Evening Star Newspaper, March 9, 1930, Page 62

AVIATION BY JOSEPH S. EDGERTON. ARLOR couches and toy air- planes may not appear to have much to do with com- bat flying but, believe it or not, the parlor couch-model air- plane combination has brought into existence a type of military - acrobatics which may completely | change the future principles of | “dog fighting” between pursuit| planes. The particular parlor couch was in the home of Lieut. Alford J. Williams, jr., famous Navy acro- batic and racing pilot, and the airplane model is one which he has worn shiny with his hands maneuvering it around above his head while reclining on the couch. With this model he worked out the details of inverted flight which he has been perfect- ing for years and which he dem- onstrated with striking effect dur-| “The only way to fly an airplane is to boss the airplane at every moment and not let it control you. The pilot alone is responsi- ble for whatever may happen to his plane. No airplane falls into a spin; it is maneuvered into the spin by its pilot.” No airplane pilot need ever be ashamed to confess that he has been afraid, Lieut. Williams said, declaring that “only the man who has no brains is the man who knows no fear.” Through fear the pilot learns caution, and through caution he learns to fly| intelligently, with the result that some day he may become a real pilot. Acrobatics Are Means of Protection. “You learn acrobatics to pro- tect yourself,” Lieut. Williams THE SUNDAY NAVY AIR UNITS WILL BE TESTED { Actual Combat Conditions to Govern Maneuvers by Aerial Forces in Caribbean. Naval aviation will be put to its! greatest test under actual combat con- ditions beginning tomorrow in connec- | tion with maneuvers which will involve | all units of the United States fleet in | American waters, now being concen- | trated in the Caribbean Sea. | Approximately 200 Navy planes of | | all types are to participate in the fleet | problems and it is expected that they | | will pass through a more grueling test | than even that of last year in the vicin- | ity of the Canal Zone. The aerial squad- | rons probably will be called upon for | longer range flying from the carriers than they ever have undertaken in com- | bat maneuvers and the demands to be made upon them will call for greater S TAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, MARCH 9, 1930—PART_FOUR. ARMY TO FLY 1,000,000 MILES IN APRIL Ao iaiinn,. R0 Pt e | | The first great test of aerial defenses | of the Pacific Coast will be made by the | Army Air Corps in April, when more | | than 130 Army fighting planes of all| types will be concentrated at Mather | Field, Sacramento, Calif., for three | weeks of maneuvers. ~Several tactical | theories new to aerial warfare will be given a practical test under field con- ditions. ‘The California maneuvers will be the | second of a series of annual Spring ma- | neuvers to test the readiness of the | Army Alr Corps'and to develop tactical | methods and co-operation between the | air forces and ground units. Lessons| learned at the maneuvers last year have resulted in development of two new types of fighting planes, new types of bombs and changes in the methods of aerial combat. Further vital improve- ments in the Nation's aerial defense may result from this year's combat ex- ercises. PACIFIC COAST AIR FORCES WILL MOBILIZE FOR DEFENSE 130 Planes to Be Concentrated for Three | Weeks of Maneuvers Against Mythical Encmy. “During the week,” it was announced by F. Trubee Davison, Assistant Secre- tary of War for Aeronautics, “we will also test methods of radio communica- tion, ‘not alone between planes and ground, but between planes in the “We will, among other things, a tempt to determine the feasibility of planes bombing other planes and the | sending out of 8 O 8 calls for pro- tection to units of pursuit planes in the air many miles away. We also expect interesting results in similar communi- cation tests between pursuit planes and attack organizations. Attack Planes Fly Low. “It may not be generally known, but attack planes, which are used mainly for ‘ground straffing’ purposes, fly less than 100 feet above the ground. Their effectiveness depends upon the speed and surprise with which they reach ing the past year. The parlor couch-model plane combination for working out flight maneuvers was explained by Lieut. Williams in a talk made a few days ago before members of the District of Columbia Air Legion, local flying club. In this talk the noted Navy star discussed the principles which have won for him one of the highest niches in the American aeronautical hall of fame. said. “The more maneuvers you know and the better the mastery you have of them, the better