—we have planes built by youngsters themselves here in the District which have taken off at our own Bolling Field and soared high into the clouds to never return. We recall the flights of three District model plane champs. There was Herbert Dorsey’s flight of 14 minutes over Bolling Field. And the flight that nearly reached the time of Dorsey’s made by John Sullivan, junior champ of the United States, which was staged at Louisville, Ky, during the national aircraft finals. A tiny ship launched by Everett Meeks last Summer over Bolling Field during a contest of the Dis- trict Model Aircraft L.ague, which sailed over the Potomac River into the northeast section of the city, was caught by a tricky wind current and carried back to the field, landing in the front yards of the officers’ quarters. Patent Bracket Is a Feature. A feature of the English model plane is the patent bracket which carries the bearing of the air- screw, together with the airscrew and undercarriage. The object of this is to take the force of im- pact should the machine hit any- thing while in the air. The whole bracket is hinged and moves backward. The column would like to hear from model builders of the Dis- trict as to whether this patent bracket would really be of any use or assistance in the flying of their own planes. A dispatch from Ashland, Ohio, tells us that William Topping, a 20-year-old youth, builds model ur{)llnes just for the “fun” of it. But William this week received the surprise of his life in the form of a request from the Smithsonian Institution for one of his models, to be placed in the National Mu- seum. The hobby at which Topping has worked for 10 years during his spare time has brought him some recognition from aviation authorities, but he has never worked for recognition because he has considered it only a “hobby.” “Gee, I never expected any- thing like it,” he frankly declared. “You see it was like this,” he con- tinued. “I'm- directing a model airplane class here and I wanted some information about conduct- ing the class, so I wrote to Paul Edward Garber, who I thought was model editor of an air serv- ice magazine. When I heard from him I discovered that he had be- come curator in the aviation sec- tion of the Smithsonian Institu- tion, and he asked me for the donation of the Sikorsky amphib- ian model, of which I had in- closed a photograph in the letter to him.” The model will be placed in a glus case near Lindbergh'’s famed pirit of St. Louis and near the early model of flying appiratus made by Leonardo Da Vinci in 1490 and other planes and models depicting the evolution of avia- tion. BOOSTED FUNDS FOR ARMY AIR CORPS ROUSES ACTIVITY National Capital to Benefit Directly, With Specific Sum Allotted for New Flying Increased appropriations for the Army Alr Corps for the coming fiscal year, as carried in the War Department ap- propriations bill when reported to the House this week by the appropriations committee, will provide for the full increment of planes in the fourth year of the five-year program, will revive lighter-than-air development, and will provide for important construction projects at Air Corps flelds, according to_the House committee's 3 The National Capital will benefit di- rectly from the bill through an item of $666,000 authorized for the purchase of a site for a new Air Corps flying fied to repace Bolling Feld. The site to be purchased is located on the high, flat ground to the south of and adjoining Bolling Pield. Plan Permanent Hangars. 1t is propsed to construct permanent hangars and bulldings of the most modern type on the higher ground and eventually to abandon the present temporary Army development at Boll- ing Pleld and turn over the field to the Angcostia Naval Air Station. ‘The bill as reported to the House carried a total of $35,823,473 specifically for the Air Corps, representing an in- crease of $1,132,688 over the amount available for 1930. Funds are authorized for the purchase of 443 lanes for the Air Corps and 27 planes for the National Guard. This, though representing the 1931 increment under the five-year ‘will, be- cause of previous failure to maintain the program schedule, result in the estimated shortage of 56 airplanes at the end of the next fiscal year. The Field. shortage will include seven bombard- ment, five attack, 24 observation and 20 cargo or transport airplanes, Present Equipment Old. ‘The lighter-than-air appropriations provide for one non-rigid airship and envelope, one observation balloon, four barrage balloons and accessories. No equipment of this sort has been pur- chased for several years, and much of the equipment remaining is unservice- able because of age. ‘The bill includes $3,010,218 for con- struction work at *. Corps fields, as, an installment of a_construction pr gram estimated 6" cost $27,000.000, which $9,181,315 has been appropriat: bill does not provide funds bring the Air Corps personnel up to ful strength, as authorized by the five-yea program, because, &s the committee pointed out in its report, the shortage of available equipment would prevent active employment of the full strength. Personnel Too Large. In the hearings conducted by the ap- propriations subcommittee on the bill, Maj. Gen. James E. Fechet, chief of the Army Air Corps, told the committee that the five-year program, even though carried out in full, will not