Evening Star Newspaper, November 23, 1930, Page 56

In the Motor World BY G. ADAMS HOWARD. from the adoption of scien- tific methods in almost every mech:nlcal rxetq:lremeflt oé the present age. as_relleve arduous tasks and shortened periods of time. Physical labor, which will always be required, has been made easier and quicker. Effects of inventions have aided operation of the automobile in many ways, but there is still much room for improvement. It is true that it is a comparatively simple matter these days to start a car, change a tire, and stop the ve-| hicle itself. Hills and mountains continue to be high by nature, but | science through the automobile; has cut them down to level ground in as far as their difficulty | of ascendency is concerned. Progress Lags. But has the complete operation of the motor car itself been faclii- tated in keeping up with the other | Unes of progress? It does not| appear to be the case as yet, for two hands and two feet are still uisite for driving most ma- mnu and often simultaneously. Many makes are adding’ new gears instead of eliminating them. However, sclentific mln({s are beginning to prophesy new inven- tions that will simplify matters. Some inventive leaders go so far, as to state that there will be more | improvements in the automotive world within the next five years | than has come into use in all of the past years of automotive work t together. It has been sald &‘lt at that time one will not be able to recognize the car of today. All of which is well and good, for simplicity means more than comfort and -driving ease. It means greater safety. With the yearly growth of fatality and ac- cident lists nothing could be more welcome. A Light Suggestion. Speaking of simplicity, a sug- gestion has been made that the green and yellow lights be abol- ished on the traffic light signals and only the red used. When the red is displayed, it is stated, it means danger and stop. When there is no light en it means everything is clear to go. If this plan were followed an immense saving in apparatus material would be brought about and what a cry of relief would spring up {’m operators who are color The idea has its merits. It is simplified. th 54 makes of complete pas- er cars, commercial vehicles taxicabs, also an array of sev- hundred exhibits of acces- and sundries, the Ni Automobile Show in Grand Central Palace, New York, ts a decidedly healthy out- for the period January 3 to 10. The Chicago section of the show, which es place in the Coliseum January 24 to 31, will be hnfieutve. ‘The displays will be as large as in seasons mlt. or in other words, they will fill four exhibition floors of Grand Central Palace to , and every inch of floor in' the Coliseum will be Snm.xcm has come about Bearing on Prosperity. ile shows this sea- years past. view of its being the largest manufacturing in- dustry in the world, the auto- mobile industry has vast ramifica- tions, drawing upon numerous others for raw materials and cer- tain finished products. It does this to a greater degree than the average person realizes. For ex- ample, the industry gives employ- ment to one out of every 10 per- sons In gainful occupations, either directly as in production, selling, financing, servicing and the ope- rating of automobiles, or indi- rectly to persons producing and selling raw materials used in auto- mobile manufacture or upkeep. Being the largest consumer of steel, gasoline, rubber, plate glass, nickel and lead, the extent of ac- tivity of the automobile industry i3 of vital importance to the pros- perltf of these other producers supplying the raw materials. Every State in the Union con- tributes some raw materials used in motor car manufacture, and 33 States manufacture parts used in the industry. Employment Importance. Its importance in the matter of employment may be realized when t 1s considered that there are 54,000 retail dealers and 4,000 wholesalers distributed among every one of the 48 States. There are 50,000 storage garages, 101,000 repair shops and servicing sta- tions and upward of 80,000 retail supply stores. Eliminating dupli- cation, there are 117,500 retail| trade establishments and 4,000 wholesale establishments supply- ing parts, accessories and shop and garage equipment, tools and electrical supplies. All of these retail and wholesale establish- ments distributed throughout the United States employ 975,000 per- sons as proprietors or personnel in the sales and servicing of auto- mobiles. It is interesting to note that 18 per cent of the finished rolled steel and iron produced is used in the automotive field, giving employ- ment to more than 70,000 steel and iron workers, the automotive industry being the largest con- sumer of that industry. Sixty per cent of stripped steel, 39 per cent of sheet steel and 29 per cent of steel in the form of bars is used in automotive manufacturing, while 52 per cent of malleable iron is purchased by this industry. ghty per cent of all gasoline used in the United States is pur- chased by