Evening Star Newspaper, August 24, 1930, Page 52

AVIA TION BY JOSEPH S. EDGERTON. HE possibility that in time virtually all airplane de- signers and builders in the country will turn to the ‘United States Government for ad- vice on structural design and for the flight testing of new planes is being considered seriously by offi- cers of the Air Corps Materiel Di- vision at Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio. Since the establishment of the present huge plant at Wright Field, where all of the flight test- ing, engineering and design work are done for the Army Air Corps, manufacturers have turned in in- creasing numbers to the experts of the materiel division for as- sistance in overcoming many of their problems. To Mutual Advantage. The arrangement is of mutual advantage. The manufacturers obtain expert aid at minimum cost. The Government obtains a thorough knowledge of airplanes which may be' of potential mili- tary value or which may incor- porate features adaptable to the improvement of military planes. “If I were to go out into com- mercial aviation and design and build an airplane,” said -one of the leading engineer officers at the field, “I should certainly bring the plane here for inspection and flight testing. First I would re- quest that experts in each branch of aviation design go over the plane and would be willing to pay whatever cost might be involved for such work. I would ask that the expert on fuel systems go over the gasoline system; that a man familiar with aerodynamics look over the design for flaws, and 80 on throughout the plane. Then I would invite every pilot at Wright Field to fly the plane and to criticise it with a view to im- ?rovmg it in every possible way. do not know any service which could be more valuable to me.” One of Largest Plants. The Wright Field establishment is one of the largest of its kind in existence. .= The buildings and grounds have been prepared at a total cost of approximately $3,000,000, and equipment of enor- mous_value has been installed. The building program has been about 85 per cent completed, so far as the experiment work is concerned, though construction of officers’ quarters has not been commenced. The plant has an annual pay roll totaling $1,800,000 and there are about 1,000 em- ployes, including 40 to 50 inspec- tors stationed at the plants of manufacturers producing equip- ment for the Air Corps. * An example of the type of work conducted at the field which is of value not only to the Air Corps, . but to every airplane builder, op- erator and passenger,.is the test- ing to destruction of propellers on a huge test stand, upon which geropellers up to 40 feet in diame- r may be turned by electrical motors producing up to 6,000 horsepower. Tests now are in progress on a hollow steel pro- peller designed for use with a 450-horsepower engine. The tests will continue ufitil the propeller breaks, so that the weakness may be corrected before the propeller goes into service. Regarded as Necessary. A thoroughly dependable hol- low steel propeller regarded as vitally necessary in these days of increasing use of geared propel- lers “for greater power in heavy planes. Gearing, however, in- volves an increase of weight of 75 to 80 pounds in the engine and 25 to 30 pounds in the propeller unless hollow steel or lighter ma- terials can be resorted to lighten the weight. | Steel is regarded as more dura- ble than lighter metals under con- tact with grass and sand on land- ing fields and rain, hail and snow in flight. Tests are being made of the possibility of emitting en- gine exhaust gases through slits in hollow steel propellers to re- duce engine noise, provide a suc- tion discharge of the gases, with a resulting increase in horsepower and a diminishing of noise. Though hard at work on the hollow steel blade, the materiel division is not neglecting other types, and now, is considering magnesium as a Prope]ler mate- rial. Magnesium has a weight of only 68 to 70 per cent of alumi- num, but reliable data is lacking on its factors of fatigue and cor- rosion. The recent announcement that berylium, lightest, toughest and most resistant to corrosion of known metals, has been produced at tremendously reduced costs also has led to the beginning of a s'.uldy of propellers of this mate- rial. Test Diesel Engines. The materiel division is_con- ducting flight tests of two Pack- ard Diesel engines. The results of these tests may have a profound effect upon military and commer- clal aviation. Both engines have been installed in training-type planes. One is being flown by any pilot who cares to fly it, so that a general consensus of opinion may be obtained. The other is being flown for comparative tests with a gasoline engine of the same horsepower mounted in the same airplane. The division is raaking a thor- ough study of the problem of landing in Iog% and is attacking the problem frém several angles. It is studying the possibility of landing entirely by radio, by radio and the most delicate type of al- timeter and by the aid of fog- penetrating light rays. Some of the tests have progressed to the int where actual Instrument andings may be attempted in the near future. Engineers of the di- vision are at work on a general program of airplane safety through the el nation of the three chief mechanical capses of accidents—collision, fire and struc- tural failures. Tests of a new type of giant