Evening Star Newspaper, June 29, 1930, Page 52

THE SUNDAY STAR., w ASHINGTON, D. C, JUNE 29, 1930—PART FOUR. m D AVIA TION BY JOSEPH S. EDGERTON. HE first official step taken in this country in prepara- tion for the anticipated visit of the ghmct G‘:rmnx; -X flying boat nex ugus E:s the iyntroduction in the House during the past week of a joint resolution by Representative Royal C. Johnson of South Da- kota to permit the big ship to enter the country duty free and to operate here for a year. When the great Dornier plane takes off for the transatlantic crossing she will represent the result of a sort of international areonautical engineering alliance. Though the plane was designed and built in Germany by Dr. Claude Dorner, the engines to be | used will be geared Curtiss Con-| querors of American design and manufacture. Certain of the| navigation instruments are to be of ‘American make, and the chief ilot will be Lieut. C. H. “Dutch” childhauer, former American naval aviator. The Do-X, it will be recalled, is the 12-motored flying excursion steamer which carried 169 passen- gers at one time in a flight over Lake Constance, Switzerland. No other aircraft ever has carried so many people at one time, though &here now is a huge Italian Ca- p¥ni, which undoubtedly could duplicate the feat. The Caproni has established a series of new world records while carrying a pay load of more than 52000 ounds, or 26 tons. This mighty load, expressed in terms of 150- und people, would mean nearly 50 persons. The Caproni is a dplane. To Fly August 9. It is now planned for the Do-X to take off from Lake Constance during the early part of August and to begin the ocean crossing about August 9, after stops nt[ several European ports. The | ocean flight will be broken by stops at the Azores and Bermuda. Probably less than a score of | passengers will be carried and the | pay load will be limited to five tons or less, though the flight is planned as a demonstration of the feasibility of regular commercial ocean service with this type of plane. e Installation of the Curtiss en- gines in place of the 12 original | Siemens-Jupiter engines has made | necessary a change in the struc- | ture of the rudimentary wing con- necting the six-engine nacelles. tional loads which would far over- balance the aerodynamic advan- tages of this arrangement.” There would be ample room within the great wing for the en- gines. Though the wing is not thick, relatively, the structure is so huge that it is possible to walk tire length. The control room is connected with the engine nacelles by a passage running through the main wing. Compressed Air Starters. The engines are started by com- pressed air provided by a small compressor driven by a separate gasoline engine. The entire sup- ply of electric current for the big craft also is produced by this compressor. The fuel system also is of interest. The fuel tanks, containing a total capacity of 4,227 gallons, are built into the bottom of the hull. They are con- nected with a central reservoir or “collecting pot,” from which fuel is pumped to two 79-gallon tanks in the leading edge of the wing. A hand-driven pump, a wind- driven pump and an electric pump |insure the supply under all con- | ditions. All gauges are located on | the control deck. The entire pipe system is accessible during flight. ‘The oil tan! having a capacity jof 423 gallons, are located in the wing, e hull, m addition to Befrg divided into decks, is further di- vided into nine water-tight com- partments and each wing stub into four such compartments. The bulkheads are so located that the hull will float with any two compartments flooded. The hull is of the “one-step” type, the step being similar to that found in high-speed motor boats and smaller flying boats. So large is the hull, however, that in landing a large amount of air is com- pressed behind this step by the water. Two curved tubes, open- ing on the sides of the hull above the wing stubs, permit the air to escape. The passenger deck is divided into 11 compartments, which may be arranged for day or night transportation of passengers. The rooms vary in length from nearly 7 to 9 feet and are connected by a corridor running the full length of the hull. Entrance to the plane is through doors in the sides of the hull above the wing stubs, opening into an entrance room. This room opens on the corridor inside the wing for nearly its en- | | connecting the passenger cabins he engines are mounted in tan- - & |and is connected by metal stair- dems, two to each nacelle. The method of handling the engines‘ is unique and interesting. Each engine may be controlled individ- | ually from the engine room. The two engines in any one of the nacelles may be cut out for minor repairs while in flight. For the instantaneous control required by the pilots, however, in landing and taking off, the mo- | tors are arranged for control like those of a twin-engined plane.