motorists and more than 320,000 people are required %g refine, merchandise and retail Auto Material Use. ‘When one stops to consider that 84 per cent of the rubber con- sumed in the United States goes into automobile tires and that 73 per cent of the polished plate glass used goes into automobile con- struction, and also that 58 per cent of upholstery and leather goes to make motorists comfort- able, the magnitude of the in- dustry and its importance seems even more stnkl:; As for hardwood lumber, 17 per cent of that produced in thei United States is used in motor vehicle Eroducflon and repair, to say nothing of several hundred million feet of board lumber used in crating cars. More than one-third of the aluminum production of the! United States is consumed in pro- | ducing castings, alloys and sheet aluminum for cars. Copper runs 15 per cent and tin, 23 per cent; cotton, 10 per cent, while 18,000,- 000 gallons of lacquer and varnish is consumed in turning out new cars alone (not to mention re- paint jobs). No less than 450,000,- 000 gallons of lubricating oil and 43,000,000 gallons of anti-freeze solutions are used annually, while asbestos runs into more than 165,000,000 linear feet of brake lining. There are dozens of other statistics equally astounding. Regardless of depression talk, the fact remains that the national shows in New York and Chicago unquestionably will prove a great spur to the antomobile and ac- cessory industry, just as they always have in the past. The fact that visitors see new, beautiful, improved models, become enthusi- astic over them, and “sell” them- selves on the new offerings means a great deal to the industry gen- erally. The man who orders a new car not only becomes en- thused himself over the utility and beauty of his purchase, but he becomes an inspiration to others and acts as an incentive to them to buy, which, of course, puts more money into circulation. Assurance of Improved Conditions For 1931 Auto Continue to Gain Strength @pecial Dispatch to The Star. DETROIT, November 32.—Assurance of improved conditions in store for automobile manufacturing in 1931 con- tinue to gain strength. { ‘With the annual automobile show period less than six weeks off, mer- chandising campaigns are in full swing. Dstribution and dealerships covering the entire country are being canvassed | as to thelr 1931 requirements. New | models in all their next season splendor are being shown to the retail forces from Maine to Calif and points Programs Are Outlined. The production programs are being framed in accordance with territorial needs as determined by actual contact with the men who sell the product in every city, town and hamlet on .the| map. Ford, General Motors, Chrysler, Hud- son, Willys-Overland and the other great producers have their field forces ‘working as never before to overcome the business slump. Th Ford program involving $60,000,- 000 for expansion has been outlined in Ddews dispatches of the week. In New York and Philadelphia, where the Chevrolet forces have been laying MOTOR DON'TS DON'T START THE WINTER WITH BAD TIRES ! WINTER DRIVING 15 HAZARDOUS, TIRES WITH DEEP TREADS OFTEN SLIP,BUT WORN TIRES ARE A CONSTANT R, AND CHANGING A WHEEL ijom .’m IN FREEZING WEATHER. #7118 MOST DISAGREEABLE - LOOK OVER| - IRES AND REPLACE THOSE ARE LIABLE TO CAUSE TROUI the foundation for 1931, the General Motors officials let it be known that the Chevrolet objective for next year is 1,000,000 cars. No one holds the belief that 1931 can equal 1929. Then the in- dustry under conditions of inflation oversold the country by approximately 1,000,000 cars. Night Shifts to Begin. Looking back to 1928, however, it is recalled that the Chevrolet objective for that year originally was set for 1,000,000 but by the time the first 10 months had rolled around, the largest of the six- cylinder producers had surpassed its quota by more than 200,000 ‘While the Chevrolet official m\lp was campaigning in Philadelphia last week, M. E. Coyle, vice president, stated that plans have been completed for the starting of night shifts at the com- pany's major plants by December 1. These employes are to work four days weekly throughout the Winter, the pref- erence being "Lh'cn to former workers, The plan means increased inventory for the company, but officials feel con- fident that the inventory will be quickly moved during 1931. They take the view that 1931 will be & recovery year in the automobile trade and that 1932 will produce new high records. Business Moves in Cycles. “Experience,” quoting Mr. Coyle, “has shown us that business moves in three- year cycles—a poor year, a recovery {elr and a new high record year fol- lowing the two. With 1930 as a poor year, 1931 will be the recovery year and 1932 the new high record year.” Mr, Coyle’s view was confirmed before the National Association of Finance Companies in session at Chicago. M. V. Ayres, business analyst, said the automobile trade has almost invariably , had one year in three of declining busi- ness, the other two showing an upward swing. Patl G. Hoftman, Studebaker vice president, also talked before the finance | group. He estimated that 18,000,000 cars would be sold in the Enlnd States in the next five years. (Copyright, 1930, by North American News- paper Alliance.) ——— Maryland Gas Use Heavy. Bpecial Dispatch to The Star. ! BALTIMORE, November 22.