airplane-lowering parachute probably will be un- dertaken this year as a part of the general study. DETECTIVE MAKES MIDNIGHT FLIGHT TO CAPTURE SUSPECT Detroit Lieutenant Dashes to New York for Man Wanted in Slaying of Radio Announcer. A secret midnight air dash from De- troit to New York in a radio-equipped tri-motor airplane recently enabled Lieut. John Hoffman of the Detroit de- tective department to capture a man badly wanted in conneetion with the murder of Jerry Buckley, Detroit radio announcer. Lieut. Hoffman step up to his quarry in a Bronx bank just 12 hours after he had received a “tip” in De- troit that the man he sought was pre- paring to flee to Italy. The plane ride from Detroit had taken five and one- quarter hours. The journey by train would have required 14 hours. It was one of the most spectacular cases on record of the use of the airplane in g down suspected criminals. In speeding Lieut. Hoffman from De- trojt to New York, Myron E. Zeller, pfl&, charted his course by radio bea- cons over the fog-hidden peaks of the Pennsylvania mountains. He also util- izect the beacon flashes to locate Hadley Field, New Jersey, the Eastern terminus of the transcontinental air mail route, where police cars were wadting to rush his passenger to New York. Lieut. Hoffman, with Commissioner of Police Wilcox, reached the airport at- Dearborn, Mich., at midnight, deter- mined that if the sirplane could cir- cumvent it, the man they sou%m would not flee the United States. he plane took off at once and Lieut. Hoffman settled back in a cabin seat to sleep during the ride to New York. A bright moon was shining when the lane left Detroit. The pilot easly fol- owed the lake shore into Cleveland From that point on to New York the radio beacons blazed the course. The first hints that the balance of the journey over the treacherous Pennsyl- vania mountains was to be through bad flying weather came as the plane was passing Brookville, Pa., when the pilot spun the dial of his radio set to pick up the Bellefonte beacon. A growing haze was apparent and the lower val- leys were fast filling with fog. By the time the plane had passed Bellefonte, Pa., only the peaks of the mountains rose above the gray fog, and only the airway beacons on the highest peaks were visible, ~The plane was flying at 7,000 feet, safely above the peaks At it passed Sunbury, Pa., the first low clouds heralding a ground fog appeared and from that point on the pilot flew above a solid cloud bank without a glimpse of the earth until Metuchen, N. J., was reached. ‘Then the signals in his earphones warned him he had passed Hadley Field to the north of the course. The pilot hunted a hole in the fog, dove down through it and flew south seeking the fleld. Then by flying a course circling the beacon and noting the changes in the signals as he crossed the course zones, the pilot was able to lo- cate the fleld, even though it was shrouded with fog and to find his way safely to the ground. Lieut. Hoffman climbed out of the plane, rushed to New York and a few hours later ran down his quarry. New York papers reported, following the spectacular arrest, that the suspect could have safely eluded the police and | escaped by steamship without the use of an airplane in the man hunt. DELEGATES ARE NAMED TO AIR SAFETY SESSION| First International Congress Will| Be Held in Paris From December 10 to 23. The President has appointed the fal- Jowing United States delegates to the first International Congress on Aerial Safety to be held at Paris, France, from December 10 to 23, 1930: Fayette W. Allport, American com- mercial attache at Paris; Willlam L. Finger, the American automotive trade ‘commissioner to Europe; Lieut. Comdr. George D, Murray, United States Navy, | assistant naval attache at Paris; Maj. R. L. Walsh, United States Army,| Assistant military attache for air at| Paris, and John J. Ide, technical assist- | ant in Europe of the National Advisory | Committee for Aeronautics. Col. Edward A. Deeds, war-time Gov- ernment executive here, who now is a| director of one of the est American aircraft companies, has a four-place Sikorsky amphibian plane as a tender‘ aboard his new yacht, Lotosland. i When Col. Deeds is aboard, the plane | 1s roped down on the main deck. At| other times it is kept at Hartford, Conn., or in the North River, so that when the colonel is in his New York office or his Hartford office he can reach the yacht quickly. The plane is powered Wwith a 300-horsepower engine, and is |MARYLAND.AND VIRGINIA ANNOUNCE NEW AIRPORTS | Easton, Md., and Wigchester, Va., Have Plants—Hebron Port Is Closed. Information regarding new airports or airport changes in Maryland and Virginia is part of the new issue of notices to aviators issued by the Navy Hydrographic Office which is of par- ticular interest to local pilots. At _Easton, Md., a commercial Jand- ing fleld has been established on the northwest shore of the river, about a mile and a half west-southwest of Easton. The field is sod, surfaced with two L-shaped runways and standard markings. The name “Easton” is on buildings in the city, with arrows point- ing_north. Hebron Airport, north of Hebron, Md., has been closed until further notice, though the field is available for emer- gency landings. There are no facili- ties of any sort available, and pilots are warned to use caution in landing, due to high growth of grass. ‘Winchester, Va. hss