Evening Star Newspaper, April 20, 1930, Page 50

4 ? THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C., 'APRIL 20, 1930—PART FOUR. e AVIA TION BY JOSEPH S. EDGERTON. HOUGH the rather meager news dispatches from Cali- fornia do not reveal much of what the Army Air Corps is doing in its “open-air labora- tory” experiments in connection with the Spring maneuvers, they have indicated enough of what is going on to convince officers of the service here that the fighting squadrons are casting tradition| to the winds and are writing new | pages in the history of military aviation. One of the most startling de- velopments since the maneuvers began, on April 1, has been the experimental use of the two-placs | attack planes for pursuit pur- poses. This is revolutionary. Since the beginning of military | aviation all pursuit planes have| been single-seaters. The naval| fighting plane, equivalent of the Army pursuits, also has been a single-seater type since the be- ginning. | The dispatches do not tell what | has been the result of the tests| and Air Corps officers here are! eagerly awaiting official reports. Ordinarily the attack squadrons operate at the lowest possible alti- tudes, taking advantage of hills and trees as screens to cover their approach on' the enemy. Operate at 15,000 Feet. During the past week, however, squadrons of the 3d Attack Group were ordered to function as pur- suit planes, operating at an alti- tude of 15,000 feet, or nearly three | miles above the ground, and to| support an attack by bombard-| ment planes. This is the sort of | work for which two-seater pursuit planes would be best fitted, since they possess fire power not only to the front, as does the single-seat- er, but also to the rear, lack of which is a vital weakness in the ordinary pursuit plane. Having fire power to the rear, the two-seater pursuit when at- tacked by enemy pursuit may be able to continue its mission of protecting bombardment or ob- servation planes without being forced in self-defense to break formation and engage in dog- fig-ting tactics, as must the single-seater. The Army Air Corps has ordered an experimental two-seater pur- suit plane, which now is being constructed at the Berliner- Joyce plant in Baltimore. The employment of attack planes for pursuit purposes may be regarded as a preliminary step, under service conditions, toward the strengthening of the pursuit arms of the air service, if this can be done by the addition of pursuit planes carrying a gunner in addi- tion to the pilot. ‘The Berliner - Joyce experi- mental plane has reached the “mock-up” stage—that is, a frame- work of the fuselage has been constructed to actual dimensions prior to the actual construction of the plane. On the wooden frame, or “mock-up,” as it is called tech- nically, changes may be made as they are found necessary without the expense of junking permanent construction. Ready in Three Months. It is not believed that the plane itself will be ready for testing for at least three months. In the meantime, not only the civilian designers and engineers, but offi- cers of the Army Air Corps are hovering over the embryo plane like mother hens over a lone chick in a hawk-infested yard. The day this plane emerges from the factory ready for flight tests promises to be a most important one for the Air Corps. The Air Corps now uses two standard types of pursuit planes —the Boeing P-12, equipped with an air-cooled radial “engine, and the Curtiss P-1B, better known as the “Hawk,” powered by a water- cooled 12-cylinder Curtiss engine. The P-12 has been adopted for high-altitude work and remark- able results are being achieved _with this plane by pilots of the 95th Pursuit Squadron, Rockwell Field, San Diego, now participat- ing in the California maneuvers. The P-12 is equipped with a Pratt & Whitney “Wasp” motor of 420 horsepower, supercharged for flight at extreme altitudes. The P-12 has a cruising speed of 140 miles per hour and a high speed of 172 miles per hour, with full military load, including guns and ammunition, oxygen equipment for the pilot and full fuel and oil supply. The service ceiling with load is 26,300 feet, but one of these fast little ships recently climbed to 31,700, feet over Rock- well Field, an alfitude of slightly more than six miles. The P-1B has a rated cruising speed of 130 miles per hour and 2 high speed of 