Evening Star Newspaper, July 6, 1930, Page 47

THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTO! D. C, JULY 6 1930—PART FOUR ———'———————_———-—_—;———'—————'———_—_—_——_z%.. 2L AVIATION BY JOSEPH S. EDGERTON. . HE mightiest gales ever pro- duced by man will begin blowing for science and the progress of aeronautics at Langley Field, Hampton, Va., next Winter, when the 60-foot wind tunnel now being constructed by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics is completed. Through the great mouth of the tunnel, measuring 60 by 30 feet, the air will be forced at speeds of from 100 to 110 miles per hour by two 30-foot propellers, each driv- en by a 4,000 horsepower engine. Though higher velocities have been produced in wind tunnels, no such volume of air ever has been moved at such speeds in any tunnel in the world. Completion of the tunnel, it is believed by many in the aviation industry, will mark the beginning of a new era in the study of prac- tical aerodynamics and, therefore, | in the progress of aeronautical| design and construction. The 20-| foot-propeller research tunnel at Langley Field, now the world’s largest, made possible experiments which last year won for the com- mittee the Collier trophy, award- ed for the greatest achievement in aeronautics each year. Aid to Plane Building Developed. In the 20-foot tunnel the now | famous N. A. C. A. cowling for ra- dial air-cooled engines was devel- oped, and the results of these studies are being applied to air- plane construction throughout the industry with highly beneficial re- sults. It is possible that results of even greater importance to every erson who flies will be achieved the big tunnel now under con- struction. Though the committee has had many requests for studies to be made in the 60-foot tunnel, it is considered likely that the first in- vestigation will be in the nature of a checking of observations of airplane characteristics in free flight against those to be obtained by mounting the same airplanes in the wind tunnel. For the first time it will be pos- sible to study under laboratory conditions the precise effects of air flow on a complete airplane. The immense difficulty of making observations of this character in free flight will be overcome in the tunnel, and for the first time, it is believed, it will be possible to find what actually happens when air flows around all parts of the modern airplane at flying speeds. Present Utility Restricted. At present it is possible to make wind tunnel tests only of portions of airplanes or of airplane mod- els. Even though the models are made with the most precise accu- racy—an accuracy which is car- ried to the thousandth of an inch—the results are not accu- rate. This is due to the fact that though the airplane may be scaled down accurately enough, the air flow cannot be scaled down. The same air flows around the model as around the airplane. There is a scale effect which must be calibrated. In the calibration there is opportunity for error. In fact, it would appear error is in- evitable. To overcome scale effect, the National Advisory Committee de- signed and built the present vari- able density wind tunnel, in which air passing through the wind tun- nel and over the model may be compressed. The Tresults were found to be much more accurate than those obtained with models in the ordinary tunnel. There still remain errors, however, which cannot be entirely overcome until the big tunnel is completed. Tunnel Foundations Complete. The foundations for the big tunnel have been completed and the steel framework is approxi- mately 75 per cent completed. Completion of the building and tunnel by Thanksgiving is possi- ble, though it will be at least De- cember 1 before the tunnel is ready for operation, it now is be- lieved. The structure adjoins the present propeller research tunnel. Beyond it construction crews are at work on the 2,500-foot seaplane test channel, which is to serve for seaplane and flying-boat floats and hulls as wind tunnels serve for airplanes. ‘The problem of supplying suffi- clent current for the operation of the great tunnel has required thorough study. At present cables carrying only 10,000 volts are laid to the field. This is insufficient to operate all the present tunnels and machinery at one time, and a staggered schedule must be ob- served. The two great motors for the new tunnel will draw at least & 23,000-volt supply, Special Cables Provide Current. Special cables to provide cur- rent for the motors are being laid by the local public utility com- gany to a {mim separated from angley Field by a narrow inlet of Back River. Across this inlet the supply cable will be laid under water. Laying of the special ca- ble, however, is only a minor problem. So great will be the de- mands of the motors for current that the utility company will be able