established a municipal airport, known as Bowles Fleld, one mile southwest of the city. The name of the fieid is on the han- gar. Specification fuel and oil and re- pairs are available, as is the case of Easton. French Air Exports. Prench exports of aeronautical prod- ucts last year totaled approximately lovakis, suitable for hunting and fishing trips as well as commuting. ,577,320, principally to Ji fim“\g: Turkey, Rumania, ?v?m Rus- THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTO D. C, AUGUST 24, 1930—PART FOUR. pper: Miss Phoebe Omlie (inset), Memphis, Tenn., mother of three children; favored to win the Dixie Derby, in the little monocoupe, capable of 140 v miles per hour, top speed, in . Lower: The Inland sport Chicago derby via the South and the ippi River Valley. which she has already built up a substantial mar gin over her rivals, monoplane in which Miss Vera Dawn Walker (inset) of Los Angeles'is making fast time between control points on the Capital-to- PILOTS BIG FACTOR IN AR SAFETY Those With More Than 400| Hours’ Experience Have Fewer Accidents. HARTFORD, Conn., August 23.—Pss- sengers in airplanes piloted by licensed aviators with 400 or more hours of ex- perience in the, air are not as likely to figure in accidents as are persons riding with pilots with less than such a num- ber of hours’ experience, according to a report on aviation statistics of the Actuarial Society of America. Last year the death rate among pilots holding a Department of Commerce license of the highest or transport type was 79 per 1,000 among aviators having less than 400 hours of flying, while the rate was only 29 per 1,000, or 63 per cent less, among those with at least 400 hours in the air. Strange as it may seem, the committee responsible for the report, consisting of J. E. Hoskins, as- sistant actuary of the Travelers Insur- ance Co., and H. R. ford, assistant actuary of the Metropolitan Life Insur- ance Co., found comparatively little im- provement in the death rate of pilots having more than 400 hours’ air experi- ence. % Comparing airway travel with that on railways, the report points out that while the passenger death rate on railroads is approximately 1 per 300,000,000 pas- senger miles, the fatality rate in airway travel is approximately 1 per 1,250,000 er miles. This comparison in- licates that airway travel, in accordance with the experience tabulated by the committee for 1929, was more than 200 times as hazardous as railway passenger service. with automobile and steamship travel was impossible be- guse of the lack of statistics, it was re- Air Death Rate Low. Even t.hnugeh passenger travel by air is shown to far more dangerous than by rail, it is disclosed in the report that the death rate of aviation passengers is only 1 per 5,000 persons carried on scheduled air lines during the period from January, 1927, through March of this year. 3 . Since the safety of passengers in large measure depends on the experience of pilots, much attention is paid in the re- port to the death rate among pilots nf varjous classifications. While aviators holding Department of Commerce li- censes of the transport class suffered a death rate as a gemeral group of 34 per 1,000, pilots flying more than 400 hours & year had the lowest rate in the trans- port- class, The death rate was around 50 per 1,000 among aviators flying on scheduled lines, with little difference observable between those on lines carrying passen- gers only and those on lines carrying mail. This higher death rate is prob- ably due to the necessity of making schedule regardless of weather. Al- though definite figures were not avail- able on pilots giving student instruction, the opinion is expressed that their haz- ard is not unusually great. That the number of miles covered by aircraft has an important bearing on the death rate among passengers is indi- cated by the record, which show in non- scheduled commercial flying, consisting chiefly of short hops but with some cross-country taxi service, that the fa- tality rate among passengers was about 2 per 100,000 persons carried. This ex- perience indicates that in scheduled fly- ing the death rate among passengers is about 10 times what it is in non-sched- uled commercial flying, where the dure- tion of such flights is much shorter. Army and Navy Factors, ‘The experience gathered on United States Army and Navy pilots indicate. that Armi.lnd Navy regulations an discipline have helped to promote safety in the air, because the death rate of such pllots is much lower in the fiscal year ending June 30, 1929, than in the best class of commercial aviators, and this despite the stunt ahd formation flying engaged in by service flyers. The death rate of commisisoned airplane pilots In the Army was 8 per 1,000, and in the Navy 10 per 1,000. The mortality experience in the fiscal year ending June 30, 1929, was sald to be exceptionally favorable, as the annual average for the last three years was at the rate of 13 deaths per 1,000 in the Army and 21 in the Nn\sfl Mortality among relatively inexperi- enced pilots in civil aviation was sald to have its counterpart in the Army, where reserve officers on extended duty | s with regular forces, comprising mostly recent graduates of Army flying schools, had a much her death rate than Regular Army pllots or reserve officers who are accustomed to fly on week ends at approved fields and Summer camps. National Guard flyers suffered a death rate similar to Regular Army pilots. he report of the committee of the | Actuarial Society shows that travel by airplane is becoming safer, because the death rate among passengers is gradually decreasing, and that a greater degree of | safety is possible where planes are piloted by flyers with considerable ex- perience in the air. | BRONTE NAMED AS JUDGE| CHICAGO, August 23.