160 miles per hour. Army and Curtiss engineers have been hard at work on a glycol- cooled version of the D-12 engine which will permit better stream- lining and reduction of weight, with material increases in both | cruising and top speeds. Difficul- ties have been experienced with the new cooling system in action. however, type still remains the standar}i. The chemical-cooled type will come into_use as soon as the last of the “bugs” are W is anticipated. Boeing Weighs Less. The better speed of the P-12, as compared with the P-1B, is due and the water-cooled | d: [to less weight, owing largely to | the air-cooled engine. The Boeing | weighs 2,536 pounds with full load, ! as against 2,900 pounds for the Hawk. | Both Boeing and Hawk are |armed with two machine guns, | placed forward of the pilot and | synchronized to shoot through the propeller. The guns are aimed | by moving the whole ship. One gun is .50 caliber and the other | .30 caliber and both are fired by a single button on the control | stick. Because of the fixed mounting of the guns and the lack of fire to the rear, the planes must be ex- ceedingly maneuverable, since the safety and efficiency of the pilot depend upon his ability to out- perform his foe. The mission of the pursuit plane is to shoot down and destroy enemy aircraft and thus protect friendly aircraft of other types and friendly ground forces. The attack planes which have been converted to pursuit planes for experimental purposes are de- velopments of the post-war pe- riod. They are exceedingly effi- cient and deadly weapons when used against their intended tar- gets—ground forces. The attack plane is not intended to operate against other aircraft except de- fensively. There is only one type of attack plane now used by the Army Air Corps—the Curtiss Falcon, offi- cially designated “A-3.” These planes are fast and “highly ma- neuverable, but are not intended for altitude work, since they sel- dom fly higher than 500 feet above the groumd while on tactical mis- iiol’;s and often operate below 100 eet. Cruises at 115 Miles. The Falcon uses the same motor as the Hawk and its total weight, including armament, is 4,400 pounds. It cruises at 115 miles per hour and has a high speed of 140 miles per hour. The Falcon has terrific offensive power, as it carries 250 pounds of small bombs, either 10 or 25 pounders, and six .30-caliber machine guns. Four of these guns are fired by the pilot and are of the fixed type, being aimed by pointing the plane. Two are mounted in the lower wings and two above the motor, as in the pursuit planes. The remaining two guns are on a movable mount in the. rear cockpit and are controlled by a gunner. Though splendidly - suited to ground straffing, the attack plane is too slow and heavy for pursuit work, The experimental two- place pursuiter now being built is to be comparable in speed with the best single-seaters. It is be- lieved that something may be sac- rificed in performance because of the added protection of the two rear guns. If' the two-seater pursuit plane is adopted by the Air Corps this type of plane probably will oper- ate at an intermediate level, leav- ing the work of patrolling at ex- treme altitudes to single-seaters. This Summer also will witness the flight testing of a revolution- ary type of observation plane, to be used for high-altitude, long- range reconnoissance. The first of two experimental planes of this type now is well under way at the New Jersey Fokker plant. It is a flying wing type, with two engines built into the monoplane wing and with retractable landing gear. Three men will compose the crew. It is to be exceedingly fast, capa- ble of flying at altitudes above the range of fighting planes. Test Automatic Pilot. ‘Tests of “Mecaviator,” the new Sperry automatic airplane con- trolling mechanism, are being made during the California ma- neuvers. The automatic pilot has been installed in a Condor B-2 bombardment plane, the largest used by the Army. Extensive tactical tests of the installation were made during the long flight of the 2d Bombard- ment Group from Langley Field, Va., to Sacremento, Calif. For periods of hours at a time the little gyroscopic mechanism, weighing less than 50 pounds, flew the bomber, which, with full load, weighs more than eight tons, without a human hand touching the controls. The control is re- garded as a