Evening sentinel, Friday, May 1, 1925 · page 8

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 

By Charles. G. Reinhart ~

THE woodland—wire
is doomed. .

Possibly within the next two years,
and certainly within the next five, the
all-metal plane will supplant the spruce
and fabric aircraft that we know today,
as the steel steamship has supplanted
the oak-ribbed clipper.

The era of commercial aerial trans-
portation is here. we ‘

Today both the airplane and the
dirigible have been developed to a point
where dividend-paying aerial transport
companies are economically possible-—
save for one thing. That is the high
capital investment and the heavy over-
head expenses represented by tefminal
facilities.

If the Federal Government or, in-
terested municipalities would encourage

air-transportation companies by pro-
wdxng them with terminals, both
trans-Atlantic and trans-Continental

airship lines could start operation to-
morrow at an assured profit reasonable
enough to attract the necessary invest-
ment money. "

THESE are the convictions, not of an,
inexperienced ’theorist carried away
by his enthusiasms, but of an expert
who has won international fame for his
accomplishments in developing the prac-
tical aspects of aviation. He is Com-
mander Ralph D. Weyerbacher, Con~
struction Corps, United States Navy,
and chief engineer at the Philadelphia
naval aircraft factory. who took the
leading part in designing and con-
structing the Shenandoah, in developing
In this country the wonder-metal dun--
lumin, and in building the first all-metal
airplane 11;..- thc United States Navy.

 

 

 

The Cl-mmandcr's most recent ac-
complishment was the Construction of
the PNQ. Hic- seaplane which :nc‘; be
flown to Hawaii next ::.'-.m-;_w. it is
unique in {list its hull, floats. its
tail rfurlfii'c: 1::ui ,m- .truciure
are built of du...l.z:ni;:, assuring hereto-
fore Junkrmn: quaifzfcs of lightness,
strength 'ilnd tarrying capacity in a
flying boat. Yet the l‘.\"Jits¢-lf is only .
a stop in C('"1T."t;.:.:.";' \Ve‘yerbaz-her’s'
projects. it wants to him an ex-
perimental : :1 development
which nil? rem ;, shortly in the com-
pletim: of ;. hug... seaplane built entirely
of metal—«struts, spars, body and wings

~similr~r ‘:1 {ha hombcrdype land plane
already 1.: ‘
Nor 2..- .:u.-h .. plane, by any meens,'the
ultimate. Yum. the duralumin flying
boat is Complttcd and its capabilities
are studied, i'x' (nicer-designer will
press with intruizt’d energy certain re-
search work now under way for a still
lighter metal-:wii'ich will in turn permit
new wonders in the science of flight.

étii l (i.

 

BUT none of this seems very re-

markable to Commander Weyer-
bacher. “For, after all," he comments,
“all design is just common sense Ind
experience."

In his oflice at. the huge aircraft
building of the Philadelphia Navy Yard,
the youthful pioneer of aircraft design
—-—he looks li'tle more than thirty—dis-
cussed the. steps: by which the navy,
largely under his direction, had de-
veloped duralumin and the metal flying
craft it now owns. '

His interest was obviously not in his
own accomplishments. He felt too much
pride in.the work done by the Phila-
delphia aircraft factory, too delighted
by the facts that it had produced and
shipped to France planes when, they
were needed during the war, that it
had fabricated the Shenandoah, and:
that it is leading in aircraft develop—
ment today, to discuss his own part in
the work. But there were others who
would. - ‘

“The forerunner of the PN9.7’ said
Commander Weycrbacher, “was the FEE
twin-motor patrol type plane, built along
lines resembling the H16 flying boat
used in the war. All the parts were of
wood and fabric. . .

“From this We developed the PN7.
The name indicates both the type and
the designer. In this case ‘P’ means
patrol type, and ‘N’ that naval con-
structors designed’ it. The planedii’fered
only slightly from the ESL in construc-
tion. It Was still built of wood and
fabric, but carried two]i of the Wriglfi
twelve-cylinder motors”; A .. ‘-

“cht came the PNS, in which we'

‘ used the first duralumin in flying, boat
construction; We built ametah hull 'and
metal tail surfaces, which wore covered-
with fabric. The, Wright T2 -._moto’rs
were installedg" Wejllew it‘for _a few
"hours to'pro‘ve it‘w'as'
ingprinciple-... . . _. . .
l“Thén-we'took-theer8",back into the
factory, and firm it built the PN9. ' We'
tore out the, motors, replacing them

, type. of ' airplane

safe” and correct ,

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

a minute

with the newer Packard lit-1500 motors,
which will

 
 

 

 

 
 

 

 

.~.r - ’= ‘ " v j 6

it pcrmits‘_of muchfincr adjustments in, fittings.

twenty-five per cent.