{ ‘The pilot handles only two throt- tles, one for each bank of six mo- tors. It probably would be im- | possible for the pilot to maintain | any sort of a check on the indi- /| vidual performance of each of the | 12 engines, though it is important for him to know how much power is being delivered. Two dials give him this informatiog. They are tachometer dials, each giving the average engine speed of the slxl engines in each bagk. Pilot’s Burden Lightened. | ways with the control deck above | and the hold below. Two other stairways at other points in the passenger deck lead to emergency hatchways on top of the hull, Signal Post in Tail. A manhole in the rear of the hull gives access to a “crow’s nest” in the end of the tail, which is used as a signaling post during the operation of mooring. There is a space in the tail which may be used to swing hammocks for a small crew. & Dual controls are provided in the pilot room for two pilots. The controls are conventional. Wheel controls actuate the ailerons and swinging of the columns on which the wheels are mounted controls the elevator. Pedals operate the rudder. Three wheels are between the seats. These control the water rudder and the angle of attack of | the auxiliary rudders and of the elevator balancers. Despite the In the ordinary plane constant |great size of the controlling sur- supervision of the engines is the | faces, they are so perfectly ad- duty of the pilot and co-pilot. In justed, with balancing surfaces the Do-X, however, this responsi- | provided, that the pilots can con- bility is transferred to the chief | trol them by hand without auxil- | engineer and his engine room iary power controls. crew. For the information of the| The flight instrument dials are pilot, however, there is a panel of normally placed, except that the ! 12 lights, one for each motor. If complex instrument board for the one of the engines is cut out for 12 engines is in a separate room EATH MAY GUARD SOUCEK'S RECORD Scientists Doubt if Rare Air Will Permit Aviators to Go Higher. By the Associated Press. | It may be a long time before man is | able to surpass Lieut. Apollo Soucek’s | world record for altitude in flight. | _Beientists doubt whether flyers will be able to improve much on his peak ceil- ing of 43,166 feet—simply because of air conditions at extreme altitudes. ‘When Lieut. Soucek reached a point nearly eight and one-fifth miles off the earth he experienced a pressure of 2.28 pounds a. square inch—in contrast to nearly 15 pounds at sea level. “Higher Flight May Mean Death.” “It may mean death to go higher,” ; sald’ Dr. Frederick Ceres, medical i |spector at the Anacostia Air Station, “because of the body's want of oxygen. He examined Soucek before his flights. “The critical point lies between 40,000 and 45,000 feet, where ‘startation’ be- gins when the vehicles which carry oxygen in the blood stream are unable, because of the decreased pressure, to release their load to the tissues,” Dr. Ceres explained. ‘These vehicles are the oxyhemoglobin and they give no warning to the pilot that he has reached the limit. He may lapse into unconsciousness and die be- fore the ship can drop ta the atmos- phere necessary to sustiin life.” Lieut. Soucek provided for cmergen- cies by equipping his tiny bipiane with automn‘ic controls. se would throt- !tle the motor bofore it t#elf to ptces and allow the ship to circle downward until he could regain his senses. Greater altitudes than Soucek reached, it ieved, may be possible with ships which the pilot may sit in an airtight compartment at normal pres- sure, and with improved motors that can “breathe” to better advantage in rare atmosphere, Temperature Nearly Constant. While there is a marked decrease in air pressure, Lieut. Soucek found that temperature is nearly constant. On the record flight a thermometer in the air stream registered 67 degrees below zero, centigrade, while the cockpit temperature dropped to 32 degrees be- low zero. The trace on the official barograph showed a heroic fight at peak ceiling, where, with the propeller blades beating | almost without effect in the thin air, | I the pilot strained for extra inches and | each move sent tne ship down to 42,000 feet. fAERONAUTfCAL LAW | | STUDIED BY EXPERTS| Disputed Points to Be Discussed at Budapest Meeting in