to supply them only when its normal loads fall off. The motors can be run only at times when the | full demand for current in all the countryside around is at its mini- mum. Much of the work in the tunnel probably will be carried on between midnight and morning. There will be short periods dur- ing the day when emergency runs may be made. At no time, how- ever, can the tunnel be operated without at least two hours’ ad- vance notice to the power com- pany. Fitted for Propeller Tosting. The 20-foot tunnel has met the demand for a place in which pro- pellers may be tested aerodynam- ically with actual engines and fuselages in place. An accuracy impossible in flight tests is ob- tained. Various parts of the air- plane—fuselage, landing gear and tail surfaces—also may be tested full scale in this tunnel. Full size wings, however, cannot be ac- commodated. Such tests must be confined to model wings up to 12 feet in span. The propeller research tunnel was built to meet the need of an accurate means for making aero- dynamic measurements on full size aircraft propellers, it has been explained by the engineers in charge of the tunnel. Tests on model propellers in wind tunnels, they pointed out, were not satis- factory because the deflection of the model is different from that of a similar full-scale propeller, introducing a large error in some cases. The difference in scale and tip speed between the model and size propeller also caused errors. Committee’s Design Cited. The 20-foot tunnel was de- signed by the committee to meet the requirements for accurate propeller testing, and construc- tlon was completed during the Summer of 1927. Testing has been carried on continuously since that time, and the results have had marked influence on aircraft design and construction. As the 20-foot tunnel fulfilled the need for an accurate means of testing propellers, the 60-foot tunnel will satisfy the demand for the accurate testing of entire air- planes. The aeronautical indus- try should benefit materially from this project. PNEUMATIC GLIDER TESTS PROPOSED Washington Man Explains Construction Will Be Aimost Entirely of Rubber Tubes. Special Dispatch to The Star. BALTIMORE, July 5.—A “pneumatic glider,” plans for which have been drawn up by Taylor McDaniels of Washington, will be constructed and tested in Baltimore within the next two months. The craft, according to McDaniels, will be built almost en- tirely of rubber tubes, enclosed in seven layers of balloon cloth, so as to retain an air pressure so great that the tubes will burst before they will bend. Tubes Used Total 18. ‘These tubes, said McDaniels, will be 18 in number, and will constitute the wing spread and a center spar to the skid. The landing gear and pilat's seat will be of the conventional g'ider type, while the wing-loading capicity will be 1,400 pounds. Plans call for a wing spread c! 20 feet, with a width varying from 7 feet in the center to 4 feet on the tip. The thickness also will vary fiom 20 inches to 10 inches. McDaniels points out several features of such a craft. One important fact is its ease of transportation. The plane, he said, can be deflated and packed into a steamer trunk, while the conventional glider is very unwieldly to ship and because of its frailness is exposed to great risks. Main Cause of Accidents. The designer also explained that in most glider accidents the pilot is in- jured from the splintering of wood and not from the speed of the fall. He said that the craft usually glides to earth, and if the smashing of the wings, landing gear. etc., could be avoided there would be far less danger to the fiyers. If the landing is' too rapid, the worst that can happen is a “blow-out.” There's no wood or steel to injure the pilot. McDaniels is still experimenting with various kinds of rubber for his_tubes. He sald that this appears to be his greatest difficulty, as he has been un- able to secure the type desired. The cost of such a craft, if produced in quantity, would be about $200, it is estimated. FRANCE IN NEW DRIVE Decided Steps Taken to Promote Airplane Transportation. ‘The French government is taking de- cided steps to promote French air- plane transportation, according to ad- vices received here by the Department of Commerce. Foreign competition will be beaten off so that French operators and manufacturers may have the fullest possible opportunity to expand not only in France but in its possessions and on the routes be- tween. Under the terms of a new decree the French government will assume full control of the establishment and ex- ploitation of international air routes over French territory. The com- mercial transportation of passengers and goods between any two points in French territory and between France and the French colonies is reserved by the government to French aircraft alone. SMALLEST TOWN IN AMERICA