able you are to protect yourself. Ma- neuvers, naturally, are absolutely indispensable in military flying. Dog fighting is what every mili- tary pilot must prepare to face. There is a constant necessity for | developing new maneuvers. “Do not look upon the man who continuously practices acrobatics |as a ‘wild man’ or a ‘nut’ In mobility from all the squadrons than any of the problems yet flown. ‘Tomorrow will mark the beginning of strategical problems between the scout- ing and battle fleets, this phase to con- tinue until March 15, after which the fleets will be concentrated in Guanta- namo Bay. From March 31 to April 18 battle practices combined with tactical exercises will be held, involving every unit of the surface and air forces. The Navy's three aircraft carriers, Lexington, Saratoga and Langley, are to participate in all phases of maneu- wvers, with their full complements of air- their objective. Up to this time the chief difficulty in these tactics has been the inability of pursuit planes to locate the attack units. It is believed that radio should solve this problem.” ‘The third phase will involve the use of the Army air units in coast defense. ‘The problem to be worked out will test to the limit every branch of the coun- try’s air defenses. It will be assumed that the United May Use Bombs on Planes. Among the startling new theories to be worked out in the fleld next month is a proposal that enemy aircraft be attacked not only with machine-gun fire, which has been standard since early in the World War, but also with bombs, dropped from higher altitudes. Radio will be used to organize pur- sult plane defense and in an effort to devise a defense against attack avia- tion, which was able during last year's maneuvers to sweep through every type | of defense created by military science. APRIL 197~ 21990 . The concentration of 130 Army Air Corps fighting planes of all types at Mather Field, Sacramento, Calif., for the first great aerial coast defense maneuvers next month will involve approximately 0,000 miles of flying, the War Depart- ment has announced. This map shows the routes to be flown in effecting the concentration and the number of planes te be flown over each route. —Army Air Corps Photo. AERONAUTICS BUREAU POLICY |PARACHUTE USED AS SAIL. ON CRASH CAUSES IS UPHELD |zitot Riss Emergency Device when States has been at war for six months with an enemy power, which has es- tablished a foothold on the Atlantic Coast and is keeping the Atlantic fleet As this is written Lieut. Wil- liams’ future in the Navy is cloud- ed by uncertainty. The Navy De- partment a few days ago ordered him to sea duty for three years.| |almost every case you will find | he is an earnest and sincere pilot who is seeking to improve himself and aviation.” ! In inverted flight, it has been He countered by tendering his| demonstrated, the wings of the resignation, to continue racing|ordinary airplane are only about plane development as a private |55 citizen. The Navy then wlthdrew‘wflY er cent efficient. That is, they support only half the load| the orders sending him to sea they can support in normal flight. duty pending action on the resig- | This the pilot must keep in mind. nation, which has been placed in|He also must remember that the! |action of the controls is reversed. | the hands of Admiral Richard Leigh, acting chief of operations. Lieut. Williams Uses Model. Through the use of the model every phase of upside-down flight was worked out by Lieut. Williams before he tried it in the air. Every move of the controls was planned in advance; the effect of every maneuver plotted with the model. But why the couch, you ask? Just try maneuvering a model plane in your hands in the inverted position and try mental- 1y to place yourself in the cockpit. You will find inevitably that the model is raised high above your head and your neck is craning as far back as nature and your col- lar-band will permit. Keep that up for a few minutes and if you don’t find the reason for a couch being an indispensable accessory to this type of flight, no amount of explanation will do any good. "This working out of flight prob- lems on the ground is character- istic of Williams. Nothing is left to chance. Every move is the re- sult of deliberate planning. He Army said. cold meat. Has “Brush” With Army Man. While flying from Philadelphia to this city not long ago Lieut. Williams had a “brush” with an ilot which demonstrated the value of inverted flight for military purposes. his famous plane which has been equipped to fly upside down in- definitely. He was flying “I was tired after a hard day visit. and, at the Naval Aircraft Factory and wanted nothing more than to get home in a hurry,” Lieut. Williams “I was flying along when I noticed an Army pursuit plane! some distance ahead. ately had a feeling that he was going to come over to play. You get those hunches in the air. made a snap roll and then sud- denly spotted me enough, he started over to pay me I immedi- He sure “He probably thought to him- self: ‘There’s a Navy ship; he's T'll show him some- | thing about dog fighting.’ “I kept on my course and did craft. The Lexington and Saratoga each will bring into action 36 Wasp-engined Boeing fighters, 12 Vought Corsairs and 18 Martin bombers. The Langley will have 18 Boeing fighters and 6 Corsairs. ‘The remainder of the 200 planes engaged will be the shipboard planes of the bat- tleships and cruisers, each of which car- riers 3 Corsairs, to be employed for the kspo!!ln‘ of gunfire and observation work, Following the maneuvers the three carriers are to stop for about 10 days each at Hampton Roads, the planes operating during that period from the Hampton Roads Naval Air Station. AIR LEGION STUDENTS . WILL TAKE TESTS Ten in First Group of Year to Be| Examined at Mount Vernon Airways Field Tomorrow. ‘Ten student pilots of the District of Columbia Air Legion will take their flight examinations for Department of Commerce licenses tomorrow at the Mount Vernon Airways Field, near Alex- andria, Va. This is the first p to group of Legion members to take the examination at one time. Members who will take the examina- tion are M. G. Dooley, 610 Eighth street southwest, vice president of the Legion; T. J. Waggy, 1715 De Sales street, treas- urer, director and chairman of the glider Toad, president of the Legion; J. Elmer Krels, 428 Eleventh street northeast, a street northeast, a director; tain members of demanded full Wbmol crash in- formation. has been to make tion only in the tistics grou be examined this year and the largest | pol have | of accidents | the United States,’ " the Attorn eral said in his | reasonable compliance with the require- ments of the statute, having in mind its | unit; Alva Sole, 3 Rock Creek Church !xyme:fl Eli Aman- | detalled information as to Attorney General Supports Practice of| Withholding Data, Which He Sees as Legally Justified. Refusal of officials of the Depart- ment of Commerce to make public de- tails of individual airplane crashes or to fix responsibility for the accidents is legally supported by th of Justice l? a.ruling handed e Department wn this General William D. | week by Af | Mitchell and submitted to Congress by Maj. Clarence M. Young, Assistant Sec- retary of Commerce for Aeronautics. in its handling cult problems in its career. ing came at a time when the aero- nautics branch was under fire by cer- who have The policy of the aeronautics branch ?!Ibnc crash informa- form of general sta- show the cause of th(el an way “The statistical method which you ‘to make public the causes in civil navigation in opinion, “seems to be sed purpose ‘to foster air com- The aeronautics branch contends that of particular accidents often may be to assist private parties in litigation in- volving the legal responsibility for the | accidents. “The publication of such informa- tion,” the Attorney General stated, “might make it difficult for the depart- ment to secure frank disclosures from those concerned in particular accidents and might thus hamper the department in securing accurate information upon which to base remedial measures for the future. These considerations suggest a ble reason for conm not requir- 'bm’ particular met for making | public the causes of accidents. “The time of publication is not speci- xfled r’t all in the act, t:nd lsot‘hu: left argely to your discretion. course the intervals must not be so infrequent as to negative substantial compliance with the statutory requirement of pub- | lication. I understand, however, that | your practice has been to publish sta- | tistical material of the sort above de- scribed at approximately six-month in- tervals. “I am of the opinion that the course which you have followed, with respect | both to the manner and time of pub- | lication, has been within the limits of your discretion under the statute and in substantial compliance with itz requirements.” Officials of the aeronautics branch director; C. K. Gladhill, 226 Fifteenth | the real purpose behind demands for | have contended that they should not be | the causes | asked to give out information regarding to individuals could very easily result.” Forced Down at Sea. Using his_parachute for a sail, En- sign C. C. Ward of VS Squadron 6-S, now engaged in maneuvers with the fleet in the Caribbean, succeeded in sailing his seaplane 10 miles to land when he was forced down a few days ago off the coast of Halti