—Mary- landers may be saving money on other m during the ’°°{‘°T‘°(M"‘|{$' 're spending plenty for gasoline. HML xg&{ at the office of WEVIUNZ TR [CararE FURCCING oyt THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, NOVEMBER 33, 1930—PART FOUR. 1980 .. TRIBUNE, INC. 1-23 ~Z2E K30 NATIONAL APPEAL FOR SAFETY MADE A. A. A. Calls Upon All Motor- ists to Prevent Avoidable Acoidents. Declaring that November and Decem- ber of 1929 accounted for 5,743 motor fatalities and 200,000 motor injuries, the American Automobile Association issued & Nation-wide appeal today, urging all motorists to do their utmost to relieve national distress by preventing avoid- able accidents on the streets and high- | Ways. “The period of economic depression through which the country is now go- 'Outstanding Phase of BY JUDGE LEVI M. HALL, Of Municipal Traffic Court of Minneapolis. Note—The following 1is sent out through the National Conference on Street and Highway Safety, dealing| with the question of adequate enforce- ment of traffic laws and regulations as | an essential factor in the solution of | traMc problems: Adequate enforcement of traffic laws | and regulations is one of the ouusnna-‘ ing ases of the street and highway | problem that confronts the people of | the United States. Without it all other things that may be done to alleviate the problem must fail, ing and the inevitabie distress and suf- fering that accompanies it quadruples the premium on careful driving,”| Thomas P. Henry of Detroit, Mich., presicent of the A. A. A, asserted. “!L‘ is something that every motorist owes, x;lotu only to his fellow citizens but to the ation.” Deems Understanding Necessary. A thorough undermnd.lnaby all mo- ! torists of the special hazards of Winter driving, the A. A A. executive said, is | absolutey necessary for motorists who | are willing to mobilize in the national safety brigade this Winter. He con- tinued: “Our analysis of Winter accidents over the past few years has clearly dis- | closed that the Winter months produce a crop accruing from causes and con- ditions peculiar to this season. They fall into several broad categories. “There are, for example, thousands of accidents due to skidding, which in!| turn result from failure on the part of motorists to make allowance for the co ering of fallen leaves that often carpets country rcads, suburban lanes and city streets. We have numerous | examples of the same failure to make | allowance for slippery and sleety pave- ments. Good brakes, sound tires and | cl ains are an assurance, but maximum | care and speed to suit the conditions are the only certain guarantees against | this type of motor mishap. Poor Vision a Factor. “We have every Winter a large group of accidents due in the main to the refusal of motorists to make allowance for poor visibility. Clean windshields, properly adjusted headlights and a con- | scious effort on the part of motorists to | allow themselves more time and a leis- | urely pace would do away with most cf | these accidents. “In the Wintertime particularly there are many collisions due to failure on the part of the so-called ‘turtle drivers’ to give proper hand signals. These would oftentimes be not serious in themselves except for the fact that broken and fiying glass often cause painful and serious injuries, requiring emergency | treatment at hospitals. The natural| tendency to keep windows closed in cold weather aggravates this type of acci- dent. On the other hand, the adyent of non-shattering glass and adoption of it as standard equipment by many of the large manufacturers holds a promise for the solution of this problem. “Despite campaigns of education, we continue to have many deaths every ‘Winter from monoxide poisoning. These could be avoided if motorists would re- member the simple warning to open their garage doors before starting the motor. “Accidents to children skating and sledding on the streets could be alto- gether avoided if every city and town adopted the sane and humane policy of setting aside and closing certain streets at certain times of the day and night for children to play in.” 32 PROJECTS. SCHEDULED Winter Road Improvement in Maryland to Cost $1,500,000. Special Dispatch to The Star. BALTIMORE, November 22.