long step forward, since it operates as well in bad weather as in good and maintains accurate flight under conditions where human pilots fall into error. For the first time during Air Corps maneuvers, pursuit units have been able to operate at alti- udes of 25,000 feet, the impor- tance of which may be realized when it is considered that victory in pursuit operations usually goes to the man with the greatest speed and altitude. Full pursuit operations have been carried on at altitudes of more than five miles above the ground, where the temperature is 8¢ degrees be- breathe from oxygen tanks and the engines of their planes are orked out, it| Supplied with air condensed to sea-level pressure by super- chargers. The pilots wear about 50 pounds of clothing and equip- ment apiece and carry oxygen ap- paratus weighing 50 pounds more. DELAY GLIDER CARNIVAL FOR COLLEGIATE ENTRIES New York Event Is Postponed From April 25 to Undeter- mined Day in June. Postponement of the New York glider carnival from April 25 to an unde- termined date late in June so that col- legiate glider organizations may par- ticipate has been announced by Edward P. Warner, former Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Aeronautics and chair- man of the carnival committee, Postponement also had been request- ed by a number of organizations to per- mit them to .complete gliders which they will enter. There is to be a pro- gram of 14 events for novice, second and first-class glider pilots. A glider exhibition in which famous pllots will take part will be held during New York air show, May 3 to 10, by a transcontinental towed glider flight; Lieut. Ralph Barnaby. U. S. N., who descended in a glider from the Navy di- rigible Los “Angeles; Hawley Bowlus, holder of the American glider endur- ance_record of morc than nine hours, and Miss Amelia Earhart are expected to participate. WOouLD AiD FLYING French Bill Proposes Help to Pri- vate Plane Owners. Private flying in France will be fos- tered by the Prench ministry of air if the Prench Parliament passes a bill now pending which would grant special compensation to purchasers of private planes, according to a report received | here by the Department of Commerce. ‘The purchaser not only would be re- | imbursed for part of the cost of the plane but for 50 per cent of the repair, garage and mechanics’ expenses. In the air budget now pending, there is an item of $195,500 for the development the National Glider Association. . Capt. Hawks, who recently compls of Ktvnt_g , according 1‘,990 Lieut. Schildhauer, Who Will Fly low zero on the warmest Summer | ay. Flying at this altitude the pilots | | can aviation authorities to speak at the to, the ALTITUDE CHAMBER NEEDED FOR TESTS Dr. Dickinson Cites Work That Could Be Done With Air-Cooled Types. T | There is urgent need for the installa- | tion at the Bureau of Standards of an | altitude chamber for the accurate test- ing of large air-cooled aircraft engines | under conditions encountered in flight | at various altitudes, Dr. H. C. Dickin- | son, chief of the heat and power divi- sion of the Bureau of Standards, told | members of the Standard Flying Club | at a meeting during the past week. The present altitude chamber, is suitable only for the iesting of flul cooled engines, has been the scene of tests of vital importance to the aero- nautical industry since it was-designed | and constructed by Dr. Dickinson dur- ing the World War. e laboratory for air-cooled engines would differ from the present labora- tory chiefly in having provisions within the engine chamber for circulating air at the high velocity required for cffi- cient engine cooling. Study Superchargers. Dr. Dickinson’s division now is con- ducting in the altitude chamber studies of the performance of aircraft engine superchargers and the performance of the engines under supercharged condi- ! tions at varying altitudss, he told mem- bers of the club. In the presenp chamber, Dr. Dickin- son said, it is possible to analyze the characteristics of water-cooled engines with the utmost precision, the limit of error having been reduced to about one-half of 1 per cent. In this labora- tory tests have been conducted for many purposes, such as the perform- ance of various grades of gasoline at different altitudes, behavior of vils un- der various conditions of altitude and temperature, variation