result in a well balanced and efficlent Air Corps. He pointed out that the original plan called for 2,200 airplanes and an organ- ization in proportion. The number of airplanes was cut to 1,800 by Congress, i e was nol lus in proj on. This means, he said, that the personnel al- lotments under the bill are more than the Air Corps can train and equip with the airplanes provided. AIR TRAVEL PLACED UNDER LICENSE LAW Twenty States now require. Federal licenses for all aircraft and pilots, while | others place stringent local safeguards around flying, according to a statement made by George E. Keneipp, manager of the District of Columbia division of the American Automobile Association, based upon a report from the newly organized air travel division. “In addition,” sald Keneipp, “eight States require Federal licenses for air- craft and airmen engaged in commercial fiying, six require either State or Fed- eral licenses for ail aircraft and airmen, while six require State licenses. Nine States require no licenses whatever. “The States requiring Federal li- censes for both planes and pilots are Arizona, California, Delaware, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri (except solely for pleasure), Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, ‘Texas, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming. “Those requiring Federal licenses for all planes and pilots engaged in com- mercial flying are Colorado, District of Columbia, TIilinois, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio and West Virginia. “States requiring either State or Federal licenses for all aircraft and pilots are Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Oregon and Virginia. ‘State licenses are required in Ar- kansas, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. “Those which as yet require no li- censes are Alabama, Georgia, Ken- Louisiana, Nevada, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah.” {AERO CLUB NOMINATIONS. ‘The uncontested election of Adolf K. Barta as president of the Aero Club of Washin is at & luncheon meeting of the club at 12:30 p.m. tomor- row in the New Willard Hotel. ‘The nomination of Mr. Barta will be submitted by the board of governors, together with the following nomina- tions for other. offices: Vice presidents, Dr. George W. Lewis, Admiral D. Taylor and Brig. Gen. Willlam E. Gi more; secretary, Lawrence E. Williams; treasurer, Dr. W. G. Brombacher, an trus C. deF. Chandler, F. Marvin, W. il tees, Lieut. Col. retiring president; Prof. 3 chief of the Weather Bureau; Maj. Gen. George O. Squier and Dr. A. F. Zahm. Insure Against Aircraft Damage. Insurance against property damage | by aircraft now is being sold. Three such policies, for $18,000, $10,000 and | $5,000, were sold in St. Louis recently. Glider Club Organized. A glider club for licensed transport 20c.; Paraguay, 55c.; Peru, 40c.; El :;'l‘_vm%r. 15:.:!Tm;|51-d. 20c.; grutu-l% .. Venezue! i wal It gt e ana W pilots has been organized at Fairfax BALTIMORE TAKES Special Dispatch to The Star. BALTIMORE, Md., January 11— “Results achieved last year have defi- nitely given Baltimore a leading po- sition among Eastern seaboard cities in aircraft development, with reasonable hat this promising start ugmented in the H. Findlay French, director of the Industrial Bureau of the Association of Commerce, says in his annual report. ‘The report continues: “The year 1920 will take its place in the industrial history of Baltimore as the year in which aircraft manufacture here made a most substantial start. “It is somewhat difficult to realize that 12 months ago, construction had not begun upon a single large aircraft plant or airport in Baltimore. Then, in swift succession. plants for the Glenn L. Martin Co., the largest in the world: Berliner-Joyce Aircraft Corporation and the Curtiss-Caproni Corporation were begun: the municipal and the Curtiss airports were started. “Before the year was ended, the first unit of the Martin plant was comple and in production; the Berliner-Joyce factory was finished and an addition made, while the 5-acre plant of the Curtiss-Caproni Corporation will begin operation early this coming Spring. Durjng this time a total of ten mil- lion dollars was invested in various en< terprises connected with air transporta- tion, while contemplated expansions of projects already under way involve many additional millions.” E. P. WARNER HONORED. Editor of Aviation President So- ciety of Automative Engineers. Election of Edward P. Warner, for- mer Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Aeronautics and now editor of Avia- tion, as president of the Soclety of Automotive Engineers was announced here this week. Mr. Warner left the Navy Department last year. ‘Two_other aeronautical people were honored by the society in its annual election. Chance M. Vought of the Chance Vought Corporation and Bruce G. Leighton, director of sales and serve ice of the Wright Aeronautical Corporae tion, were elected vice presidents for terms of one year - AVIATION NEEDS AIRCRAFT DRAFTSMEN COLUMBIA SCHOOL OF DRAFTING Enroll any time—Day and Evening Classes. _Continued throughout the year. Correspondence Instruction. Airport, Kansas City, by Capt. L. E. Miller and W. C. Green. The club has 23 membeys. Send for Free Catalogue N Adth and E Bte: NW, _ Meto: 5639 » ) y > ! ’ 1929 AIRCRAFT LEAD 7 '