The Butler weekly times., 1917-07-19

An Inspection Committee Of Aviation
Experts Expected Next Week
Would Recruit Student 4
"a. Filler u Kansas A
T. iG8a. (itv. IS .s%s

w dSuNk tOis JoAy ID. StsS
OF United States and foreign aviation
experts that is going to Sedalia, No,
probably the last Of next week, to res
port on the state fair grounds as an
aviation school site, makes favor
able report, Missouri will have one Ct
the largest flying schools in the Unit
ed States.
Secretary Baker, General Squires
and Howard Coffin of the Council 81
National Defense, the leaders OF the
movement to put $4,000 fliers IN
France, are all enthusiastic over the
proposals submitted to them by !.
B. Dunlap of Kansas City and
Homes Hall of Sedalia for use Of
the state fair grounds. They studied
the plot of the grounds and buildings
carefully and said with very little al
teration they would be ready for the
flying school and the government
saved expense and time in building
new ground. Establishing new fly
ing grounds have cost as much as
1 r-2 million dollars, so the Missouri
proposition was seized upon eagerly
Maj. Benjamin F. Foulois, the old.
est aviator in the army service, WAL
head the inspection committee. he
will be accompanied by several for:
eign aviators. They will inspect not
so much the grounds as the terri
tory around Sedalia as suitable to
teaching the young filters. What the
government wants is not easy air.
but a variety in conditions. One OF
the questions upon which emphasis
was laid was "How far will the fliers
have to go to reach high hills, OF
even the outskirts of the Ozarks?"
II the inspection board makes a
favorable report, the government viii
accept the proposition. If the gov
ernment establishes the school before
the state fair this fall it will pay all
expenses the fair board has incurred
to date. However. the school ma,
not be under way until after the fair
tSeda1ia has offered to lease enough
ground adjoining the fair ground te
make flying ground OF about twelve
hundred acres.
| The government, if it accepts tht
proposition, will make all the altera
tions in buildings at its own expense
and at the close OF the war restore
the buildings to their present shap'
and condition.
Seventy airplanes would be kept
the Sedalia school, making it one O
the largest camps. The filters. atte
their preliminary training, woul'
make flights over Central Missouri
In six months it may be common TO
Missouri towns for one hundred mile
around Sedalia to see airplanes over
head.
If the school is established at Sc
dalia the government will open spe
cial recruiting offices in Kansas Cit
and probably St. Louis for the avia
ton section. 1t would be the plal
to get all fliers at the school iron
the vicinity.
The University OF Missouri als'
may be inspected shortly as poss'
Bile aviation school.
Before the aviators 60 to CAM
they must spend three months IN al
engineering camp where aviation
courses are given. There are ST.
such schools now, each with on
hundred pupils. The engineering
school at the University Of Missouri
if Sedalia gets the flying ground
; may be selected for such teaching.
II feel confident that Favorable
report will be made on the Sedali
, proposition Mr.. Dunlap said. 9TH
War Department officials are enthus
iastic over it.
Mr.. Dunlap and Mr.. Hall will stol
off at the flying grounds at Dayton
O., on their return trip, at the sug
gestion Of the government, to Sc
Just what is needed at a flying schoo