—Using increased gasoline tax collections and Federal aid funds, the State Roads Com- mission has drawn up 8 list of 32 proj- ects to be undertaken this Winter after the road-building season ends, at a cost of more than $1,500,000, and designed to furnish emplovment during part of the ‘Winter months of 1,320 men. A letter sent to the Feceral Burcau of Public Roads by Harry D. Williar, chief engineer of the State Roads Com- mission, outlined the projects in 1e- sponse to a request to State road build- ing agencles that all possible Winter work be started as an unemployment’ relief measure. In ordinary years almost all building activities in this State November 15 under a which - hibits the laying of concrete after t date because of the danger from freezing weather to soft concrete. It is announced by the Nolan Motor ., Ford dealers, at 1109 Eighteenth The National Conference on Street and Highway Safety, at Washington, | has devised uniform measures for the use of the States and cities in secking improvement in traffic _ conditions through the removal of conflicting rules | and regulations in different States and | political jurisdictions. Various regional | conferences of the States in recent| weeks where the traffic problem has been thoroughly considered have in- dorsed the adoption of these uniform measures by the States and municipali- ties. Such Action Essential. Such action by the States and cities is essential to sound traffic relief aird improvement, because one of the diffi- cult features of the problem every- where is the absence of uniformity in regulations and rules of the road. | But these things of themselves will Bot accomplish adequate solution of the | problem. They must be translated into specific action and operation. | The enforcement of traffic laws and | regulations centers essentially upon the | police and the courts and upon ‘“eir | relation to the public. Necessarily their field of operation is restricted largely to the urban communities, and for that reason I shall confine myself largely to the urban aspect. | In the old days the principal function of police departments was the appre- hension of criminals. But with the growth in the number of automobiles the police were confronted with an en- tirely new function—the protection of lives’ and property under traffic condi- tions in the streets. As the trafic problem has grown in complexity and size it has become in- creasingly clear that there should be an olute division of these two func- tions in police departments. The traffic division should be entirely separate from every other police activity, with a traffic official in absolute charge of the traffic bureau and responsible only to the head of the police department. Competent Officers a Necessity. It is increasingly manifest also that officers who are detalled to traffic duties should be thoroughly schooled in their| tasks, not only in respect to laws and | regulations and in courteous treatment of the public, but in every other way that may be necessary to the proper| and effective performance of their dutles. | It has been my observation in Minne- apolls, and I think it is true in other citles, that the average policeman on & “beat” does not pay enough attention to duties in respect to traffic. He shoul also be schooled along traffic lincs, so that he will understand his responsi- bilities in the protection of life and property in the streets. c bureaus should be equipped with a branch of research and investi- | gation, and officers should be detailed through it to investigate serious acci- | dents. They should be sent imme - ately to the spot of such accidents. It has been found in connection with the enforcement of law that in many cases of serious accident it is almost impossible to secure convictions because matter of days has elapsed beforc the cident was properly investigated, and fiiclent evidence was not gathered on which the prosecuting authorities and the courts could act. ‘The branch of research and investi- gation should make a study of traffic conditions, maintain accl- dents and make recommendations to the traffic officlal as to where regulatory efforts are needed. In the larger cities separate traffic courts are usually maintained, an the| judges necessarily become more o1 less | specialists in their work. In the smaller | cities there are usually special sessions of a traffic court. Courts of this chlr-‘ acter make it possible in all serious| violations, such as hit-and-run cases, | reckless or careless driving, driving| while drunk and other serlous offenses, to jail and send the driver directly to tn&u court. This is as it should be. Favors Separate Bureau. 1 think for lesser violations there should be established a traffic viola- tions bureau, which would relieve con- gestion in the traffic court, where people charged with minor infractions of ~affic ordinances are brought in. Bureaus of this kind are quite adequately described in recommendation of the model municipal traffic ordinance of the Na- tional Conference on Street and High- wa, Safety. > Penalties for traffic violations should penal. of- be treated alike, regard- | Gulf , finanelal stand- | Grand Palals, Paris, is HUMP ! ONLY AN HOUR LATE. COULDNT COME 2 IN A HOSS'N BUGGY LIKE ORDINARY RHE B v SEES ADEQUATE ENFORCEMENT OF ALL TRAFFIC LAWS NEEDED Street and Highway Problem Confronting U. S. Outlined by Traffic Court. politics enters into traffic regulation or