7 . .HAT ‘is-cxpccted to stimulate the-rdevclaptll‘im 7
5 cf cammercial'aviafion more than; anyother
factor is the use of'duralumi'n in all-metal construc- ‘
ltion. And what is duralurnini‘~ "It isfan ‘a’lloyr'of
aluminum, copper, manganese and magnesium. It-
has the properties of ‘mildstcel'in tensile strength
7 and weighs just one-third." Because of its malleability

cause of. its lightness it effects a weight-savingof .

. - > “All of this gfies great’Vpromisc for future air-
rplanc design”, says Commander Ralph D. VVeycr~
. bacher, oi the U. S. Navy Construction Corps.
we make planes lighter and stronger it follows that
ewe can count on higher speed, larger fuel supply,
greater weight capacity, wider cruising radius, in-
creased dependability‘and a generally larger factor
' ;: of safety.”' _ ~

,‘ ..

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Bc-‘

“As

 

develop 2000 revolution:
and 475 horsepower each.

We made metal floats, metal tail sur-

faces and a metal center section.

We

used spruce for the spars (the long
stringers that form the leading edge and
trailing edge of the wings), but we made

the center

:‘tiou of stamped duralumin

and cov ~ “art of it with ":bric.

“A no reduction. ar was
used \ :istor, driving: ’ propel-
ler at .3. 41:11; the speed of do engine.

,e
By this operation” we also raised the

shaft, (‘f

ilk:

propeller about a foot.

‘Sueh‘a design applies the thrust in the
geometric center of the plane, cutting.

down

_:propulsion

. tage lies in,

between the

fuselage resistance
what is "known as a

and giving
greater overall
coefficient. Another advan-
the wider clearance achieved
propeller tip and the surface

of the water.

wing

41TH!) plane has a seventy-nine foot

and is forty-nine feet long.

Its airspeed is 110 knots. but it can
be throttled down to 50 knotsnlandlng

speed.

of five men

It can carry a total weight of
19,000 pounds, which includes the crew

‘andvra full gasoline supply

of 1285 gallons.’ The use of duralumiu
added greatly to‘ its carrying capacity.
‘ “Late in March we gave the new boat

its first test.

It remained in the air

for fifty minutes and climbed up to 'a

speed of 128 knots.

This convinced us

anew of the value of duralumin and
showed that the plane with its 2100-
mile cruising radius Would be quite
capable of making such a flight as the
hop from the West Coast to Hawaii."

“But

what,”

Commander Weyer:

bahcer was asked, “is duralumin?"

“It is a remarkable metal,” he replied,
"an alloy of aluminum. copper, manga-
nese and magnesium. It has the
ties of’ mild steel in. tensile strength
and elongation, and weighs just one~
“third, of. steel.
2.8, while steel has a specific gravity of '

7.8.

“The metal was used in German Zep‘
pelins before and during the war. In
fact. the German air service actually

used it to
plane.

war. When

navy we worked on it with experts of
the Aluminum Company of' America,
and after careful research and analysis
were able to reproduce it in the United

States.

“When we received orders to build
the Shenandoah in 1919,. we could rev
produce the metal in the laboratories, *
but quantity production into plates'and
difi’ei-‘ent sections was ‘a difiicult task.
It was accomplished, however, and do,
ralumin was put. to its first ,usein this
country on‘

it has won
is used commonly in automobile, fittings, 5
in hardware-and, of course, in airplanes

“In France they are makirigi‘mafuy
all-duralumin planes. The. English’Jref
concentrating on steel, planes ,instea‘d.
They have no supply‘ of:
available "as" we have.
, metal product, the Marine ckpeditionary‘

'plane .out', in the hangar there ' ‘
suc'cessfulf sign; we: are sunsexpcri-r

matting; ‘Iio

ceiling”: "'

 

,

America managed to get a sam-
ple of it out of Germany during the

fix: this'remarkable new: is 3 heated .

stom-

lts specific gravity is

build‘ one type of fighting

it was turned .over to the

the dirigible. Since “then-
wide popularity. Today it

uminurn T
Our first . elk

; is

ever, .with..th

.to 340 de cc: (centigradc) it- becomes

 

