Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1917-09-14
Emerald Isle Is Golden
Isle Now; Payne Finds
War Enriching The Irish
tBy Bash NJ. Maniy.)'

Washington, Sept.,14,-How Is Un-
Gle SANS aviation program progress
ing?
$640.000.000 airplane program at top
speed so America will do her full
share next summer in binding the
kaiser'S troops?
The signal corps and the AIRCRAFT
board r too busy to tell what they
are doing. They e saying Nttle, but
saving wood. The old Southern Rail-
way building, in which all the avia-
ton work Is conferred, gives a stronger
most any other in Washington.
Progress is along four main lines:
Construction Of flying fields: training
OF aviators; manufacture Of training
planes; and development of fighting
planes.
Rush Aviation Fields.
Completion Of flying fields has been
delayed by the diversion Of men and
materials to rush the army canton
ments; but with the release OF canton
ment labor the fields will be complet-
ed almost as soon as originally de-
signed. Twenty-one IRE nov finished
or under construction.
Aviators' training IL proceeding
with speed. The ground schools" for
recruits preliminary and technical
work, r. located at eight. of the great
universities and technical schools.
Nearly 1000 graduates leave for the,
flying field every month.
In addition hundreds are constant
~ being trained in private aviation
schools by the airpiane companies.
These numbers will be greatly
increased before the end Of the
+ year. It is safe to say at least
10000 American pilots will be
ready to receive their final I'm
strnctaons in France by next sum-
mer.
All the manufacturing facilities
readily available for airplane building
are now concentrated on training
planes. essential in producing flghting
plane pilots, but the deliveries are
still considerably behind the demand.
Within 80 days. however, the output
Of training planes will be more than
doubled. and from that time there
should be nc. delay in obtaining them.
The New Battle Plane.
The most spectacular part Of the
aviation program Is the production of
the fighting machines. Here wonder
ful progress has been mads An on
CINE equal to the best Europe has
evolved during three years Of war ex-
lperimentation has been produced, and
tested in actual flight.
Actual manufacture Of these u. S.
standard motors has not yet begun,
but the best engine plants In the
country. including the makers Of the
country's most famous automobile en-
gtnes, are now equipping their shops
with the tools and fixtures necessary
for producing thousands OF these en-
gines.
The production OF these ENGINES
10 an enormous Job, as the work
on each Is equivalent to the work
O frst-class mechanic for q
sAirplane designers, assisted by the
best British, French and italian ex-
perts, are now producing designs for
e standard American b%attleplane, en-
As the basis for experiments. the
United States has imported foreign
fighting machines, including German
planes brought down and reconstruct
An Aerial Torpedo.
Several Of the most famous French
and British battle pilots, Including
Navarro, Boyriven and Tabetau OF the
French army, r giving the United
States the benefit Of their wide ex-
perience.
Extraordinary steps ars being TAX
en- TO keep the designs from falling
into the hands Of German agents. and
little information regarding even the
progress of the work is available; but
It q been so highly satisfactory az
to insure q standard American battle
plane equal to any.
Work 10 also being pushed on high
~ important auxiliary devices. There
is. Tor example, q new aerial torpedo
and destructive power the Gern1an
bombs which have wrought such
havoc in England.