enforcement, enforcement falls down. No public official should be more inter- ested in the loss of a political ally than he is in the loss of a human life. I believe that imprisonment should be more frequently used as a deterrent in traffic violations. The sole purpose of enforcement should .ot be to raise money. It has been found in Minne- apolis that the greater proportion of drivers in olved in fatal accident are young ruen between 18 and 25 years of age; also thai they are in greater pro- portion of those arrested for speeding and careless driving. A traffic school for careless «-ivers has been established in Minneapolis, and it is largely attended by young men of 18 to 25 years of age. About 1,000 persons have been there. Instead of the court imposing a fine on them, they are sentenced to attend traffic school for two hours on five nights a week. In this school the subjects that are dis- cussed cover traffic laws, the mechani- cal operation of automobiles, the rela- tion of the public to the safety move- ment and other kindred subjects. The result has been that only three or four repeaters have been among the 1,000 sent there, Effects of Schooling Observed. ‘These young men after attendance at this school have a different attitude toward traffic conditions. They see the traffic problem in an entirely different light. They have been instructed in an educational way in a manner such as could not have been realized by the imposition of fines, because in most of such cases somel else pays the fine and that is the end of it. Traffic courts in order to be effective should have jurisdiction over all traffic cases, arising both under statute and under ordinance. In order to have adequate enforce- ment there must be complete co-opera- | tion between the police and the court. The police must be fair in their ores- entation of cases in court. The court cannot do it alone, nor can the police. The police must be interested, and the court must be interested as well, and | the court must back up the police. ' And there should be complete support the cuurt by the public. Successful law enforcement is impossible in the long run without the backing of public opinion. Many automobile violators who may be well-to-dc or more or less prominent do mot in many cases realize the seri- ousness and the consequence of their acts. As a result there is a continuous effort to break down law enforcement. The support of law enforcement by public opinion must be just as continu- ous and energetic as are the efforts to defeat it. AMERICAN INFLUENCE FELT IN-FRENCH AUTOS' U. 8. Effects in Designs Seen Stronger Than Ever at Paris 1830 Balon. The American influence in French automotive design, as revealed at the opening of the 1930 auto salon in the ever, according to news dispatches from Paris, The old Prench technique of develop- ing high power through the use of very small, high-speed engines that turned over about twice as fast as the average good American motor has lost favor, The American style of big engine, running at more moderate speed, with lower gearing and greater pick up, is gaining popularity. French engineers agree that the American type is quleter, gem itself up less rapidly and lubricates t FOR REMDVAL OF WRECKS Bill Being Considered to Safeguard Maryland Highways. Special Dispatch to The Star. BALTIMORE November 22.—A bill proposing a iaw providing that all au- tomobiles broken down on State roads must be entirely removed from the thoroughfare before repairs are under- taken, is being considered for submis- sion to the next Legislature by those gmrznea in new automobile regula- ions. Passage and enforcement of such & law would be a decided aid, its backers claim, in reducing accidents throughout the State. It would also eliminate in great measure traffic jams on crowded t{lloroughflru leading to and from the city. Division of 0il Production. Recent figures compiled by the Amer- ican Petroleum Institute reveal that ofl production in the United States is @i- vided as follows: California, 34 per cent; Rocky Mountain district, 3 per cen influence. The minute e T continent district, § ESEN stronger than | D NN D BESNN \~\\§ IRST TIME 7% YOU MOTORED HOME FOR THANKSGIVING. AUTO INSPECTION Motoring Body Concludes Survey Showing Work “Done in States. |a means of ridding the streets and | highways of unsafe automobiles was |urged this week by the American Mo~ torists’ Association. “A survey just made by the A. M. A. shows that steps toward legislation of this character have already been taken |by & few States. The need for periodic | compulsory inspection has also been rec- | ognized by the National Highway Safety | Conterence and many State highway commissions. In the main, however, but sporadic efforts have been made for | adoption of legislation to drive the me- | chanically dangerous automobile off the highway,” declares Thomas J. Keefe, general manager of the association. Serious Study Given. “The State of Pennsylvania is one of |the few States which has given serious | study to this phase of highway safety. | If any argument be needed for the sup- | port of legislation for motor car inspec- | tion, it could readily be supplied by that State's recent inspection campaign. A total of 1888000 cars were inspected, and of this number 1,332,000 were found to be mechanically defective. Twenty- three per cent had defective brakes, 56 | per cent required lamp adjustment, 10 per cent needed entire lamp replace- | ments and 5 per cent of those inspected had to have relined brakes. Maryland has also held a safety campaign for inspection. “In New Hampshire's ‘save a life’ umfnl’n, which started August 1, a | total of 70,000 cars have already been inspected, and almost the same per- | centage of defective cars found to exist,” | the survey shows. “The State of Ore- gon reports defects in 15 per cent of 2,000 vehicles involved in accidents. Eliminates Menace to Safety. “Perlodic inspection will serve to elim- inate automobiles that are a menace not only to safety of the driver but to others. A certificate of inspection should be required before the issuance of license plates to any motorist. If an owner objects to having his car inspected, he | cannot complain if his right to use the road is taken from him,” the associa- tion’s survey concludes. | 'URGE CARS BE READY | FOR WINTER DRIVING | Service Officials Advise Motorists to Insure Against Delay in Starting. | When motorists run out to the ga- rage on the first cold morning, step jon the starter, and a low, growling ise results, and the car does not t, then they recall that they ne- glected to have their cars serviced for | Winter driving. To prevent this dis- | appointing afterthought service officials are notifying owners of the advisibility | of having thelr cars prepar:d for cold " weather at once, | Two major benefits are de ed from | this precautionary measure. One is | easier starting and the other is insur- ance against damage to the car. The condition of the electrical sys- tem and the carburetor adjustment regulate the ease of starting an engine. If the carburetor adjustments are cor- rect and the choke used when neces- sary, & rich mixture will be compressed in the cylinder. Also if the battery is strong and :.;u elg:mm;:.l muflx? ltg“nl}:; tions properly, a spark Wi the mixture, and away goes the car, the service men explain. For that reason all electrical connec- tions should be tightened, the battery terminals cleaned, the battery kept fuil of distilled water, the generator com- mutator cleaned, the g rate ad- vanced, spark plugs cleaned and points set at correct tlearance, the ignition | timing adjusted and the carburetor set to give a richer mixture. All little things, but they mean saving of time and temper. | The heat Wy grease used in Summer should be drained from tho rear axle and transmission and a Winter grade lubricant substituted. Heavy grease congeals at low temperatures, and when | a car is started the gears merely cut a | channel h this thick grease and actually run without lubricant until the heat of the %nn has melted the grease | to a point where it runs. | Naturally some good type of anti- . freeze solution should be placed in the It is advisable to drain and flush the cooling system before putting in the solution. At the same time the radiator hose should be inspected and | & new one installed should the old one | show signs of wear. All eonnectlonl‘ tem should be tight- cheaper than T, is far URGED BY A M.A. ; Compulsory automobile inspection as | be; Aviation BY JOSEPH S. EDGERTON. For those to whom an airplane ride s no lanflor a novelty a ride in the autogyro recommended. When this peculiar contraption, with its merry- go-round effect upstairs, gets to ca- vorting, it does things no alirplane pilot thought possible a few years ago. At times, when a conventional air- plane would feel duty bound to stall and spin into the ground, the autogyro just looks around blithely and refuses to get excited. It's a stald creature, the autogyro, and, while it can't do a num- ber of things the regular airplane can do, it can do several things that an air- plane can't—several important things. An autogyro, it is sald, is suspended from its rotating wings by centrifugal force, nlu tendency of the weight of , engine and load being to |t s inside out like an um- grelll in a gale. It is only the centri- fugal force created by rotating the blades which keeps them in the nearly horizontal position maintained in flight. There is one quite peculiar feature of the rotating wing business which al- ways amazes those to whom the euto- gyro is new. It is the fact that though the spread of the w.ngs s only 48 feet, they are as effective in their action as a parachute 144 feet in diameter. With the motor shut off and the controls in neutral, the autogyro will parachute down on Its rotating wings as easily as 8 man beneath an ordinary parachute. More easlly, in fact, because the descent is slower. This unusual effect, according to “Jim” Ray, autogyro chief test pilot, is