 

i 7' Cheaper, Safer, Faster

Air Tidhsfiortotioiz

_ That-Are Only just
i A round ' the - Comer

 

The PNS, the navy’s duralumin plane, which has been successfully flown, is shown

in the etching at the doors of its giant hangar at the naval aircraft factory in
Philadelphia. Th8 hull, the floats, the tail surfaces and the center structure of
the flying boat. are built-20f the aluminum-like'v‘wnder metal. Its wings are of
spruce and fabric. They. will be replaced in later types by duralumin wings

soft like nealed copper. If it is heated steel.
to 400 degrees (0.) it Mill-remahnin.
that malle‘le Etate for sometime, and
can be worked ~ easily. .Then, after
several days,- it will harden until "it
is like steel again. Because of this
malleability much finer djustments and
fittings can be made w it. We are
experimenting now.to=get it so it can
be worked on a metal embroidery
machine. * ‘ > ‘

“It stands

paint.

duction.

up,' well undh‘ use. 'It

takes a remarkably silver-like polish.
Of course we malge every cfiort tarps-oi

 

E

’ Au aviator" view-famine; in: it,

relieve the

new «lane; '.

:jflv’phlagNaVy‘Ya‘rd, where engineer ofljfcersfai'o develop

typesgor’anpisse. In thisfactdry ., para sedin wé,.,._h§n' ~ _. ,
rare :1 hipped

V.
g,

7, 3.11th there fabricated and
abroad during the war. .:
' of scientific research and expo, 7
. 'r‘“ ‘ : erain*ierial‘- ayigation

- lifeless

 

 
 

 
 
 

1.

tect it from corrosion, as we would
This is done most. eflectively by
coating it with varnish or an asphalt

“When theday of theall-metal plane
arrives, the use of duralumin will assure
cfllcient and economical Quantity pro-
It ,will

drain on .the spruce forests..
the'last war, spruce was in such great
demand tarball-plane construction that.
the prices went up enormously.
‘ another, war occurs We do not “know
whether there will be spruce enough to
supply the need. . But so far as air.

steady
During

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

. future au‘flan' e design.

capacity,
hex-eased ‘ dependability and a generally
‘ larger factor of safety. '

 

this swath? ’

, \; ... p...— cum...

craft are concerned there will a...

,xreatneedofit. Daralumin,oreone

”fitter metal developed out of a snag-

; neeium alloy, will take its‘pluer

“Even toda_ y the weight—5W7
ratio of dmlurnin is 25 per cent better
. Wood. (When ribs are made of
'e substance they can be stamped

,out. Think what a-uving that means”

in time and labor! Iii-seaplane, as we
build thomnow, it eficcts a weight-
saving of 25ipervceat, which can be
devoted: to useful loads.“ We are con-
vinced that in mass'production we can
build these ships ot'metal more econom-
.ically than we can build them of wood

and fabric.

. I
“‘THE widespread use of duralumin
. “ _ in airplanes offers mother great
“advantage to the designer. It gives
him a new basis from which to start
in planning for strength.
,“There are two ways of making the

I wings sufficiently Strong to bear the

great strain to which they are sub-

. jeated. . One is to make the main spare,
. as those on the leading edge. of heavy,

powerful beams. When this is done the
fabric is called on for very little of the

- ‘ work. ,

"‘The second way is to make all the
wing supply a share of the needed

' “strength. This can be done easily with

metal wing surfaces. By using du-
raluminfl instead of fabric then for wine
surfaces, it is possible to :"i‘e lic‘r
beams on the edges.

“All of this gives great promise «.iu.
‘ As we make
our planes lighter and stronger, it fol-
"lows that we elm count on higher speed,
larger fuel , supply, greater weight
wider cruising radius, in-

“-To summarize, the all-metal plane
built of duralumiaor a magnesium alloy
“ will ,-be cheaper, stronger and safer;

4% will carry greater loads,”will‘fly longer
7 " distances and

, 5 l lend itself to a new-
era of development? , ' 7‘

C o u an s m. wamaam
_ ”medic! .afimexaent or two. '

“It seemstomea matter «which all

" mmmmyl'fedmd." he cola- -

menus . “that'sojmuch ‘9: therapeu-

mental work would " aviation k ~
;.. 5mm in us cow’s ti‘r , ‘mfi‘m

sagansaegcapunceom : C. West... -

r;'-£eiit.‘the~m-n-ae"' f ’"mhfiw to make, .