September, Various points of aeronautical law! which are in dispute have been given preliminary study by subcommittees of | the international technical committee of legal experts on aviation, meeting in Paris last month, in preparation for the next meeting of the full commission at Budapest in September, the Depart- ment of Commerce has been informed. Representagives of 29 governments were included In the four subcommittees and among the subjects discussed and prepared for final action in September were an international agreement on the conditions of ownership of airplanes, an aeronautical register, the hypothecation | of planes and air privileges. The ob- ject is the establishment of an interna- tional system of credit for airplane pur- chases which would guarantee the rights | of both purchaser and creditor. The committees also considered the draft of an agreement regarding re- sponsibility for damage to persons or property on the ground, which would supplement the proposal made at the Warsaw meeting of the judicial experts on aviation last year relative to the re- sponsibility of the air carrier regarding passengers and merchandise transported. A project for defining the legal posi- tion of the commander of an airplane | and of his crew was studied by the com- mittee. No decision was reached on any of the points discussed. ouid whirl it- | THIN AIR GUARDS SOUCEK’S ALTITUDE RECORD {“‘—__ i n the sm~1l Navy hi ecek, U. lower left dhov ! goggles } FIGHTINGINAR 10 UNDERGO TEST Latest Types Anti-Aircraft Guns and Fire Control Are Scheduled at Aberdeen. The latest type of anti-aircraft guns and fire control equipment will be put to the test during the fifth annual anti- aircraft exercises to be held at Aber- deen, Md., beginning August 15. One of the latest pleces of equipment to be tested will be multiple machine | gun truck mounts designed for the pro- tection of marching columns. Because of the suddenness of attack by the newly developed attack aviation, such defensive guns must be constantly ready for action, even while the column is e shown flying 2bove the Capit, hown «anding In the cockpit of his plane, set ut. Soucck roady for flight. which must be warmed to prevent the form new wo The wires Field Below Sea Level Simplifies Landing Troubles There is one field used regu- larly by British military and civil afreraft which is a pienic for the visiting pilot, who must climb 1,000 feet from this fleld before he reaches sea level. Operating out of the field he finds his landing speed decreased by up to 10 miles per hour, his flying speed increased in like pro- portion, and his engine power in- creased by a sort of natural su- percharging, due to the heavy air pressure. ‘The field is at El Lisan, in the great depression surrounding the Ded Sea. The field is on natu- rally flat ground and is 1,000 feet below sea level. ALL TOWNS IN OHIO0 on the start of a recent alt id altitude record of 43.166 feet. hanzing from his helmet are attached to heating coils in the ation of frost and the consequent blinding of the pilot. | TO BE “AIR MARKED” Aeronautics in State on_the move. : | The latest types of fire control equi ment, including directors, height fin Director of ers and transmission systems, will tested in connection with the recently standardized mobile 3-inch gun and mount, the fixed 105-millimeter gun and mount, and the most recent type of 37-millimeter gun and mount, the | War Department announced. The mul- Reports Law Compulsory and Ap- | plied to All Municipalities. Airmarking of Ohio cities and towns tiple machine gun truck mounts will i§ made mandatory under the terms of the first compulsory airmarking law in :o“n:?uivped with .50 caliber mnrhme“h' Wele. oSl o & lesert e “These annual exercises” the War | ceived here from John M. Vorys. direc- Department announced, “have been of | tor of ";‘flr)l"tlf; of Oxgméh the greatest value to the nrdnnnce‘"q‘""-'h‘“"»b:"' A g department and the Coast Artillery in | State sha marked in acc | aeronautics within 60 days after re- celving notification. The rules for marking are in con- formity with the Department of Com- merce airmarking requirements, for the sake of uniformity. Mr. Vorys said. He points out that, while the Ohio law is a step in advance of anything of the kind in the world, “compulsory and uniform airmarking will inevitably be required everywhere.' tile aircraft. The present state of de- velopment of our anti-aircrfat equipment is attributed largely to information obtained during extensive tests con- ducted in connection with the annual anti-aircraft exercises.” The guns and equipment will be tested