with dry fuel tanks. The squadron has been employed in preparations for formation battle prac- tice. Ensign Ward ran out of fuel and was forced down 10 miles west of Port au Prince, Haiti. Rigging his parachute as a sail, he beached the plane in a sheltered bay near the east- ern end of Gonave Island, where he was found early the next day by search- ing parties in other planes of the squadron. specific crashes which might be used in legal actions, since they have no power to subpoena witnesses and compel the presentation of legal testimony upon which to base such information. Under the law they now can obtain information only from voluntary and visible sources, in the most thorough manner permitted by the circumstances. The investigations are conducted infor- | mally, and such information is sought as may be given application from the practical point of view for the purpose of ascertaining as nearly as possible the probable causes of the accident, and then to take such action as may be necessary to remove such accidents from future operations. ‘The investigations conducted under the terms of the present law, it is ex- plained, “do not in any way contemplate the determination of any legal respon- sibilitles which may be involved.” Were information obtained by such investiga- tions to be made adailable for use in legal actions, it was stated, “injustices All the Army planes engaged in the exercises, which will fly a total of more than 1,000,000 miles in connection with | the maneuvers, will be concentrated at Mather Field, under command of Brig. Gen. William E. Gillmore, assistant | chief of the Air Corps, in charge of training and operations. While the major portion of the preb- lems will be staged at Mather Fleld, [ the month will be an aerial defense of | San Francisco against a simulated naval | attack, a night bombardment attack on San Prancisco, operations against enemy ground and aerial forces in the vicin- ity of Stockton and Modesco, Calif,, and demonstrations at Los Angeles. Is First Coast Concentration. ‘This will be the first concentration of modern Army aircraft of all types in such large numbers on the Pacific Coast and will be the first participation of Army aircraft in simulated coast de- fense operations. The exercises will be divided into three distinct phases, the first two cov- ering a week each and the third a period of about four days. The first phase will be the training of the elements within the pursuit, bom- | bardment, ‘attack and observation | groups. This will involve tralning in | airdrome discipline, including the traf- fic problems in connection with the mass take-offs and landings of so great a number of planes from a single oper- ating area. Upon the efficiency of the ground trafic management will depend not only the success of the tactical operations, but the general safety of pilots and planes. The second week is to be devoted to elementary tactical problems, involving each type of aviation and including practical tests of new, proposed and un- tried tactics which have been evolved irom previous exercises, particularly the | ing to word received here. Spring maneuvers last year at Dayton, Ohio. engaged there. The Pacific fleet has been bottled up in 3an Francisco Bay. and it is assumed the Panama Canal* has been put out of operation until June by enemy air raiders. It also is assumed that Southern California has been seized by red forces, The defending forces, in addition to |the Air Corps units, are to include one of the most important features o(i’xruund forces which will simulate three Army corps, of two divisions each, sup- ported by Army artillery and mobile anti-aircraft batteries. The tactica’ problems confronting the Air ! units in the field will be the simulated destruction of enemy Stores at Stockton and Modesto, operations against the enemy in the field, the beating down of enemy air forces and finally the aerial defense of San Francisco again:! an enemy naval attack. ‘ “This will be the first time in train- ing operations,” Mr. Davison said, “that all four brances of Army aviation—pur- suit, bombardment, attack and observa- tion—have combined in maneuvers of this nature to demonstrate the use of an air force to repel invasion.” i g A Passemger Planes Score Success. Seven British Argosy passenger plane: used by the Imperial Airways have crossed the English Channel 4,000 times carrying ,000 passengers between London and Paris in four years, accord- ‘They cover- ed an aggregate distance of 919,320 miles. Distributors Perfect Circle Piston Rings CREEL BROS. 1811 14th St. NW. Decatur 4220 never gees into any maneuver without having figured out before- hand just what he is going to do and how he is going