HAS WORLD'S LARGEST AIRPORT d. Picketwire, a town of 12 houses, with ted d:" 30 e and flattest air- to clear away a nts, lay out a circle and sock, the Department of Purgatory Colorado of Trini- River, cal eas is lsnllu from the vate telephone system runs along the gas line with a telephone every 20 miles. This line forms the only con- necting link between Picketwire and the outside world. ton from the nearest doctor. When Pilot Leo McGehee landed at Picketire recently with a Midconti- nent plane full of passengers it was the first time an airplane ever had landed in the vicinity. A few days later Pilot Hadley Hershey landed there with an- other Midcontinent plane and the town decided it needed an entire population turned out, the cactus, laid out the mark- circle “Wl:ndmm d | Another station radio LOON BUSTERS BRING DOWN BLIMP “Bye-bye, blimp,” say the pursuit pilots, and with reason. An instant after this photograph was made at Chicago the other day the balloon was coming down in flames, done to death by an incendiary bullet from one of the planes. An instant before the picture was taken the balloon crew escaped by parachute. The attack was part of a sham war staged by Army combat squadrons and ground forces, NAVY PLANE TESTS WILL START SOON New Twin-Engined Patrol Craft Is First of 55 Ordered to Arrive. Flight testing of a big twin-engined Navy PM-1 patrol plane, the first of 55 patrol planes ordered from the Glenn L. Martin Co., Middle River, Md., will begin at the Anacostia Naval Air Sta- tion early this week. The PM-1 is designed after the Navy PN-12 type of patrol plane, the finest of the famous Navy line of patrol planes which have figured in many world record flights and expeditions which have brought glory to the Navy Alr Service. Following the flight testing of the first of the Martin flying boats, the company will begin delivery of the big aircraft’ at the rate of two a week. There will be nine of the PM-1 type and the company then will go into production of approximately 30 planes of the PM-2 class, which is said to be a monoplane. The last of the 55 patrol planes ordered probably will be deliv- ered during mid-Winter. The PM-1 was flown to Anacostia from Middle River Friday afternoon by Lieut. Ralph Ofstie, flight test sec- tion, Anacostia Naval Air Station. He took the plane over for delivery follow- ing_preliminary flight tests by William A. McAvoy, chief test pilot for the Na- tional Advisory Committee for Aero- nautics, at the Middle River plant. The PM-1 is a biplane flying boat with a wing spread of nearly 73 feet. It is powered with two Wright Cyclone engines each developing 525 horespower at 1,900 revolutions per minute. The maximum speed of the plane is 120 miles per hour and it carries a crew of five men and large bomb loads. The Navy patrol planes are equipped with radio and are used for long range reconnaissance, carrying fuel for ap- proximately 20 hours of continuous flying. The crew consists of two pilots, a bomber, a radio operator and & mechanic. ¢ NAVAL STATION GETS NEW AIRCRAFT RADIO Latest Type Equipment Installed to Conduct Experimental Work. The radio flight test section at the Anacostia Naval Air Station is install- ing the latest type aircraft radio equip- ment for thorough testing. The instal- lation is of the Western Electric type, now employed by many of the large air transport companies. A 400-watt radio telephone base sta- tion, operating on 6,500 kilocycles and employing _transformer-rectifier power source, is being installed in the main transmitter room. High frequency air- craft radio telephone transmitter and receiver is being installed in the sta- tion’s TAM Martin torpedo plane used for radio experimental work. After present tests are completed the aircraft set will be installed in one of the station’s transport planes and will be employed to maintain communica- tion between the plane and ground stations on cross-country flights. plane also will carry an airway range beacon receiving outfit. A radio marine weather network re- ceiver has been received by the station for use by the operations office. This receiver will permit the station to in- tercept the Department of Commerce weather broadcast from stations in this vicinity for the benefit of pilots operat- ing from the local naval air base, CLAIMS WORLD RECORD The | to iy IN COMMERCIAL FLYING |2, Boeing System on Routes in West Credited With 10,000,000 Air- mail Carrying. The flying of 10,000,000 miles with air mail by Boeing System companies on the San Francisco-Chicago and Los Angeles-Seattle Toutes is an outstand- ing record for commercial aviation the world over, in the opinion of W. Irving Glover, Second Assistant Postmaster General, in charge of airmail. In congratulating W. E. Boeing and those assoclated with him during the past three years, during which the 10,000,000 miles