due to the fact that the rotating wings “trample down the air* much as a swimmer “treads water.” Ray_brought an autogyro down here from Philadelphia one very foegy and cloudy afterncon Guring the past week | to demonstrate the affair to the De- partment of Commerce fleld inspectors, assembled here for the regular confer- ence. Several of the inspectors, in- cluding one or two who never had seen an autogyro before, took it up for solo flights, Then Ray made several hops witih ngers, the writer among them. usk Was coming on, with ‘“soupy” weather when our hop was made. cloud “ceiling” was down to about 400 feet and visibility below that layer was limited to about a half mile. The auto- gyro taxied out into the field a few hundred fect as would any other plane, the stationary upper wings drooping limpdly from their central upright over- ead. “Up She Goes.” Out in the field Ray faced the ship into the rv'flnd and threw in a cluteh, which perrfiitted the engine to turn the wings or ‘“rotor.” ~When the rotor reached a speed a little above 100 revo- lutions a minute he disengaged the clutch, the rotor continuing to spin under its own momentum. Then he opened the throttle and the orthodox metal propeller on the nose of the ship gan to turn up. The ship taxied normally and took off in a steep climb. The air speed dropped to 40 miles per hour, a speed at which virtually any normal plane would have stalled and returned to the ground in lamentable fashion. The autogyro just kept on going, paying not the least bit of atten- tion to tradition. Over the north end of the field & couple of hundred feet up, Ray put the ship through one or two tight “figure 8s” out of which a normal airplane probably would have skidded unless banked vertically. The autogyro was banked no more than for a normal turn, but refused to skid. The :llr speed dropped to some 35 miles per our, The landing, however, was the most startling portion of the flight. Climbing up nearly to the 400-foot ceiling, Ray shut off his engine, holding up the nose of the plane. The air speed dropped to 20, to 15 and finally to 10 miles per hour. And most of the 10 miles was due to downward, not to for- ward speed. Looking overside, the auto- gyro seemed absoiutely motionless, ex- cept that the ground came up very slowly. There was no evidence of mo- tion forward and no sensation of any motion at all. Just before the ground was reached Ray dropped the nose a trifle, picked up & bit of forward speed and then pulled up the nose, killing all the speed. The tail skid struck the ground for a “one-point” landing. Then the wheels struck and the autogryo stayed 'E:t, It did not roll forward a foot. e jar Was no more noticeable than in many an ordinary airplane landing, not near- ly so hard as in what is known as a “hard landing.” Yet it was the equiva- lent of a full “pancake” landing, the hardest a normal airplane can make short of a full crash. A “pancake” landing will usually wipe out the land- ing gear of a plane and often break up the lage y opened up the throt- tle and taxied back to the line, ready for the next hop. This was just nor- mal business for the autogyro. “We'll have to rew the regulations laughingly re- marked Fred Neely, former Star avi- ation writer, who now is one of the chiefs of the Department of Commerce Bureau of Aeronautics. inspector. “No craft shall stand still over. an airport.’ He cocked his eye up at the autogryo, which was hanging over the fleld as though glued to the sky. A couple of moments later, as a bugler was sounding “Retreat” and the United States flag came down the staff, the autogyro stood at attention in midair over the center of | than the fleld while the ceremony was com- pleted. On the second day of flying the auto- gyro was damaged while taxiing, due to a too sudden application of the wheel | brakes, which pitched the tail up. The revolving rotor struck the ground and all four wings were broken before the tail fell back to normal position. The pilot, a newcomer to autogyro business, was heartily chagrined, but otherwise was unscathed. Fog Season Begins. and thick weather combined during several days of the past week to wash a couple of percentage points off the records of the local air trancport lines' sevvice records, The New ‘Jork, Philadelphia & Washington Airway Corporation was forced to cancel all daily flights for the first time in its operation. The airmail has been fac- ing heavy going, with ships on the ground part of the time. airmail “batting average” is so high, however, over the whole year that it will take more than a few days of bad weather to_cut down its percentage noticeably. The new Transcontinental and West- ern Air Line from New York to Los Angeles completed 95 w cent of its scheduled flights over the Alleghenies during the first two weeks of opera- ocra "BEST OIL IN THE WORLD" Good oil, as you know, is the life-blood of a motor. Poor oil is its death-warrant. Autocrat Motor Oil ranks as “Pennsyl- vania’s Best.” its brication troubles. tion of the new