of horsepower with altitude and temperature, carbu- retting conditions, radiator perform- ance, influence of water injection on engine performance and the perform- ance of various specific types of air- craft engines. The altitude chamber is one of the largest and most expensive bdieces of aeronautical equipment .a the bureau, but is regarded as one of tke most es- sential to the aeronautical industry. Dr. Dickinson regards its us: for the production of fundamental scientific data as of inestimable vaiie 1o the military and civilian branches of the Government and to aeronsutical engi- neers and manufacturers. Engines Behave Like Humans. Aircraft engines behave much es hu- man beings do_when taken to higher altitudes, Dr. Dickinson pointed out. ‘The weight of air, which amcunts to 15 pounds per square inch at sca level, decreases to about 7 pounds per square inch at 18,000 feet and to only 4 pounds at 30,000 feet, or less than one-third that at sea level. At the same time constantly lower temperatures are en- countered until at 30,000 fest the tem- perature is as low as 47 degrees below zero, Dr. Dickinson pointed out. It is unsatisfactory to make scientific tests of the various phases of engine performance at altitudes in actual flight, and is just as unsatisfactory to take the engines, with necessary test equipment and personnel, up to the top of some lofty mountain, Dr. Dickinson said, though when the first Liberty engine was made for use in the World War it was taken to the top of Pike's Peak for an altitude test. “This procedure was entirely imprac- ticable and expensive and gave results at only one altitude,” Dr. Dickinson said. “It was suggested by the mem- bers of the Interallied Commission visiting the United States shortly after our entrance into the war that some adequate means of studying the be- havior of aircraft engines at varying altitudes be developed.” Dr. S. W. Stratton, then director_of the Buredu of Standards, placed Dr. Dickinson in charge of the designing and construction of a laboratory to meet the suggestion of the commission. The present altitude chamber was the result. This chamber is a room 15 feet long, 7 feet wide and 7 feet high, bullt with strongly reinforced concrete walls capable of carrying loads of at least one. ton per square foot to resist being crushed by the force of atmospheric pressure as the air was exhausted from the chamber by pumps. U. S. Is Research Leader. The United States, Dr. Dickinson said, is the only country in the world which has conducted consistent research over a period of years in the matter of high altitude performances of aircraft engines by this means. Germany had a small altitude chamber during the war, but it probably was destroyed after the armistice, he said. Italy also had a very small chamber of this sort. In 1923, he“said, English engineers de- signed a small test chamber of cast iron or steel, although, so far as is known, it never has been used as has the one at the Bureau of Standards. It is understood that Japan is building an adequate altitude chamber of fairly large dimensions, Dr. Dickinson said. The Fiat Co. of Italy expects to build one soon in co-operation with the Italian government. The Standard Flying Club had as its guests at Dr. Dickinson’s lecture Wing Comdr. Paolo Sbernadori of the Italian Embassy and Mrs. Lyle B. Steever, aeronautical director of the aviation section of the Women's City Club. WILLIAMS TO SPEAK AT AERONAUTIC SHOW Giant German Plane to U. S, Also Will Appear. Lieut. Alford J. Williams, jr., famous Navy racing plane pilot, and Lieut. C, H. Schildhauer, who has been selected to fly the giant German 12-engine Dor- nier flying boat to this country in the near future, will head a list of Ameri- New York Air Show, May 3 to 10, it has been announced here. They will speak at meetings held to deal with alr transport problems. The Aeronautical Chamber of Commerce, Society of Automotive Engineers and American Society of Mechanical Engi- neers will co-operate in handling these meetings. Lieut. Williams and Schildhauer will appear on the program of the Society of Automotive Engineers' meetings, dealing with marine air transport, air- craft engines, aircraft design and air- craft rescarch. Lieut. Willlams will discuss speed flying, and Lieut. Schild- hauer will explain details of the .con- struction and operation of the