was flown, with half of it at night, Mr. Glover wrote: “It is an outst for_com- mercial aviation the world over. With- out going into a digest of all the won- derful facts and be said about this record, I like to point out that 94 per cent of all sched- uled. mil on your transcontinental route was completed. The record is not only astonishing, but commendable and only holds for the future my prophecy of a record more wonderful than that of the past 10,000,000 miles. They: say that the first hundred years are the hardest. This must also be true of the first 10,000,000 miles.” New Radio Beacon. in the network of tiantic oast ganlvenl, between Jupiter Airplanes Mock Webster’s Fight on Western Mail One transcontinental airway now brings the West Coast just two nights and a day from any city along the New York-Atlanta- Miami airmail route, and soon the great southern transcontinental airway will know the roar of air- lanes speeding at 110 miles an Km:f between the coasts. Yet it ; Bercely, thundered the following: “To what use could we ever hope to put these deserts and these endless mountain ranges, impenetrable and covered to their bases with eternal snow? What can we ever hope to do with the ‘Western Coast of 3,000 miles, rockbound, cheerless and unin- viting, with not a harbor in it? ‘What use have we for such a country? Mr. President, I will never vote one cent from the public treasury to place the Pa- cific Coast one inch nearer Bos- ton than it is today!” USE OF AIRPLANE IN SPORTS URGED Nation-Wide Campaign Pro- posed to Popularize Flying in Quests for Pleasure. ‘The use of the airplane for sport and pleasure by the average citizen, who must work six days a week and fly in the evenings, on Sunday and during his vacations, is the aim of a Nationwide to_popularize private flying to launched this month by the National Aeronautic Association. R. W. Halverson, secretary of the private flying club committee of the association, will begin an airplane tour of the country early in the month to promote the organization of flying clubs in all parts of the country under the leadership of the association. He will assist groups and individuals in the organization of clubs and also will aid local groups in their efforts to obtain the necessary memberships. Aided by Gnue:nhelm Fund. The work of the private flying com- mittee has been made Possible by a grant of funds from the former Guggen- eim Fund for the Promotion of Aero- nautics. The committee’s plan_is described as a non-profit-making effort u:] increase individual flying by amateur pilots. The general plan for the organisation of private clubs was drawn up a few months ago by the committee. under T, former Assistant Secretary of the N: for Aeronautics. Salient features of the plan are the provision of adequate insurance, competent management and the fullest possible exchange of ideas and experiences between clubs. “Matter of Public Pride,” He Says. “It should be a matter of eivic pride.” Mr. Halverson said, “for every town or city to support a fly] club organized on sound, substantial to afford a means for air-minded people to learn at & minimum cost. The organi- zation of a flying club is not as com- plicated and difficult as people generally think. It is- merely a co-operative or- ganization to give members an oppor- tunity to learn to fly and to continue practice at a small expenditure. Ten persons are sufficient to organisze & club and purchase a plane.” Air Sickness Mostly Mental. OAKLAND, Calif. () —Eight per cent of alr travelers are susceptible to air sickness, according to a survey by System on its Chicago-San Franc! and Seattle-Los Angeles Toutes. The main cause of company reported, is mental. —P. & A. Photos, AR CORPS 0 G A0 NEW PLANES 1,004 Engines Are to Be Bought Under Contracts of Past Few Weeks. Contracts for new airplanes and en- gines, with accessories and spare parts, by the Army Air Corps during the past few weeks as the first awards from ap- propriations for the fiscal year 1931, which became available July 1. Under the terms of these contracts the Air Corps will obtain 402 airplanes with spare parts and 1004 airplane engines with spare parts, ‘The largest single contract was awarded to the Pratt & Whitney Alr- craft Co. of Hartford, Conn., for 684 Wasp 45-horsepower, air-cooled engines and spare parts at a contract price of $3,802,763.32. A contract for 128 R- 1750 Cyclone air-cooled engines with spare parts was awarded the Wright Aeronautical Corporation of Pater- son, N. J. 192 Water-Cooled Engines. The Air Corps also will purchase nearly 200 water-cooled es. The Curtis Aeroplane & Motor Co. received power engines and spare parts and 152 V-1570 600-horsepower engines with spare parts at & contract price of $1,- 533,796.27. Included in the V-1570 engines are some geared models and others equipped with superchargers