by firing at sleeve targets towed by airplanes at altitudes ranging from 5000 % 18,000 feet. This metnod, it was stated, represents the nearest ap- proach to actual war conditions possible in time of peace. Vorys said in his report, “must’ know | where he is at all times. to be safe: | and ordinary landmarks are insufficient for this purpose. Special marks de- | signed to be read from thousands of feet away are necessary, Airmarkings are analogous to the buoys and light- houses which are imperative for safety in _sea travel.” The Ohio law, Mr. Vorys said, is the result of efforts made to bring about the voluntary marking of cities ~-4hToughout the country. The aeronau- | ties branch of the Department of Com- merce has prepared a suggested stand- ard airmarking system and, together FLARES SIGNAL PILOTS ON WEATHER WARNINGS System Will Be Used at New York, Albany and Montreal Fields Until August 1. By the Associated Press NEW YORK.—A temporary system perfecting material for combating hos- | With rules prepared by the director of | “A piloy at sea or in the air” Mr. of flares to warn pilots of bad weather any reason, the corresponding light flashes. Construction of the great Ger- man plane was begun in the workshops of Dr. Claude Dornier, at Alteurhein, in December, 1927. Its construction required 570 days, and the launching and first trial flight took place July 12, 1929. The ship is a high-wing monoplane, with a single central hull and stub-wings just above the water- line for stability on the water without the necessity of wing-tip floats. A unique shaping of the stub-wing root forces the water downward and outward, alding| the take-off and landing. The outstanding feature of the hull design is its division, for the first time in aircraft construction, into three separate decks. The upper, or control deck, contains the pilot room, the commander’s room, the engine-control room and rooms for the radio installa- tion and auxiliary motors. The middle deck, used exclusively for assengers, has a length of 77| eet and a maximum width of more than 11 feet. The ceiling is| more than 6 feet high. The bot- | tom deck or hold is reserved for| fuel, provisions, freight and lug- gage. . Engine Mounting Studied. Placing of the engines above the main wing was the result of and ecareful study. “It is now a generally recognized fact that the lift is considerably increased by mounting the pro- pellers above the wing” it is stated in a report on the big plane which has been reprinted by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. “The possibility of using -pusher propellers ‘at the trailing edge of the wing with the engines inside the wing, received particular attention. It was con- cluded, however, that the long shafts required and the difficulty of installing these shafts with the {;opzuen at the trailing edge of e wing would result in addi- aft of the control cabin. Lieut. Schildhauer has arranged for the installation of a Sperry artificial horizon, an instrument which shows the pilot the true horizon when flying blind. He also is at- tempting to obtain a new type of gyroscopic flight direction indica- tor, only one of which so far has been built. Carries 37 Tons. Though the plane itself weighs less than 30,000 pounds, it will fly easily with a gross load, including fuel and oil, crew and pay load, of | 75,821 pounds. With this total load the plane weighs 52 tons, and so loaded was able to take off from Lake Constance in calm air after a run of 65 seconds. At sea level the take-off run would be 55 seconds, with a full load. The plane has attained a maximum speed of 131 miles per hour at an altitude of 1,400 feet. Dr. Dornier has expressed the belief that his plane can be used profitably for service over non- stop distances of 1,000 to 1,500 kilometers, or 622 to 932 miles, with a large number of passen- |gers. At an economical operating speed, he estimates, it will be pos- | sible to carry comfortably 10,000 | kilograms or 22,046 pounds of pas- sengers and merchandise, or a maximum of 100 passengers. If it is desired to travel still more com- fortably, he stated, the number of Dassengers can be reduced to 60 or 40, with greater speed and creased range. He concludes that the Do-X, therefore, can offer in- creased comfort and safety on flights of five or six hours be- tween maritime points. Because of its size and stanch construction, Dr. Dornier believes, the big flying boat can taxi or ride out fogs at sea far more safely than any previous flying boats. It can land many miles outside the port of destination, if neces- sary, and either taxi under its own power or be towed into port in case of prolonged fogs. AIR INSURANCE CUT Bpecial travel insurance for air and rail travelers has been placed in the same class by one of the nationally known insurance companies which handles this form of insurance on the ;I;u of one of the leading Western KANAKAS FLY of an airplane ride has instilled great energy in the usually legarthic native Kanakas of New Guinea. to take a good joy ride, with a loop-the- rt | 1oop thrown in. over their ‘The first that mpvl:;’ mmm and district the coast sent the nat fear, but have becoms [% SYDNEY, Australia (#).