to get the plane back at any time into nor- mal flight. Attributes Success Problem. To this studious working out of his flight problems Lieut. Williams attributes much of his success. ‘Though by most of the thousands who have witnessed his amazing acrobatic flying he is considered to be one of the most recklessly daring pilots in aviation, he never has knowingly gone into any ma- neuver in the air without previ- ously having figured his way out. In this respect he is one of the most conservative and cautious fiyers in the military services, The result of his deliberations are most readily apparent in his flying. There is a grace and ease about the most involved of his acrobatic maneuvers which makes | This also was easy for him. He the maneuvers of the ordinary |followed me in the first half of pilot seem crude. Moreover, in | the loop. When I got to the top 13 years of flying Lieut. Williams |0f the loop, however, with the, never has broken so much as a Plane upside down, I pushed the stick of wood on any airplane he stick forward and continued to has flown; a record for which climb, upside down. there is no known parallel. The Army man followed to the Works on Remaining Maneuver. ! top Ot sLsjioon SEBIgrbably Oa- | ured that I would either continue Flying a Navy fighter with a mo- | the loop or would half roll out tor equipped with carburetion and |Of it. For either maneuver he oiling systems which work equal- |Was prepared. He never dreamed ly well in ordinary or inverted|I would continue on up. The flight, Lieut. Williams has been |result was that he lost sight of me able to duPllcnte in the upside- (and completed the loop. down position almost every flight | Outwits Army Pilot. g};fi:“v" possible in ordinary | “He looked all nyronnd below | A | 2 and on his own level, much mysti- fied to find that I had disappear- ed. He agpnenfly didn’t think it possible was above him and didn’t even bother to look up. I was in perfect position above him and he didn’t even see me until I had almost completed my dive on his ship. That was plenty; turned my way and went on home.” Turning from acrobatics to rac- ing, Lieut. Williams declared that the racing plane is just as much a military development as any pur- suit plane. A racing plane, able to run circles around any fighting plane, if equipped with a machine gun, could go out and shoot down ! a whole squadron, one plane at a time, he said. ¢ “We are not very far from the 400-mile-per-hour plane,” he pre- dicted. “Inside of 20 years we will be flying 600 miles an hour and thinking nothing of it. We haven't started to scratch the sur- face when it comes to speed. Says Aviation Is Too Slow. “Aviation today is not fast nothing about him. He began to get in ition behind and above me and I pretended that I was in a and turned hesltaflngly from side to side to get out of his way,” Williams continued. “I wanted to get rid of him just as quickly as I could and yet do it so decisively he would not come back for more. “I figured that he knew the ordinary pursuit plane could fly only about 15 seconds on its back before the motor began to miss and also that he did not recognize me and did not know my ship was equipped for inverted flight. Continues Role of Uncertain Pilot. uel, 4806 Kansas avenue; F. F. Stowe, | 406 _Cedar street, Takoma Park, D. C.; J. L. Hutchins, 1457 Monroe street; Alexander Callam and H. W, Clapsad- dle, 3312 Nineteenth street. Amanuel is a musician in a local mo- tlon picture orchestra and is master of ceremonies at the Fox Thea- ter. All of the nine members have taken flying instruction with the and all but Callam made their solo flights as Legion members. Callam had flown previously, but needed a refresher course to put him in shape for the ex- amination. DR. ECKENER PLANS VISIT TO BALTIMORE Commander of Graf Zeppelin to | ' Inspect City as Possible Diri- gible Air Line Terminal. 4 RSEPOWER to Study of 5 HO “Continuing my role of the un- | certain pilot who did not know how to get out of trouble, I nosed down into a dive. is was a picnic for him. He came right down after me. Then I pulled back the stick and began a loop. | Special Dispatch to The Star. BALTIMORE, March 8.