for high altitude work. e Douglas Co. of Santa Monica, Calif., was awarded the largest airplane contract. It will provide, at a contract price of $2221.623, 146 BT-2B basic training airplanes with spare parts and 44 ni-ss observation planes with spare pa Planes for Pursuit Groups. ‘The Army pursuit squadrons are to receive 131 of the latest type Boeing P-12C pursuit planes, equipped for high Altitude work, under a contract for $1,543,183, awarded the Boeing Air- plane Co. of Seattle,- Wash. Planes of this type have climbed, with full mili- tary load, to nearly 33,000 feet and have flown in formation at 29,000 feet, or more than five miles above sea level. Under & contract for $1,018,126 the Thomas-Morse Aircraft Corporation, Buffalo, N. Y., will construct 71 O-19C observation planes with spare parts. These planes are of all-metal construc- tion with air-cooled engines. Ten Sikorsky amphibians have been ordered from the Sikorsky Aviation Cor- poration of Bridgeport, Conn., at & con- tract price of $437,832. 'AIRPORT TO HOUSE GIANT DIRIGIBLES Plans for World's Greatest Inter- national Field at E Cardington. CARDINGTON, England, July 5 (#). —Plans are underway to make this Bedfordshire town the most important international airport in the world. It is to be the pivot of the trans- atlantic airship services being organ- ized in Germany, England and the United States. ‘The Graf Zeppelin is to have a shed here and it will be the home port for the fleet of dirigibles planned by Eng- land, of which the R-100 and R-101 are the forerunners. It is expected that the huge airships now planned in the United States will also make Cardington their British terminal. Meanwhile, England is going ahead with plans for the R-102. She will be bigger and faster than either of the two existing British airships. Her plans are already in the hands of the d ers. By the time she is com- leted will :lrlhlp port in the world. totaling $11,299,978, have been awarded | 8004 & contract for 40 D-12-E 420-horse- | be the biggest | g RECOVERS FTER HcH CHUTE JwP Bert White, Seeking New Mark, Loses Consciousness on Leaving Plane. LOS ANGELES, July 5 (N.AN.A).— Following his plunge earthward Monday from an_airplane four miles above the Mojave Desert in a second attempt to top the world's record of 24,402 feet, Bert White, parachute expert, is none the worse for risking his life to a silken lobe again in atmosphere too rare to sustain life. “The jump proved to me again that if a pilot must ‘bail out’ above 18,000 feet he must be equipped with one chute that will open automatically,” ‘White recounted. “It was necessary for me to leave my oxygen equipment, in the plane both times. Just before I slid out the door I took a deep breath from the tube. “That lasted me just long enough to know that the rope I had connecting the plane and my back pack opened the parachute. 1 came to at about the same altitude as on my first leap— 16,000 feet. “'Passing out from lack of oxygen is not particularly unpleasant, I suppose it 1s the same as fainting. If I should have jumped without the rope attach- ment, however, I would have fallen so fast that it is possible I would not have regained my senses until I had reached & dangerously low altitude. As it was 1 floated gently downward and was not carried far by the wind. When I was 1,000 feet above Muroc Dry Lake—a three-mile long dry lake bed, smooth as a table where automobile speed runs are made—I pulled the release ring on my second parachute. “This cut my dropping speed in half and I landed on both feet with hardly a jar. I had looked around for the nearest road on my way down and I had to walk only a short distance %o hall a pessing automobile for a_ride. “Col. Roscoe Turner, who took me up in a Lockheed, Hornet- Al Express, tells me that altimeter registered about 23,000 feet. At our altitude, however, the thermometer dropped to zero and one guess is as as another on our actual height. I carried & barograph strapped to my leg and this is in Washington for calibration.” - ‘White is certain that Monday's leap was from a greater height than his own commercial record, 19,997 feet, also made over the lake. The world's mark for all classes was made by Capt. A. W. Stevens, Army jumper, at McCook Field, Ohio. (Copyright, 1930. by North American News- er Alliance.) |EXTENSIVE UNIFIED AIRLINE CREATED World's Greatest System Estab- lished by U. S. Enterprise in ] South and Central America. United States air transport enter- prise in South and Centra: America has resulted in the bullding up of what is claimed to be the greatest uni- fied airline system in the world. This system connects every seaboard coun- try in the Southern continent and, ex- cept for Alaska, Canada, Bolivia and Paraguay, connects every nation and territory in the Western hemisphere. The system, which is operated by Pan