—The promise l | ‘The natives slave hard to save up $10 FOR FIELD INSPECTORS | Increase in' Airports Necessitates! Constant Bupervson to Pro- mote Safety. So great has been -the increase in the number of airports in Pennsylva- nia, now one of the leading States in the Nation in this respect, that the Pennsylvania State Aeronautics Com- mission has been forced to purchase two airplanes for the use of airport and landing fleld inspectors, according to an_announcement received here. One of the planes will be located in Western Pennsylvania and the other will operate either from Harrisburg or Philadelphia. Inspection of the fields is made at regular intervals to make certain that they wre complying with the State aeronautics act, which re- quires the licensing and inspection of all airports and landing fields. When the order for purchase of the planes was signed there were 51 air- ports and landing fields licensed in the State. Applications were pending for the licensing of 21 fields and additional applications were being received daily. 1AIRMEi\I NOW SEEKING i THE HIGHER ALTITUDES Pursuit Pilots at Rockwell Field, in California, Pushing Combat Flying Steadily Upward. . . . Bflm“ pilots of f-hcea 95th tpg:c“km uadron, Army , 8 - well Pleld, San Diego, Calif., have been pushing the lLmits of combat flylns steadily upward since the beginning of high altitude training, more than a year ago, in the new Wasp-engined Boeing P-12 pursuit planes, to reports to the War Department. ‘The latest reports indicated that one of these planes, with full milit ' has reached a recorded altitude of 33,~ 000 feet, or more than 6 miles, without reaching its ceiling. The plane was piloted by Capt. H. M. Elmendorf, com- manding officer of the squadron. At 33,000 feet the oxygen tube slip- ped out of position and Capt. Elmen- was forced to dive more than 10 000 feet to obtain sufficient air to e iable him to breathe. The previous rec-- |ord for the squadron was 31,700 feet. ‘The squadron hss flown formation at 29,000 feet. The Air Corps has pur- chased 90 of the P-12's, two of which have been received at Bolling PField, and the Navy has just contracted for 27 more of the same type for addition to its fighter squadrons. Glider Prize Offered. Ame-of $5,000 hnhbeen oflerle‘tllhw th ritish pilot who accomplishes a C ““p lish Channel from of Eng] Etfi d, has been put into effect on the New York, Albany and Montreal airway to operate until Government broadcasts are available August 1. Flare stations have been established enough to be seen from high altitudes, carry warnings to the pilots. One flare gives warning of bad weather ahead, two flares instruct him to land at once and three give the sig- nal to return to the base. ‘Weather broadcasting stations are under construction by the aeronautics branch of the Department of Com- merce. POl R Learns Flying in U. S. ‘TOLEDO, Ohio (#).—Mrs. Olga Ga- briel of Sofia, Bulgaria, is learning to in Toledo, seeking a limited com- mercial license before returning to teach aviation to women in Bulgaria. with the Post Office Department and other Federal agencies and the Gug- genheim Fund for the Promotjon of Aeronautics, has promoted the estab- lishment of such airmarkers. It was recognized in framing the along the route and signals, brilliant Ohio law. Mr. Vorys stated, that uni- formity and universality of airmarking are of paramount importance so that they may be recognized and under- stood instantly by the airplane pilot. ——i Neon Beacons Planned. A bank of 40 neon tubes, each 20 feet long, which will provide a crimson light visible under all atmospheric conditions for a distance claimed to be 130 miles in all directions, will be erected on_an observation tower of the Hudson Bay Co. at Calgary, Alberta, according to word received here by the Department of Commerce. There also will be an ordinary 3,000,000 candlepower revolv- ing beacon on the tower. ude flight, Lieut. Apollo Sou- The inset at the PROGRAM OUTLINED FOR SAFETY N AR {Licensing of Parachute | Workers Among Aeronautic Regulations. As