—Emory B. Bronte, one of California’s best known flyers, was recently named vice chair- man of the Contest Committee in charge | of the Men's Western Air Derby from | Seattle to Chicago, one of seven crgss- | country events inaugurating the tional Air Races at Chicago, from Au- gust 23 to September 1, inclusive, | Bronte has been flying for more than 12 years. Three years ago he and Lieut. Smith executed ‘the second successful ght ‘}’mm¢ - of lerlu to wail ant first fiight in o single ‘motored shige 3 | for a special ruling which will enable Dirigible Line Between Brazil and . S Proposed to Handle Coffee Samples Dirigible service between Brazil and the United States to provide speedy transportation of coffee samples has been proposed by Darke Bhering Mat- tos, jr. Brazilian coffee planter, who was a passenger on the Graf Zeppelin when the German ship flew from Per- nambuco to Lakehurst last May. Alrship freight service between the continents has been suggested as a commercial possibility before, but Sen- hor Mattos believes it would be of particular value to coffee producers and to coffee distributors in the United States. At present coffee dealers here must buy virtually all of their green beans on description, a practice which has been found unsatisfactory. Much time is wasted also because of the bankin, system used, documents being delayed, although such transfers may be made by airmail with great saving of time. With aerial freight service, however, it would be feasible to send samples of all coffee before sales were made, Senhor Mattos said, and the dirigible also could carry other freight. “Figuring a cargo of five tons,” he said, “each coffee sample would cost approximately $5 a 200-gram sample, which certaily is less than it costs to buy coffee by the extremely unsatis- factory method of description now in use. The cost of buying would show & considerable drop, and in addition there would be no further chance for argument.” PAY-LOAD FLIGHT T0PARIS PLANNED Trade Wind Will Make Trip From New York Via Ber- muda and Azores. NEW YORK, August 23.—Plans for the first translatlantic pay-load flight of heavier-than-air craft were an- nounced today bK‘Vlcwr J.Pere, presi- dent of the Wi ngton National Bank of New York, acting as spokesman for the Flight Committee for the Trade wi ind, The flight, with a cargo of souvenir post cards and bank correspondence, will be from New York to Paris via Bermuda and the Azores, and return by the same route, and is set for early in October. A specially designed sea- plane already is under construction in New Castle, Del. o Lieut. Willlam S. MacLaren will be the navigator in command. A gradu- ate of Annapolis and former United States Navy fiyer, MacLaren has been for the last two years a test pilot and instructor for the Newark Air Service, He is a licensed transport pilot and a seasoned navigator, and in recent broadcasts over Station WABC he has urged that transatlantic flying be “taken out of the stunt class and put upon a sound commercial basis.” He estimates that the flight of the Trade Wind will require 40 hours' elapsed time. Mrs. Hart Co-Pilot. Accompanying MacLaren as co-pilot will be Mrs. Beryl Hart, who is a navi- gator and one of the 14 American women who hold Department of Com- merce air transport licenses. ~Mrs. Hart, a widow, lives at 677 West End avenue, New York City. She owns and flies her own machine, a three-place biplane, which she houses at the New- ark Metropolitan Airport. She has had 350 hours of day and night fiying. The transatlantic flight will be made in a cabin seaplane of the six-passen- ger type. Most of the cabin space will, however, be Ap!dct:“y, designed for car- ing cargo and fuel. ryngcnusfgof the proposed refuel land- ings at Bermuda and the Azores, it will be necessary to carry only 400 gallons of fuel and ofl. This will leave space available for the post card mail and a | consignment of financial correspond- | ence destined for banks abroad. This will be the first attempt at a transatlantic flight with a heavier-| than-air machine carrying a pay load. | Previously, Col. Lindbergh and those who emulated his feat have demon- | strated that the Atlantic can be flown. | But the airplane in its present stage | of development re%;zlr!a so much fuel | for a mon-stop flight that it would be | neither safe nor practicable to add to | its burden any considerable amount of | other cargo on such a flight. | Non-stop transocean flights will not | become commercially feasible, therefore, until an airplane is developed which can carry ample fuel for such a dis- | tance and at the same time carry an | additional pay cargo. | Equipped With Pontoons. The Trade Wind will have two pilot- | & navigators- It will be equipped with pontoons for landing at sea, with the | Iatest instguments for navigation un- der all weather conditions, with a pow- erful sending and receiving radio and with all the other modern equipment for safe long-distance flying. More important, the Trage Wind will