American Airwsys, now operates over 18,217 miles of airways on sche- duled service as a result of extensions of its lines during the past two weeks, according to reports made public here. The system holds airmail contracts awarded by the United States and other American countries, Extension of service more than 3,000 miles from Rio de Janeiro to Para- maribo, up the long Brazilian coast line, was completed late last month and other extensions have been com- pleted during the past week. No other single airline ever has joined every coastal country of any continent ex- cept Australia, it is said. During the past week twice weekly seven-day service between the National Capital and other Canadian and United States cities from ocean to ocean and the farthest Southern South Ameri- can cities was inaugurated. ‘The new schedules are in line with the Hoover policy of increasing trade with Latin America, it was announced. AUXILIARY PI.\RACHUTES IN COMPULSORY LIST Their Use by Airmen Making Voluntary Jumps Will Be Re- quired After August 1. ‘The wearing of an auxiliary para- chute by all persons making voluntary parachute jumps will become compul- sory after August 1 under an amend- ment to the air commerce regulations, it has been announced by aeTo- nautics branch of the Department of Commerce. The regulation is in line with the department’s safety campaign. ‘The regulation provides that two parachutes must be worn by all per- sons making parachute jumps for pur- poses of exhibition, testing, training or demonstration. The auxiliary para- chute, it was announced by Clarence M. Young, Assistant Secretary of Com- merce for Aeronautics, must be so worn that it can be operated in case the first y-ruhuu fails to function or becomes ouled on any part of the plane or body of the jumper. Mr. Young pointed out that while it common practice for parachute jumpers to carty an auxiliary para- chute, there have been fatalities caused by failure to observe this precaution. GET FOOD IN .FOUR STATES Boeing Line Serves Meals on 24- Hour Cross-Country Flights. Eating is placed on an interstate basis on the new Boeing 24-hour pas- senger line between Oh? and San PFrancisco, On the Westbound tri breakfast is served in Chicago, lunc] over Omaha, dinner at Cheyenne and breakfast the next morning in San P Easthount, ine. pessenger. s i passenger - night lunch over Nevada, breakfast at Cheyenne and arrives in Chicago in time for dinner. All meals are served by stewardesses in flight except at Cheyenne, where service is in the new administration building. French Air Budget $80,500,000. ‘The French air budget for the year ending March 31 next totals approxi- mately $80,500,000, or an increase of $5,000,000 over last year, according to word received here by the Department of Commerce. One of the largest items 4s for subsidizing commercial air lines, g':.loltnl $7,840,000. xAn appropriation :{ ,000 was mage for “‘encourageme: of aviation touring” by financial aid to orivate aircraft owners, Town Equips Aerial Police. Aerial policemen who will maintain radio _communication with police offi- clals below are to be put in service at Robbinsdale, Minn., it has been reported aerial patrol will "\‘1: mol‘in- a Model Aircraft BY GEORGE WATERS, TWO local model plane pilots came back from the Detroit minia« ture craft contest the other learned. They are Everett Meeks resenting the Aviation School of America and respectively. Defeat, however, affected Everett only slightly. The to and from the contest managed burning within him. “It was the greatest thing tha! said enthusiastically. “I learned a great deal about out there,” sald Everett, “and it's local contests. Use Too Many Types. “Model plane pilots here build toe many types of models. Out there those boys concentrated on one or two types of planes—and it was an assistance, too, w:x some of the fiyers kept thelr tiny models up for 11 minutes or more dur- ing the indoor meets. The best I could do was an endurance flight of 7 minutes. And even that flight was unofficial. Anyway, I've learned something.” John's enthusiasm proves defeat is no burden to carry. He tells about his | trip, | “Gee,” says John, “I never believed | that our country could look s0 beautiful. | It makes you proud to be an American, The first thing that struck my mind after e took off in the plane was the fact that height apparently does away with the imperfection in landscape, making the world look like & billion- aire’s garden, taken care of by a thou- sand gardners.” Cardon Wins Prize. One local boy, whose name finds its way for the first time to this column, won a bronze medal at the Detroit tourney. He is Jack Cardon, a Senate page. Jack placed twenty-fourth in the junior scale model contest with his replica of the Boeing fighter. We want to hear more from him. Jack—write a little letter to us—Ilet's make