Dornier plane, which carried 169 passengers on a single flight over Lake Sonstance, setting a passenger record for aircraft of all types. Other topics slated for discussion will be the comparative merits of air- cooled and liquid-cooled aircraft en- gines, dirigible transportation, the aero- dynamics of amphibian planes, the au- togiro plane and military and com- mercial aviation experimentation. Navy to Test Tail Viheel. An_experimental airplane tail wheel of unusually small diameter and incor- porating a rubber tread has been manu- factured by the Navy Bureau of Aero- nautics for tests in an effort to deter mine the minimum size of tail wheels which will give satisfactory perform= ance on car W@pe alrplanes, Officers and men of VN-6R, local Naval Aviation Reserve unit, this week completed a tw This photograph, made with the shows, left to right, standing: Ensign Robert Earle; Lieut. H. R. Browning, Comd; Anacostia station; Lieut. Comdr. Edward W. Rounds, eommandant of the unit; Lieut. W. G. Brombacher, Lieut. (J. ) H. F. Huester and Ensign Harcourt Sontag. tion chief machinist’s mates; C. F. Gerwig and M. G. Dooley, seamen, and G. K. Schuerger, aviation chief ‘machinist’s at the Anacostia Naval Air Station. mate. NAVY AIR RESERVES END TOUR OF DUTY Officers and Enlisted Men of Unit VN-6R Train for Fif- teen Days. ‘Officers and enlisted men of Naval Reserve Unit VN-6R, the National Cap- tion, has just completed a 15-day tour of active duty at the Anacostia Naval A distinguishing feature of the Nash | I 39" | and C. F. Gerwig, Htal's naval aviation reserve organiza- | spoin weile o In the front row, left to right, ar nit'’s Vought Corsair plane in the background, week tour of active duty A. H. Douglas, commandant of the E. D. Bushong and A. M. Hazell, av —Star Staff Photo. | Air Station, under command of Lieut.|instrument research test flights. Lieut. Comdr. Edward W. Rounds, comman- dant of the unit. A large part of the training period, which began April 1, has been devoted to research work in aircraft instru- ments. Officers on active duty with the unit have been Comdr. Rounds; Ensign Rob- ert Earle, executive officer; Lieut. W. G. Brombacher, Lieut. (junior grade) H F. Huester and Ensign Harcourt Son- tag. The enlisted men on duty are A M. Hazell, G. K. Schuerger and E. D, Bushong, ' aviation chief machinist’s mates, and M. G. Dooley, J. L. Hutchins nan, second class Ensign Earle was in charge of ar- ranging flights for the unit and in piloting members of the unit during the “400” is its dependability. Nash engineers and Nash craftsmen have designed and built the car for permanence and long life. Brombacher, chief of the aeronautic | instrument section of the Bureau of | Standards, completed flight tests of a| | new type of sensitive altimeter, and | Ensign Sontag, also with the aeronautic instruments section of the bureau, was | engaged in the obtaining of flight data jon an instrument which indicates the rate of fuel comsumption of aircraft | engines. Lieut. Huester is a metallurg- ist with the Navy Bureau of Aero- nautics. | Installation of a new engine in the | unit’s Vought Corsair plane, to replace one which became unserviceable last Summer, was completed by the enlisted | men of the unit, and the plane was put |in servi GLIDER CLUB MEMBERS PLAN TO MAKE FIRST FLIGHT TODAY, Training Ship Built Trial—Also be built in the National Capital since the glider wave began sweeping the country last year has been completed and will be tried out at Congressional Airport today if the weather is favor- able, The glider was built by members of the Washington Glider Club, who also have built a secondary type glider for more advanced work. ‘The secondary glider is designed with greater refinement of detail, reduction of weight and greater sensitivity of con- trol. With it club members hope to be able to make short soaring flights. Ad- vanced members of the club probably will fly this glider at Cape Henry, Va., and in the mountains near Prederick, Md,, later in the Spring. Both gliders were designed and built by members of the Washington Glider Club, organized last Fall. Among mem- bers in charge of the work were several aeronautical engineers, including J. T. Gray and Gaylord N. Newton of the engine ring section, aeronauties branch, Department of Commerce, and Paul E. Garber. curator of aeronautics of the Smithsonian