n .the Atlantic in three compara- vely short hops, with refuel landings between. This greatly increases the margin of safety, permits a big reduc- tion in fuel load and leaves the Trade Wind with considerable surplus capac- ity, which will be utilized for pay cargo. Lieut. MacLaren calculates that the New York-Paris flight will require 40 hours of elapsed time. This is less than half the best Zeppelin time for the distance and a third the fastest time by ship and rail. The Flight Committee may request the Post Office Department at Washington the Trade Wind to fly as an official unit of the United States airmail. The souvenir post cards to be carried will be of uniform size and weight and will be illustrated in commemoration of the flight, Upon arrival in Paris they will be posted to their addressed destinations, said Mr. Pere. “99's” Will Hold Meeting. The first meeting of the 99's, na- tional organization of woman pilots, to be held in connection with the National Air Races, will be held at Chicago Wednesday. The meeting will be in charge of a committee composed of Ame Earhart, chairman; Jean La Rene of Kansas City and Gladys O'Don- nell of Long Beach, Callf, 1305 PLANES MADE FOR CIVILIANS USE 359 Are Delivered to Army and Navy During First Six Months of 1930. Airplanes manufactured in the United States for civil use in the first six months of 1930 totaled 1,325, ac- cording to a final estimate by the Aero- nauties Branch of the Department of Commerce made public today. The report is based on a record of Department of Commerce licenses and identification marks issued at the close of business on August 1 to aircraft manufactured since January 1, 1930. ‘There is a possibility, however, that there still may be a few aircraft for which licenses or identification marks have not yet been sought. In addition to the 1325 aircraft manufactured for civil use, 359 miliiry aircraft were delivered to the Army and Navy during this six-month period, which places the total final estimate of production at 1,684. Of the aircraft manufactured for civil use since the first of the year, 148 were exported. Exclusive of the number of planes exported, there were 562 monoplanes and 598 biplanes manufactured durin the period. Of the total number o 'monoplanes, 271 were open cockpit land planes, with carrying capacities of one, two or three persons; 275 were cabin land planes with carrying capacities for one to ten and over. Monoplane flying boats manufactured totaled 5; planes convertible to land or seaplanes, 4, and amphiblans, 7. Of the total number of biplanes, 498 were open cockpit land planes carrying from one to five persons. But eight cabin biplanes, carrying from three to seven persons were built. Biplane fly- ing boats totaled 18; convertibles, 49, and amphibians, 30. ‘The report gives the number of each type manufactured and also whether they are single or multi-engined planes The report follows: MONOPLANES. Open cockpit (landplane) One piace ... Two place Three placs Total open Cabin ¢andplane One plac Over ten place . Total cabin. Flying boats ... Convertibles Amphibians . Total monoplanes BIPLANES. Open cockpit (landplane): Qne place ... g Thr Five place al open Tot Capin_(landplan Three man fol purposes for which complete informa- tion is not available 3\ Military airplanes deliv Alrplanes exported . Grand total *One multiple-engine plane. "Does not include planes manufactured during 1929 that were exported during first six months of 1930, MAJ. ALDRIN NA_MED CHICAGO, August 28.—Maj. E. E. Ald- rin of New Jersey has been named vice chairman of the Contest Committee in charge of the Dixie Women's Derby, one of seven cross-country races inaugurat- ing the National Alr Races, to be held at Chicago from August 23 to Septem- ber 1, inclusive. Maj. R. W. Schroeder, contest director of the races, announced the appointment recently. Maj. Aldrin is a veteran pilot and will supervise the race of planes of approxi- mately 100 horsepower, which will take off from Washington on August 22, fin- ishing at Chicago, August 26. . Planes to Halt Illegal Fishing. ‘The government of British Columbia gu :‘IIAAr‘ded a '.:mr‘:.ftmw lWe.ltaem ‘ana irways to check illegal fishing. Aerial patrols are eomldorad‘ far more effective than the former motor-boat mu. Boeing flying boats will be HAWKS T0 TELL OF RECENT FLIGHTS Noted Flyer Will Address Din- ner of Seciety of Auto- motive Engineers. CHICAGO, August 23.—Cspt. Frank Hawks, whose record-breaking West- East transcontinental flight in 12% hours made first page news recently, | will address the aircraft, banquet of the | Soclety of Automotive Engineers on Thursday evening, August 28, at the Palmer House, C! 0. The dinner will be a feature of the eighteenth na- tional aeronautic meeting of the so- clety, held in conjunction with the Aeronautical Chamber of Commerce, August 26-28, comprising a three-cday convention. The significance of the earlier flight from New York to Los Angeles and return in 36 hours, 49 minutes and 48 seconds of actual flying time, made by Capt. Hawks, thereby clipping the West-East. transcontinental record held by Art Goebel, received due appreci- ation; but his present record is far beyond any conception at that time of the possibilities of any such phenome- nal record as his present one. Wwilllam B. Stout, president of the Stout Engineering Laboratories, inc., will be toastmaster. Another feature