New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1910-09-11
Burfne fbe AcropIane Ls Only q BegI"1'ne
of tie Long Expense Account Sure
10 FoAoSe.

, startiaI structure viii be necessary x he
| expects to stay for more than a month or
two A tent that viii cover an ordinary
| biplane can he bought for 500. A shed costs
from $3.50 40 Sl.J0a. One side must be so
arranged that it can he completely thrown
open. either by raising the leaves of door
or ny dropping them on the ground outside,
forming a sort of temporary front stoop
, laid fiat on the ground.
| II must be equipped with full outfit of
carpenters tools, benches and the like and
all the things the motor needs TO make its
toilet. An aerop!ane engine is as delicate
as a prima donna, and as the aeronauts
life depends on its industry while they are
aIoft together 1t is we'll TO keep II in Il
good humor.
While his machine is building, too. he will
engage his staff of mechanics- Unless he is
something of a mechanic himself and Will
| ing to work he will need three men At
| least one of them must be an all around
workman of the highest class. skilled poth
| in woodworking and in the handling and
! repairing of steel machinery 1t Is impor-
tant IL possible, to obtain q man who has
already had experience in the care of aero
planes. His pay will be from $40 to $40 a
week. His two helpers will get from sl5 to
s25 a week each. If the amateur obtains
| harmonious and efficient working force Tor
a total of SIS a week he is fortunate.
| A special wagon can usually be hired to
haul the machine from the railroad to the
aviation field. The whole cost OF transpor-
tstion will probably pe from S. to 800. &C
| cording 10 the location of the factory. Once
arrived at the hangar, the aeroplane is put
| together by the amateurs mechanics and
the manufacturers working together.
| +o two
sumed IN tightening wires, adjusting rUd-
6ers and appliances and trying out the
| engine Usually, one Of the manufacturers
| ayiators takes out the machine for an &C
tual trial in the air before turning il over
| to its new owner.
Then comes the day when the novice has
an aeroplane of his own. He can take his
place at last in the drivers seat and try
his skill like the others.
Il is q very bad wreck indeed which the
staff cannot make right within a week.
| New wheels cost him from 81 to SIS.
| Wood for repairs, which must be the very
| best and straightest selected spruce, costs
| 500 thousand feet. The wire for bracinss
| and control connections is a special grade
| of piano wire. and sells at five cents
| foot. There are five hundred feet of wire
| in an ordinary biplane. Turn buckles,
which must he inserted in every wire to
! tighten it or loosen il as may be required.
cost from . to 40 cents each and there are
| from fifty to a hundred in each machine
| They are very unlikely TO be damaged by
an accident.
One OF tie most expensive parts of the
aeroplane is the cloth covering of the
wings and rudders. This is usually of silk
or linen. treated by a patented process to
render il alright. One of the hest cover
ings sells for 81 30 a square yard. Enough
10 cover CUrtiss biplane would cost about
sf1e.
The cost Of a single mile of flight, count
ing merely the supplies which the machine
consumes IN the air. varies greatly with
the performance of the engine A famous
; 'Cross-country flight of one hundred and
fifty miles was made with a consumption
Of fifteen gallons of gasolene and two gal
Ions of lubricatng oil. Aeronauts buy
gasolene by the tank at about u cents a
gallon and the lubricant used in this ca Sc
cost 20 cents 2 gallon. Thus tire cost OF
the fight itself was 6 %. or about two
cents milo
Another welt known machine. however !
which uses castor oil as lubricant CON
sumes half gallon Of it for every gallon of