another step in its campaign for increased safety in civil aeronautics, the aeronautics branch of the Department of Commerce has promulgated regula- tions, effective July 1, requiring the licensing of parachute packers, inainte- | nance and repair men. A few days pre- | viously the branch had announced regu- lations covering the issuance of approved type certificates for parachutes which were able to meet the rigid service tests and inspections for material and work- manship. After July 1 it will be illegal for any person who does not hcld a parachute rigger’s license issued by the Depart- ment of Commerce to pack, repair, in- spect or maintain parachutes of an ap- proved type. The parachute rigger's license will be issued only to those who | successfully pass examinations designed | to test their ability to inspect, repair, | pack and otherwise properly care for parachutes. The applicant must be at least 18 years old and must have avail- able all necessary equipment for repair work or repacking and must show that he has packed 20 or more parachutes which has been satisfactorily jumped or drop tested. The license will remain in effect for two vears, but may be revoked or sus- pended upon any demonstration of in- | competency. It may be renewed for an additional two years on proof that the holder has rendered service under his license for at least half of its term. He must also have packed at least 25 para- chutes which were satisfactorily tested, either by having been dropped or jumped, during the time his license was in effect. PASSENGERS EAT LEAVES Fed to Silk Worms Shipped From Mill by Plane. A luncheon consisting of mulberry leaves was served a few days go to more than 100 passengers flving southward in | an airmail plane of Eastern Air Trans- port, operators of the New York-Atlanta- Miami airmail route. The passengers were silx worms, and thev were en route to a Louisiana address from a silk mill in Massachusetts. The plane they flew in was a regular mail plane, operated bv Pilot Siever. It is possible that the little fellows will pay for their ride by making the raw material for a parashute some day. GRAF MENUS IN DEMAND The airmail which the Graf Zeppe- lin carried around the world has in- creased greatly in value with the pass- ing of time, but it does not have a | “corner” on’ desirability by collectors. | This honor is shared with the litfle | pieces of cardboard on which the air- | ship's cuisine was printed. | At a recent sale the menu cards, which the Giaf flew on the long trip, | brought $885 cach. The Tokio-to-Los Angeles airmail covers, listed at $5, | brought $9.70 each, nearly 100 per cent increase. NOVEL “LANDING BUTTON” SAVES GROUND CREW BY GEORGE WATERS. A plane pilots in the world ships. He is Everett Meeks, younge: TOUSLED head youngster of 15, one of the best model air- , will show his Western comrades, out in Detroit, tomorrow something about the flying of model st_student at the Aviation School of America here and outstanding pilot of the District of Columbia Model Aircraft League. John Pendleton, instructor of the junior division of the District of Columbia Air Legion, one of the District’s expert model plane fiyers, will meet Everett at the contest. They will vie for honors with scores of other lads from all over the country in the National Airplane Model Contest, to be held in Detroit tomorrow and Tuesday. Schools Sponsor Trip. ‘The Aviation School of America is sponsoring Everett's trip to the contest, while the District of Columbia Air Le- glon is paying the expenses of John Templeton. Everett will climb in the cockpit of one of the planes of the Clifford Ball Airline and the Stout Airline and sail for the West tomorrow morning. The entire trip will be made by air. The Ciifford Ball Airline will take him to Cleveland, and from there he will be taken to Detroit in one of the planes of the Stout Airline. Arrangements for the trip were made by Bruce Le Gore, president of the Aviation School of America. Holds Three Records. Young Meek holds three world records for model plane flying. He holds the world record for helicopter models, in- | door gliders ground models. peyoung Meeks holds the distinction of be and scientific rise-off- ing the first model plane pilot in the | District to receive the Silver Ace cita- ' tfon, He has been building model planes for the past three years. Everett won the District of Columbia model aircraft finals in 1928 for expert flying in the class for scientific hand- launched models. At the Louisville, Ky.. model aircraft finals last year he won first place in the same class. At the contest tomorrow