will be the address entitled "‘Unhappy Landings,” by Senator Ford, one of the best known after-dinner speakers in the country. Discussion on Spin. One of the major features of design which has been given serious consider- ation by all designing engineers bas been, the tendency of a given airplane to go into a spin. Many engineers have contended that an airplane which spins easily is difficult to get out of & spin and vice versa. The importarice of air- plane spinning characteristics and con- trol will be discussed pro and con in a symposium by Licut. Carl B. Harper of the Navy; Paul E. Hovgard and Temple Joyce, of the Berliner-Joyce Aircraft Corporation; Garland P. Peed, jr., aero- nautical englnecr; H. A. Sutton, of the Aviation _Corporation, and ed E. Weick, of the national advisory com- mittee for aeronautics. The director of aeronautical research for this latter organization, Dr. George W. Lewis, will be_chairman. ‘Willlam B. Stout, whose advocacy of all-metal airplanes startled the aero- nautical world some years ago amd later resulted in the development of the Ford all-metal tri-motored plane, will pre- sent to the gathering of engineers a plea for original thinking and design in atrcraft. Speaking on the “Possi- bilities of Radical Airplane Design,” Mr. Stout will explain his ideas on the advantages to be gained by original de- sign along the lines not as yet under- taken. ‘The methods employed in flight re- search and testing by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics at Langley Field, Va., one of the finest aeronautical laboratories in the world, will be discussed by J. W. Crowley, jr., of that organization in a paper on “Flight Research.” To Present Papers on Design. With the advent of aircraft into commercial flelds and the establish- ment of passenger transport, mail, freight and express lines, the necessity for profitable operation has become urgent. Such operation is based on the [pny load which aircraft are capable of carrying and the weight of the air- planes themselves have consequently become a very important factor. Vari- ous methods have been taken to keep 2 the weight of engines and airplanes to a minimum. One of these methods, that of welght saving by structural efficiency, will be discussed in papers by two well known authorities in air- craft design, Charles Ward Hall, presi- dent of the Hall Aluminum Aircraft Corporation, and A. A. Gasster, chief engineer of the Fokker Aircraft Corpo- ration. Under the chairmanship of J. H. | Geisse, vice president of the Comet En- gine Corporation, the sessior. devoted engines will feature the paper on ‘Manufacturing Costs of Alrcraft En- gines,” prepared by E. D. Herrick, chief engineer of the Lycoming Manufactur- ing Co. “Comparative Data on Power Plants for ‘Motor Cars and Alrcraft” is to be presented by H. M. Crane of s34 | the General Motors Corporation. The symposium on aircraft fuels will be presented at the morning session Thursday, August 28, and will include 15-minute discussions by well known representatives of the Bureau of Aero- nautics of the United States Navy, the Army Air Corps, the petroleum indus- try, the aircraft engine manufacturers and the airgransport interests. These include E. E¥ Aldrin, Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey; C. S. Fliedner, Bureau of Aeronautics, United States Navy; S. D. Heron, power plant division, United States Army Air Corps; C. M. Larson, Sinclair Refining Co.; W. A. Parkins, Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Co.; D. E. Day, Richfield Oil Co.; J. H. Doolittle, Shell Petroleum Corporation, and E. W. McVitty, Pan-American Aifrways, Inc. Pl;.ne Iml;ortl Totaled. For the first time in Prench aviation history the customs statistics showed airplane imports in 1929. ‘These amounted to about $140,000, represent- ing aeronautical equipment of all kinds. Aviators War on Mosquitoes. MANAGUA, Nicaragua , (P).—Naval fiyers with the aircraft squadrons are carrying the battle against the mual;l"-g and malaria into the air on “dus flights. Poisons are strewn in powder form with the greatest activity during the rainy season. Model Aircraft BY GEORGE T won't be long now—tomorrow Model Aircraft Tournament. l been completed at a preliminary Center. John H. Williams, director of the Department. Outdoor Events Described. The six outdoor events in the tourna- ment will be held at Bolling Field on August 26 and 27, beginning at 9 o'clock in the morning. The” seven indoor events will be staged at Macfarland Community Center tomorrow and Fri- day, beginning at 9 o'clock in the morning. , Distinguished aviation experts in the city have been invited by the Commit- tee on Judges for the tournement, in- cluding Walter Hinton and E. Clayton Fish, to act as judges for the various sessions of the tournamenat. Among those who are expected to attend the sessions in person or by personal repre- sentative are: Clarence M. Young, As- sistant Secretary for Aeronautics of the Department of Commerce; F. Trubee Davison, Assistant Secretary for Aero- nautics of the War Department; David 8. Ingalls, Assistant Secretary for Aero- nautics of the Navy Departpient; Maj. H. C. Davidson, Bolling Field; Maj. William O. Tufts, Chamber of Com- merce; Lawrence E. Williams, chairman, Aviation Committee, Board of Trade; Adolf K. Barta, president, Aero Club of ‘Washington; Bruce LaGore, Aviation School of America; Miss Marjorie