Institution, who is a lead- ing authority on the subject and who has written several text books on glid- ing. Several members of the club are ex- perienced glider pilots. David H. Christenson is credited with a number of flights in the West and other mem- bers have flown gliders in various parts of the country. Ernst W. Spink, presi- dent_of the club, and several of the members were airplane pilots during the war. The primary glider flights to be made, beginning today, will be made by the shock cord method of launching. This method involves use of a long rubber rope, the center of which is attached to a hook on the nose of the glider. Members of the launching crew draw the ends of the rope out in a big “V” while another crew holds the glider until the cable is stretched. The glider is released and whipped into the air by the cable, coasting to the ground a short distance away. This method is said to be safe with beginners. The Glider Club of the Uni- versity of Michigan is credited with ap- proximately 2,500 such flights during the last school year without injury to a single fiyer. The Washington Glider Club has been holding semi-monthly meetings du: the Winter and is planning a series public lectures by recognized authori. ependabilit Here Will Be Given Have More Advanced . Craft. The first primiary training glider to | ties 56 on various ics related to the sub; of gliding, Mr. Spink announced. few members will admitted to the club, Mr. Spink said, only if they are truly interested in gliding and are will- ing and able to contribute to the fur- ther development of the science of g, or at the Smithsonian Institution. local chapter of the National As the Glider Association, national glider gov- the Wi n Glider erning 3 Club is planning a competitive glider meet to be held this Summer in or near the District of Columbia. CLASS SETS RECORD Largest Student Group in Langley History Is Assigned. The largest student class in the his- tory of the Army Air Corps Tactical School, Langley Field, Va, has been designated by the War Department to attend the next course, starting in Au- gust. The class will be composed of the following 25 officers of the Air Corps: js. Lawrence S. Churchill, Ralph P. Cousins, S. W. Fitzgerald, Walter G. Kilner and Charles B. Oldfield; Capts, Willlam V. Andrews, Robert G. Breene, Claire L. Chennault, Idwall H. Larson, George McHenry, William J. Mt C. Whitehead. AVIATION NEEDS AIRCRAFT DRAFTSMEN COLUMBIA SCHOOE - OF DRAFTING Enroll any time—Day and Evening Classes. Continued throughout the Instruction, year., Send for Free @atalogue 13th and E Sts. N.W. /J fort, and in longer dependability. Nash quality standards of engineering and manufacturing are identical thru- out the complete range of Twin-Igni- tion Eights, Twin-Ignition Sixes, and Single Sixes. Only the finest of materials that money can buy are deemed good enough for Nash.. And Nash precision standards of man- ufacture are most exacting. That is why the Nash “400” is such a sound investment. That is why it re- pays its purchase price more richly in finer performance, in greater com- $935 to $1155 SINGLE SIX $ WALLACE Retail Salesrooms, 1709 L Street N.V Robt. J. Nash Motor Co. 1419 Trving St. N.W. Birvon Nash Motor Co. _Clarendop, Va. Bluemont, Chaptico, Covington, nder. or pton. Lynchburg, Va. Fhil Payne Motor Co., 8 Read These Nash “400”’ Features . Centralized chassis lubrication, built-in, automatic radiator shutters, and the world’s easiest steering in every model. Adjustable front seats. Steel spring covers with lifetime spring lubrication in the Twine TWIN-IGNITION SIX 1325 to $1745 Distri butor AUTHORIZED WASHINGTON NASH DEALERS: HAWKINS-NASH MOTOR CO. 1529 14th Street N'W. Decatur 3320 Territory Dealers: ., 118 Main St. ._von Schilling. 28 North King St. 15 Fifth St. Jesse Veazer M Fowell N M. F. Pee Ignition Eight and Twin-Ignition Six lines. The priceless protection at no extra cost of Duplate, non- shatterable plate glass in all doors, windows, and windshields thruout the Twin-Ignition Eight line. This glass is also available at slight extra cost in all other Nash cars. TWIN-IGNITION EIGHT $1675 to $2385 All prices f. 0. b. factory-—Convenient Monthly Payment Plan if Desired NASH 400 MOTOR COMPANY Decatur 2250 Hall-Kerr Motor Co. 131 B St. S.E. Potter Nash Motor Co. Silver Spring, Md. Crosby. M. von Schilli otor