the youthful plane enthusiast will enter planes in all the events, both indoor and outdoor. Page Mr. Ripley! But here’s one about model airplane to-meeting hat clean out of si out of sight is just what happened to the model plane of Carl Fries, jr., of St. Louis. Carl released his tiny ship at a park in St. Louis. It soared far over the heads of spectators and disappeared from view. = And—prick up vour ears, Mr. Ripley—they found the ship 20 miles away. Carl_identified his ship and got it back. But he won't get as much credit for that flight as he de- serves. You see, in order for the flight 1o be official. it must be followed with binoculars during the entire course of the flight. AR FERRY SERVICE, ght. And flying that will knock your Sunday go- | EVERETT ME It won't be long now before they will hiring_automobiles to follow model planes. Mavbe there will be a trans- atlantic flight by a model plane some day. Maybe. Advice From the Elders. | _One of the older reporters looked over | my shoulder when the last line in the |above paragraph was written. He said to be careful or the parents of some of | the model plane pilots in the city would |be on the well known neck of the writer. All the model plane pilots will be wanting to spend their vacations at the seaside to attempt transatlantic flights, he said. Well, the seaside is a swell place to spend a vacation and a better place 0 fly model planes. Par- don—to all parents! The committees for Aircraft League follo C. de F. Chandler: ju ter R. Hinton Garber IRPLANE MARKET he District Model Awards—Col, ges—Lieut. Wal- rules—Paul Edward UNIQUE VENTURE 11,391 Passengers Carried Between San Francisco and Oakland in 30 Days. Proposed hourly airplane passenger service to be inaugurated August 15 between the National Capital, Phila- delphia and New York, has its prece- dent in frequency of service in one of the most unusual air transport ventures vet undertaken, an aerial ferry service | between San Francisco and Oakland, Calif. | _Not only in point of frequency of service, but in the number of passengers carried air ferrics are unique. The expe- | riences on this line are expected to have & profound influence on similar air | transport development in this part of the country. | The most comprehensive story of | the romance of the air ferries project vet received in the National Capital is SEEN DN FARBASS Sales of Equipment, Includ- ing Enoines, Keep Pace With Preduction, Is Report. American aircraft and aircraft engine sales were keeping pace with production at the end of the first quarter of the year, according to a statistical survey completed by the Aeronautica! Chamber of Commerce. Sales have begun to !show a sharp upward trend after the weak start in January and Pebruary. The study, it is said, reveals that the industry is on a sounder basis than in the past and that the dangerous period of overproduction is over, This is the result of retrenchment programs put into effect by many of the manufac- turers late in 1929. Production figures for the first quarter of this year were considerably under those for the same period last year, it was indicated. | embodied in a report to the Department |of Commerce by Alvin C. Eichholz, | commercial agent of the Bureau of | Foreign and Domestic Commerce at San Francisco. | The planes operated by the company, Mr. Eichholz reported. cross the six without motors, of $4,569.- miles of water separating the two cities. | The ‘commercial planes, totaling landing passengers at the edge of the 501 with a value minue. fmator of downtown districts. The ordinary 40- 3187423 represented nearly 80 por minute boat and train trip between the % i Sales Since January Shown. During the first three months of 1930 78 ma aircraft manufacturers e chamber produced 630 and military airplanes, at a cities is reduced to a six-minute flight “For the past two months,” Mr. Eich- holz said. “approximately 400 persons have been carried daily between the two cities. The scheduled route is un- | doubtediy the shortest and the service ! the most frequent in the realm of air | transportation. ‘ 11,391 Passengers in 30 Days. “During the first 30 days of opera- tion the record total of 11,391 paving passengers were transported over the new route, in spite of half-day opera- tions on five occasions due to fogs. At the end of two months c° op~ration the air ferries had carriecl 21,500 pas- | sengers. “On Sunday, February 16, all records for passenger transportation bv any 'operating airline on a permanent scheduled route were broken when 947 passengers were transporated during the day A crossing was made from each