Stin- son, C. B. Heineman, Maj. Thomas Car- roll, Washington Airport; Alva Sole, D. gfl lAdu' Legion; John S. Wynne, Hoover leld. Deep Interest Expressed. Aviation enthusiasts of the Capitad City have expressed the deepest interest | Gi in the work of the D. C. Model Aircraft League, led by Col. Charles A. - bergh himself, who believes that “as flying activities increase, a basic educa~ tion elementary aviation is becoming a necessity for every one.” Col. Lind bergh is associate chairman of the Na- tional Playground Miniature Aircraft Tournament, which will be held in At- lantic City, October 10 and 11. Local boys whose records make them eligible will be sent by the officials of the D. C. Model Aircraft League to compete in the contests of the national tournament. Maj. Gen. Mason M. Patrick, former man of the Advisory Board of the local league; Johua Evans, jr., is treasurer, and John H. Willilams is supervisor. Contest committees for the tourna- ment include: On rules, Paul Edward Garber, Maj. Luke Christopher, J. H. ‘Williams; on awards, Lieut. Col. C. de F. Chandler, E. C. Graham; on judges, Walter Hinton, E. Clayton Fish. Certi- fying officials are J. H. Willlams, H. H. Cleary, E. L. Cooney, Paul Edward Gar- ber, H. §. Barbour, 8. L. Harries, E. R. C. Hartley, S. 8. Melichampe, Myrtle E. Moore, Odle B. Porter, Walter Roth, R. S. Willlams. Sponsors Listed. ‘The two organizations of the Capital City that are sponsoring the D. C. tour- nament are the Aero Club of Washing- chief of the Army Air Corps, is chair- | Reynolds W. WATERS. will see the opening of the District The indoor contest at the Mar- farland Miniature Airdrome will open the final tourney. With approximately 200 boys of Washington, Maryland and Virginia registered in the District of Columbia Model Aircraft League, the final qualification tests for the third annual District of Columbia Model Aircraft Tournament, to be held here August 25 to 29, have meet at Macfarland Community The past week was spend by the entrants in perfecting their planes to be entered in the tournament, and for this purposes classes in model building were held last Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, from 1 to 4 o'clock, to which all boys were invited to bring their planes and their problems for instruction and assistance from classes for the Community Center ton and the Community Center Depart- ment of the public schools. Lieut. Col. Chandler, who is one of the first American fiyers and an expert in meronautics, is a great believer in model aircraft. He sald: “The con- struction of model aircraft by the boys of this city and the experience that they acquire in flying them serves many use- ful purposes in the development of air transportation as a major - industry. Several eminent airplane designers in this country began by building and fly- ing model planes in their youthful years. The encouragement given to the Present younger generation is certain to result in better aircraft designers and® / pilots only a few years hence.” ‘The final contest among Washing- ton’s young model plane fiyers prior to the annual tournament took place August 16 at Macfarland Community Center, with a big attendance, both as _to contestants and as to auclience. Following the qualification tests, which occupled the first hour of the meet, a series of indoor events took place, including contests in gliders, H. L. sclentific and flying true scale models. Practically all the boys pres- ent entered all three contests yester- day, a large number of points belns pilefl up by many of the boys towar thelr 1930 records. Point Winners at Meet. Point winners were rated as follows: Ace class—First, John Sullivan; sec~ ond, Luther Schmidt; third, Harry Mc- . inniss. A class—Pirst, George Shipley; sec- ond, Douglas Phillips; third, Bill Ken- non. B class—First, Blair Bennett; second, Bob Wiehle; third, Robert Swope. C class—Pirst, Fremont Davis; sac- ond, Denny WiHlams; third, Harry Pitzer and John Mehlig. D class—Pirst, Willlam Pitzer; ond, Robert Kautz and Roger Smith; third, Harry Heimer and Prancis Mor- is. The National Model Airplane Con- test held in_connection with the Na- tional Air Races at Curtiss-Wright- Airport, Chicago, is now under '.¥h¢ sport of flying home-made model lanes has spread from Maine to California, and almost every ° com- munity now boasts a model airplane club. ~Young would-be flyers have set some amazing rec lor flight of their Models, but it-is expected that many of these records will be broken at the competition. Elimination contests were held in New York, Washington, Detroit, St. Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa. tiss-Wright-Reynolds Afrport provided accommodations for an almost unlim- ited number of contestants. Joseph J. Lucas, veteran model bullder, is chair~ man of the meet. LIGENSES ISSUED 10 GLIDER PILOTS ed by U. S. Are of All Grant Commercial Type, Permit- ting Holders to Instruct. Commercial type licenses have been issued to 43 glider pilots by the Aero- nautics Branch of the Department of Commerce, The first application was recelved by the Aeronautics Branch the first of this year. License No. 1 was issued to Clarence M. Young, Assistant, Secretary of Com- merce for Aeronautics, and the second license was awarded to Gilbert G. Bud- wig, director of air regulation of the Aeronautics Branch. Three types of licenses may be is- sued by the Aeronautics