connections. Thirty-two hundred dollars in cash prizes, three trips to Europe, and more than 200 uog:xu and awards are in the hands of happy boys from all parts of the United States and Canada as the contest came to a close. day—defeated, perhaps, but more and John Pendleton, pilots repe the D. C. Air Legion, glnne ride to keep the fires of exhuberance t's ever happened to me,” Everett model plane building and flying going to help me greatly in the Ehrhardt Wins Contest. Premier honors went to Joseph Ehr- hardt, 17-year-old St. Louis boy. the first contestant ever to win two major events, Ehrhardt's outdoor flight of 385 seconds In the senlor division, despite unfavorable wind and the new requirements that call for heavier mod- els, won him the American Boy Maga- zine’s trip to Europe, the Mulvih National Aeronautic Association trophy, $200 cash and a silver cup. Later Ehrhardt won the fuselage model con- test, with the Stout commercial model uophy and $100 cash Donald Burnham of West Lafayette Ind., successfully defended his nationai Junior outdoor title. William Chaffee of Daytoy, Ohio, won the senior scale model contest for non-flying models, and will go to Europe as the guest of the Stinson Afrcraft Corporation. Ken= neth Mudie, Detroit, for the second time captured junior honors in this event. Four hundred boys took part in the contest. The Airplane Model League of America is headed by Rear Admiral I 4 { Richard Byrd, Thompson Is Victor, Ray ‘Thompson, 17-year-old Detroit boy, won the senior indoor contest and the trip to Europe with a new world record mark of 11 minutes 47 seconds. Henry Rainey, 15, New Hudson, Mich,, was victor in_the junior division with & flight of 58.5 seconds. Each boy re- ceived $200 in cash and a silver cup, In addition, Thompson was awarded the National Aeronautic Association Stout ndoor trophy, AIRMAIL HITS MOSQUITO Propeller Blades Discolored With Blood of Insects Slain. ‘The night airmail is doing something | about the mosquito problem, although it is entirely unintentional, according to Eastern Air Transport, Inc. Countless insects, many of them the biters, nestle down in the velvety grass | of airports. The mail planes drop in to take on and discharge cargoes, then Toar across the fields and into the air | again. While the craft is thundering | along the ground dozens of the insects | “take off,” too, in an effort to escape | the mysterious thunder that is bearing upon them. The airplane’s propelier and ;l'inn become discolored with their lood. PLANE PRODUCTION SEEN TO FALL OFF 671 Units of 971 Applicants Li- censed by Commerce Depart- ment Inspectors. Aircraft producton in the United States fell off materially during the first six months of this year, accord- ing to a preliminary report by the aeronautics branch, Department of Commerce, The report shows that only 971 planes manufactured in this country for civil use have been licensed or identified by the department during the six months’ period. Of the total officially reported to the department 671 were licensed | and 300 others were identified but not | licensed. figures do not represent the entire total of planes manufactured, however, the department pointed out since there doubtless were applications still to be made for licenses for aircraft manufactured during the six months. One of the greatest surprises in the production survey was the tremendous | increase in the number of gliders built | in this country. During the first half of the year there were 613 gliders man- ufactured, or nearly as many as the number of airplanes licensed for ecivil fiying. Airplane exports up to May 31 totaled 132 aircraft, and airplanes man- ufactured for and delivered to the mili- tary services during the same period totaled 279. These airplanes are not included in the total of 971 reported for civil use. There were, therefore a total of 1,382 planes manufactured during the period covered by the re- ports. MAIL PILOTS TO TEST VISUAL RADIO GUIDE Flyers on New York-Cleveland Route Will Pick Up Signals With “Reed Boxes.” BELLEFONTE, Pa. (#).— Airmail lots will “ride” radio beams on the ew York-Cleveland route in the first service trials of the Federally developed visual direction system. Servicing a section known as one of the worst pleces of flying terrain in the country, a beacon transmitting station will start operating this month at Belle- fonte, the midpoint of the route. Pilots will pick up the signals at a distance of 125 miles with “reed boxes,” devices installed in the cockpit. ‘Two metal strips, or reeds, are vibrated by the signals, forming two white vertical ribbons which are equal when the pilot is on the course. The device was developed by the aeronautics branch of the Department of Commerce, in its research division at the Buerau of Standards, and has suc- cessfully passed laboratory and flight tests. Beacon signals have kept test pilots on their course 250 miles from a trans- mitting station and under atmospheric disturbances at 100 miles. The indica- tor is unaffected by static and detects deviations as small as one degree from the true course. BOYS TAKING TO AIR Rush to Enroll for Avi:\tion Courses in Italy. CASERTA, Italy (#).