terminal every seven minutes, with a record total of 148 crossings for the day. Seventy-four crossing are made daily on normal schedules, which call for & plane every 20 minutes during the forenoon and every 15 minutes during the afternoon. This schedule is often advanced to accommodate heavier de- mands for service. “A questionnaire presented to all paying passengers during a period of seven traffic_days revealed some very interesting figures. Seventy-one per cent of the passengers making the six- minute flight across the bay were on business errands. T-venty-eight per cent were women, 23 per cent used the service to save time and 40 per cent were making their first flight. After 3) days of service nearly 35 per cent of the trafic was composed of persons who had previously used the air ferries. “During the first month of operation the new service carried approximately 5,400 persons who had never been in an airplane before. Despite the fact that a large percentage of the traffic continues to be attracted by the nov- elty, 37 per cent of the passengers are now making the trans-bay trip by instead of via the train-ferry service. Franchises For Other Lines, ‘The company found the original line so successful that after approximate! two months of operation a service wi | inaugurated over the 22-mile route be- !tween San Francisco and Vallejo and the company has obtanied franchises for terminal fs lines and when additional equipment. now on order, becomes available, Mr. Eichholz told the Department of Com- merce, services will be inaugurated from San Francisco to Sacramento, 89 miles; to Stockton, 82 miles; Richmond, 9 miles; Sausalito, 6.5 miles, and Ala- meda, 9.2 miles. Alr _ferries uses Keystone-Loening amphibion planes, each carying two flm and seven passengers. A novel ‘button” or float was designed and built for the line at a cost of $10,000. A semi-circular ramp slopes off into the water., The planes taxi up on the ramp under their own power |from any direction to dizembark and !take on passengers, mechanical details . having been so perfected that pilots can hnna‘l' their planes without the aid ilities for five other | cent of the total product on There were 584 airplanes sold, the cial market absorhing 409, or 50 of the total reported sales. wo manufacturers of aircraf engines reported a total of 900 engines produced during the first quarter of the year for both military and commercia use. The value of the engines $4.062.102. Of the total, 514, or 57 per cent, were produced for the commercial market, Sales exceeded production dur- ing the quarter, 916 engines having been sold, of which 452 were taken up by | commercial companies. Biplane Production. Cited. | “The airplane production figures again | showed the open-cockpit type of biplane | leading with 59.4 per cent of the total ‘nrrd'lr'lcn Cabin - type monoplan‘s | were second with 25.1 per cent of total | production.” The remainder was iarge) | taken up by the open-cockpit monoplane | type. | " Despite the increase in the number of different types of low-wing mono- planes designed for production, the sales |showed a continued preference for bi- [planes. In the first three months of | 1929, 51 per cent of all the planes pro- |duced were biplanes This year 606 er cent of all the planes buili were biplanes, or an increase of nrarly per cent. MAJ. SHUMAKER AIDING CHINESE IN AVIATION Expert Denver Engaged as In- structor in the Organization of Air Service. SHANGHAI (P).—Maj. F. N. Shu- maker of Denver has become adviser and instructor for air organization %o the aviation bureau of the national government. He is the first experienced war-time aviator to be attached to the Chinese flying service. In 1914 he joined -the British flying service and was active | with British forces until 1918, when he | resigned to join American fiyers in France. He came to China for an American concern to make a survey of aviation | possibilities in this country, and the | Chinese drafted him to assist in their aviation program. ket S . ture of the Ex'b»uxed line from this city to New York. In view of the that rallroad service between this city and New York is conducted on an hourly schedule by two leading roads, the com- ing air transport development is awaited with keen interest by the aviation in- dustry as the first direct challenge of ‘nvlfunn to establish ground transpar- tation. MODEL AIRPLANE SUPPLIES Adhesives, Balsa, Bamboo. Bear- Books. Dopes. _Cellop) id. Paper. Plgment, Silk, Thi 3 Metals. Tools. Wheels, Winders, Wire and Wire Parte; also Ki Capitol Model Aero Supply House 1218 Eye 8t. N.W.. Washington, D, C. 0,