Branch, stu- dent, non-commercial and commercial. Those issued to students authorize the holder to receive instruction and to solo licensed gliders while under the supér- vislon of & licensed glider pilot. All Issued Are Commercial Type. The non-commercial pilot license serves the group that wishes to op- erate gliders only for pleasure, and parallels, roughly, the private airplane pilot’s license. The commercial license entitles the holder to give instruct on licensed gliders and to engage in commercial glider flying. Licenses for gliders and glider pilots are ‘compulsory |in those States which require Federal licenses for aircraft and airmen. All of the licenses which have been issued are of the commercial type. In order to receive this type of license the applicants must pass & physical examination of the same nature as that required for the private airplane pilot license. There is no written ex- amination, but the applicant is re- quired to demonstrate his_ ability to fly a glider by taking off, landing and com- pleting a_ serles of general and mod- erate banks, 360-degree turns and pre- cision landings. Holders of First 14 Licenses. The first 14 licenses, other than those awarded to pilots of the Aeronau- tics Branch, went to Russell Holder- man of Le Roy, N. Y.; John H. Living- ston and Theodore W. Sellers, Aurora, 1.: John E. Pratt, South Charleston, Ohio; Richard Beckley, Lancaster, Pa.; E. W. Luhrsen and Edward A. Keyes, St. Paul, Minn.: Earl R. Lyon, Redondo Beach, Call Edwin G. Gettins, Los Angeles, Cal Prank J. Slauter, Long Beach, Calif.; Myron E. Terry, Cleve- land, Ohio; Richard M. Clifton, Santa Monica, Calif.; Earl R. Mitchell, San Diego, Calif., and Maurice Evans, Holly- ‘wood, Calif. THOMPSON AIR TROPHY IS NEARING COMPLETION Prize Will Be Exhibited in Cleve-| land and Sent to Chicago for 8peed Race. Work on the original model of the Charles E. Thompson Trophy, the high- est award for the new international free-for-all airplane speed race being held_in conjunction with the National Air Races l‘nnulllz..l is nea comple- tion at Gorhams, in New York, accord- ing to an announcement by the Thomp- son Trophy Committee. ‘The trophy was cast in bronze by the lost wax process, mounted on a Bel- gian black marble base, and will have a silver model for the Travelair Mys- tery Ship on top when completed. It will be exhibited in Clevel from Au- guc 23 to the 26th and then ‘start on Chicago for the race, i | PASSENGER PILOTS PAY §350 MONTH | Department of Commerce Survey Sets Average Sal- ary at That Figure. Airmail and passenger pilots received an average monthly salary of $550 during the last six months of 1929 and the first six months of this year, ac- cording to a survey of the pay schedules of a representative group of operators of both passenger and mail routes, con- ducted by the Aeronautics Branch of the Department of Commerce and made public today by Clarence M. Young, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Aeronautics. Airplane and engine me- chanics received an average monthly salary of $157 during the same period, the survey showed. ‘The pilots received an average month- ly base pay of $189, but this was in- creased to an average total monthly salary of $550 by the addition of cer- tain sums paid by operators for each mile flown. which varfed with condi- tions under which the flying was con- ducted and depended upon day or night schedules. The additional amounts averaged 5 cents a mile for day flying and 10 cents for night flying. ‘The highest monthly salary was $850. jon | This was paid by one line to its airmail pilots flying at night. These pilots were paid $167 a month as a base sal- x‘n?!’ and 1‘1" -dd‘l,tktm' ‘;:celved a* nuuror leage flown, but the passenger pilots in this line, flying only by day, were paid a flat salary of $600 a month. The lowest monthly salary was shown to be $300. The majority of the oper- ators included in the survey paid 5§ cents per mile for mileage flown by day and 10 cents for night, although these amounts varied in several in- stances. The lowest mileage rate for day fiying was 31; cents, while the highest was 7 cents. The night mile- age rate varied from 8 to 14 cents and the base pay ranged from $150 to $333 a month. Airplane and engine mechanics em- ployed by these operators received an average salary of 74 cents an hour or $157 a month. The lowest monthly salary was $125, while the highest was $185. Two operators paid $185 a month and several paid $180. The average )':;rurly salary fluctuated from 62 cents 1. 'DEVELOP AIRPLANE LANDING LIGHTS —_— Airplane wing landing lights that re- duce resistance to the smooth flow of air over the wing surface have been ot th lig] 0 of the new lights, one placed in the leading edge of the port wing and the other in the leading edge of the ::arbnqnfl'l wlx;.‘. c&mplexe the installa- lon, and each unit is d ed to con- form to the exact mne'do‘lnma ‘wings, thus offering no parasitic resistance to the air flow, regardless of the, direc- tion of the searchlight beam. The lights are so placed that there is no reflection the propellers, and they are completely housed in a dust-tight, weatherproof com) ent. that unusu- clent as search- light lamps in reflector made of a highly bolic mirror with a silvered back. volis and 35 amperes. using & Siorage amperes, s battery or a generator for the electrical supply. 1s S0 trollable by the pilot in m{:mmm [ P ' -