—Dr. Hugo | Eckener, commander of the Graf | lin, will visit Baltimore early in April to appraise the city as a possible | American terminus for a transatlantic airship line. Word to this effect was received this | week by Mayor Broening's office in a letter from the famous German air savant thanking the local executive for an invitation to visit Baltimore ex- tended several months ago. The letter | follows: |, My best thanks for your kind inyi- tation to visit Baltimore. I want to tell you that I intend to study the environs of Baltimore with regard to the possibility of establishing there an airship harbor for transatlantic airship service on a day early in April, but not et fixed in date. There remains but one ma- April trip to the United neuver which now appears to be possible in inverted flight and which no one ever has performed, Lieut. Williams says. The nature of this maneuver he will not dis- cuss until he has worked it out with his model and then found whether it is possible to execute it in actual flight. Of course, it is possible to work out maneuvers without the use of a model, Lieut. Williams said, but the problem is very much simpler if the model is used. Details| which may not occur to the mind of the pilot who merely thinks| out his maneuvers may be brought | out by the maneuvering of the model. | “No man ever was killed flying a model,” Lieut. Williams told members of the Legion. “The man who constantly has a picture in his mind of what is happening to the controls of his airplane and to the plane itself while in flight | will advance so rapidly as to sur- | prise himself. There is no quicker | way to acquire this picture than Dr. Eckener States is to establish contacts here lead- ing to the organization of transatlantic dirigible service. He will return to Germany and pilot the dirigible to South America, later flying up the East Coast to Lakehurst. WELDING ANb DRAFTING AVIATION CLASS OPENED Persons Who Are Disabled, But Can Qualify for the Work, Are Now Eligible. Classes in aviation welding and draft- ing have been thrown open to disabled persons who are qualified to perform duties of this t; but are disqualified for other tasks, it has been announced by Bruce Le Gore, president of the Aviation School of America, 1108 Six- teenth street. One student, Charles E. Willett, al- ready has been admitted to the weld- ing school under this new ruling, Mr. Le Gore announced. The first in the welding school soon will be ready for graduation and arrangements have been made for placing qualified welders graduating from the 1 in aircraft Six wes driven from Los Angeles to Sen Diego —a distance of 132 Tpoct‘onunec of the new Willys 48 MILES AN HOUR IN SECOND to use a model, to bend the con- trols of the model to proper po- sition and to figure the position of the control stick and rudder bar at every instant of the ma- neuver.” Says Acrobatics Is Misunderstood Term. Acrobatics, Lieut. Williams be- lieves, is the most misunderstood term in aeronautics. He advo- cates that each pilot, particularly military Yllou. make it a duty to{ put his plane in every conceivable position that the airplane will| stand with reason and to under- stand just how he got the ship into that position and how he got again. fivery maneuver should be in advance and you #iould have a clear idea in your ind at every instant just how ux‘m will get out of the maneuver,” e sald. / enough. One hundred miles an hour is not worth anything. One hundred and fifty miles is better. At 180 miles a commercial plane is just beginning to get speed which will pay dividends. The sole mission of aviation is to get over the ground in & hurry. Mark my words, this speed business hasn’t been started yet.” Use of Foreign Planes Approved. ‘The Venezuelan government has ap- proved the use by oil companies in that country of airplanes of foreign registry, with the provision that they shall be at the disposal of the government in case of emergency. No Gas Tax §n Pi‘ne;'nel. Florida cour’ have ruled that gaso- line brought into that State and stored for the purpose of refueling lanes fiying in interstate service is ject to the State's ¢-cent-per-galion gasoline tax. plants in Baltimore, it was announced. The school is planning to take up gliding later in the Spring and now has two gliders under construction in the school shops, located in the old Sim- mons aircraft factory, near the Ben- type. Primary glider flights are to made at Congressional Mrgtlm. on Rockville road at Halpine, Md. The aviation school has completed the drafting of an aviation ground school course for the Spanish govern- ment and will forward its report with- in a few days through the Spanish | Ambassador. Tips Banned on Planes. ‘The first anti-tipping regulation aboard air transport planes has been made by Colonial Air Transport on its New York-Boston run. The steward system has been abolished and couriers now at the te: | | rminals and accompany to destina- INTERNAL 4.\WHEEL BRAKES HYDRAULIC TWO-WAY SHOCK ABSORBERS RICH WOODSON MOTOR CO., Silver 8 MONRO] UPHOLSTERY "=V WILLYS Six, you must drive the car yourself. Two dramatic second gear runs prove the activity and stamina of the Willys Six. 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