—Italian youth has become air-minded. ‘The Royal Aeronautical Academy was forced to employ extra help to take care of the rush of applicants for enroliment for courses beginning October 16. Only 60 will be selected. ‘They must be between 17 and 22 and, the “ physio- chological 1 " for Al , must be logical lp:fie‘fle for ytn.ln‘m conduct” and must be either “bachelors or widowers without issue. Pupils Build Plane. ‘The aeronautical class at Centennial High School, Pueblo, Colo., soon will be ready to test fly AIR TRAIL BLAZERS T0 FORM ALLIANCE Pioneer Days in Mail Service to Be Perpetuated by Proposed Association. The stirring history and the com- panionships of the pioneering days of American airmail will be perpetuated through the creation of an association of those who took part in the blazing of the aerial trails which have been fol- lowed by the modern airmail and air iransport systems which now link every part of the Nation, according to plans now in progress in the National Capital, The association will be known as “The Airmail Pioneers of America"” and will be open only to those who were at- tached to the division of airmail serv- ice of the Post Office Department and those whose services were officially rec- ognized by the postal authorities, Eligibles Number Only 200. There are only about 200 persons in the Nation eligible for active member=~ ship. and many of these have risen to positions of high responsibility in the aviation industry. This small company is credited with having laid the founda= tion for the modern American air transport industry. The purpose of the association, it has been announced, will be to bring together “all persons who made a dis- tinct contribution to the inauguration and development of the airmail service from the date of the first flight of an airplane with mail to the close of Government-ownership of the airmail service"; to collect all data relating to the history of all movements leading up to inauguration of the first perma- nent airmail route between this ecity and New York in 1918, and other in- formation of a historical character; to protect the interests of the airmail pioneers; to guarantee, so far as pos- sible, the accuracy of published matter concerning airmail personnel and per- formance: to prepare an airmail reg ter, with biographical sketches: to pub- lish a periodic news letter concerning past and present activities of the mem bership: to participate in current avis tion activities, and to arrange for re- unions of members for purposes of fraternal fellowship and concerted sup- port of aviation. List of Officers Minimized. ‘The list of officers will be small, in- cluding a president, secretary and treasurer and an executive committee of nine members. The committee on organization, which is the result of the first gathering of airmail pioneers, held recently in New York, is headed by James ‘€. Edgerton of this city, who was the first superintendent of flying operations of the Post Office Depart- ment airmail service and who was pilot of the first plane to complete a sched- uled airmail flight over a permanent line in the world. GEARED PROPELLER SPEEDS AIRPLANE Flighted Shift Successfully Tested by Pilot at Santa Barbara. SANTA BARBARA, Calif, July 5 (@).—Varying the speed of an airplane by changing the propeller pitch in flight has been successfully tested. The shift. similar to that which con- trols an automobile, i5s manipulated fromr the cockpit to a geared propeller, Ben Hawkins, designer of the vari- able propeller, and Gordon Sackett, AM- lot, who has tested the apparatus, de- clare that it might be practical for speed regulation on long flights and in landing. A decrease of 50 per cent in revolu- tions per minute is possible, they said. By shifting the pitch from normal the “bite” of the air by the propeller is increased, thus stepping up the speed without accelerating the motor's revo- lutions. Shortening the “bite,” they say, en- abled landings to be made in from 200 to 400 feet less runway space than at the fixed propeller pitch. Sackett claims that a motor equipped with a gear controlled propeller will maintain ‘a speed of 750 r.p.m., which will equal 1450 rp.m. in a motor turn- ing a fixed propeller, In the first three months of this year Shanghai, ‘hina, shipped 181,677 goundlules of cotton lace to the United MODEL AIRPLANE SUPPLIES Adhesives, Balsa. Bamboo, Bear- s, Dopes. Cel e nt, Plans, Tools, Wire the cl old als eels, Parts; als C:gho! Model Aero § 13 Eve 8¢, N.W., Washl,