midtranscontinental airmail and T _service, it was announced. Of the 14 flights scheduled out of New York during that perlo«h two were canceled because of bas weather. PFive of the arrivals in New York, however, were canceled short of their destination because of dark- ness. The alkway 15 to be lighted about January 1, after which day and niglut service will be possible, ring its first two weeks the new line flew 152,304 miles, or an average of 10,880 miles daily, while the schei- |ule calls for 11,256 miles daily. Pas- sengers carried totaled 2,041, an aver- age of 145 daily. Capacity loads were carried from New York on each of the last six days of the two weeks and on WO occasions extra sections were oper- ated to accommodate the overflow. ‘The consolidation of the Maddux- Transcontinental Air Transport sys- tem with Western Air Express to com- e the new Transcontinental and ‘estern. Alr organization has played havoc of the Naval Reserve aviation squadron at Long Beech, Calif, ac- cording to & report to the Navy De- partment. Officer-pilots of the squad- ron include many of the transport pilots for the consolidated compenies. N" t looks," the & t, some of our oldest and most important pilots. One pilot left California on a new assignment and during his first 14 days out, his assignment to & run was changed seven times. “It 18 belleved that those tras pllots hailing from this base are more famillar with more parts of the en- tire Unlted Etates ond Mexico than | any goup of nilots in th> land, a dis- tin:t advantage i2 a national emer gency.” . Catapult Business. Aviation people who do their flying from the battleships and crusiers have crosses to bear unknown to landsmen or even to their fellows who fly from the carriers. Planes on the fighting ships are d on deck, where over- hauls must be made in all kinds of The | weather. On the cruisers the outboard wings and even part of the motor over- hangs the sea alongside ship. The planes must weather whatever storms the ships encounter and often come out second best wiih the elements. The U. 8. 8. Texas a few days ago en- countered a short and severc hurricane, during which the wind attained a ve- locity of approximately 100 miles per hour, Texas carries three sea= planes, all of which had been lashed down on the launching um\m. w! lines were doubled and pulled taut ane heavy lines were around the pontoons and under the 1t track, Chemically treated tarpaul placed |over wings and fuselages to minimise fire hazard from flying cut with the wind and ripped. Finally, steel hooks a half an inch thick whicl were holding down the middle plane { were pulled straight by the force of the wind and slipped from the eyes on the catapult igh which they had been hooked. The auxiliary lines gmd and the plane was blown from e catapult to the deck below. m’x&n ?nmm of fil:ones from battle- TS creates condi- tions the ordinary = er pilots, gho take-off from and land on a flight Imagine the consternation of two eviation officers aboard & crusier a few days ago when the pontoon of their Beneath ‘them. nd.shey. al and they and the plan uashed down disconcertingly o! i of the catapult! e Business Booming. Development of the new high-spe: Ford tri-motored mm?m pllne'p:n resulted in a demonstration of the im- portance attached to iner flying lfiecd& for transport operations. Before the new plane made its appearance the Ford airplane plant had fallen off gxh!g:de:;] -nld”vrodueuon to & it ce new plane has ;roductlon the pflnt has wm'w hm“ 4-hour operation with more than 500 skilled workers on full-time, a nu.lorliy of the increased force having been - ed back during the past 60 days. The business not only includes orders for the new high-speed models but for con~ verslon of the old type 5-AT models to the new type by Improvement of streamlining, lowering of wing engines, dition of motor cowling rings and gear. The the ne;“?yl:anm‘ of the landing es are orde: both Ar.;ng and vay.m ST e new type has a or of 122 miles per hour and a top m of 152 miles per hour with full load. me of these planes recently estab lished & new official world speed record for planes carrying a 2,000-kilogram load ‘by flying a 100-kilometer ‘gtrlfi ;(;Irll'g‘ba ‘:rt & spead In excess of 164 miles Chutes as Life Savers. Two lives are saved for every 1 parachutes put into service, nccormon are many other cases been saved without any reports having been made, so that the record could be entered. The nor- al life of a parachute is five years. ome chutes much older than "that, however, have saved lives. While many }».nchum never figure in emergency umps, there is one which is known to have saved the lives of three different persons. DEAD STORAGE Tl i Autonobiles Like Fine Furnitare Require Good Care ETROPOLITAN Nothing is more important than thorough Iubrication. AUTOCRAT—THE OIL THAT 1Is DIFFERENT FROM ALL OTHERS Beware of Substitutes Try Autocrat the mest time you wmeed oil, end judge its advantages for yourself. At the Better Dealers 30¢ use you avoid fi*\‘m