 

_ itfieShemndoah and
- . . ;. {hounded States Navy’s: First AILMetal
, : , . .AlrplaneHastSGyAbaut '
‘ ' tiled/Remarkable '
' Decelonméfits in

. lion.

 

,
which the development of aircraft will
be promoted in a scientific way. The
results can beutilized both commercially
. and by the War Department. We are
proud of the fact that we have de-
veloped new airplanes and dirigibla
for the navy right in this factory. A;
a Government organization we have
one great advantage. We do not have
to conform to certain types of construc.
tion or limit ourselves to certain
materials.

‘ HEN commercial companies dg.

volop airplane designs there is
naturally a strong tendency to hold
more or less rigidly to certain materials

 

and plrm, . because it adds to the cos: {a
make " fee". But there is no reason
why it. :‘zmmcrcial companies should not
benez. .319 work we do here. There
is a , :3‘ now planning to run an
all-nix“ :..rplanc service between St.
Paul Detroit. It will use planes
made entirely of duralumin. it is a

matter of some pride to us that the ex-
perimental work from which both the
material and the designs were evolved
was done in this very factory.”

Commander “’eyerbacher was :9.
lerring to the plans of the Aerial Trans-
portation Company,'which has announced
its intention to establish a passenger
and express service. Henry Ford is
known to be interested in the company,
and to have promised certain terminal
and factory facilities in Detroit.

Commander Weyerbacher is pro.
foundly interested in the commercial
possibilities of aviation. lie is con.
vinced that most of the mechanical
problems have been met, that financial
problems alone confront it. And he
sees a method by which those financial
problems can be solved.

“Aviation," be said, "has developed
to a state where not only intercity
but transcontinental and trans-Atlantic
transportation is quite feasible. We
have the equipment, we have the safety
factors. All that is necessary is the
proper condition for financing. liven
that is simplerrthan is generally realized.

"At this time there is no question
that passenger-carrying dirigibles could
be flown across the Atlantic at a profit
if it were not for the high cost of
terminal facilities. A terminal for such
a line would requue' thousands of acres
near a ‘big city. It would need huge
and expensive mooring masts. Such
terminals wouldlncrease the capitaliza-
tion of a company to an extent that
would eat up .all the profits and dis-
courage investors. This situation could
be met by granting of tracts of land'to
pioneer companies or at least learn:
them at low rates. In a sense it would
mean subsidizing aviation transport.
But we did that in the West years ago
by grants of land to the railroads and
sncceededjn developing both the rail.
roads and the country they traversed
“IN FACT, s‘ym‘ g has had a one-sided

development. It received its
greatest impetus during the war. At
that time théidemand was for planes
and more planes, and the eflorts cf the
designers were directed toward making
aircraft eficie' nt, fighting machines,
rather than load-carriers. We made
tremendous strides, but they were all
megbanical. What might be called the
economic aspect of aerial transportation
Was ignored.

“I suspect that‘if there had been no
war the development of aireraf‘ t might
have progressed almost as rapidly. But
it would haveorogressed along differcn:
lines. As the mechanism grew more
perfect the means for their utilization
would have developed along with then:
W'e should have found a commercie
use for this new invention step by .529;-
as it grew. After the war we had .‘
planes, we had the knowledge. we
the interest. But we did not l:.::-.= '2
methods to anhlt‘iélmm h, .-....»'. .... :4;

arm» .

 

 

, .iiau “a: um... ......... to pm:
r the way for the commercial develop-
ment of aviation. If private air line:
are organized to carry mail and exprcs:
packages, as has been proposed, it woulf
mean a further step. The utilizatio:
by such planes of theplanding fields and
terminals already established by the
Government would help greatly.
\ "No one doubts that the air-pine and
the dirigible have a glorious future.
They need neither roads nor rails. No
stream of water, ”chm no unde-
veloped country can eir course.
They, can fly to. the Poles and back.
They can explofeuncharted territories.
They can furnish the fastest and, In
fimg‘the cheapest form at transporta-

' “It is wellgforth anyefi‘ort that may
besmadei by the Government or by
91-1me develop, this new
agmcyr'intof'an ‘d’ective commercial
meanso! nannies-cation. * .
- “We aretrying to do our share of

"it here at meg-ma mm factory.”

Copyright by no} to Ledger Company

\ “as.