The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-04-16
AERO OUTPUT
 FOR U. s. $40
 IN NEXT YEAR

1 Washington, April 16.-Durlng the
 next year aeroplane manufacturers
 of the United States will be able to turn out for the army and navy 64O l flying machines, The output at the end of two years is put at 1000 ma chimes, and at the end of three years 1 a more than 6,0Q0.
 1 These figures are based on careful estimates made by army and clvll- l ian experts after a survey of the Ia 1 cilities and resources of the naanu- facturers.
 The army alone wants thousands of aeroplanes at once, but at present they are being turned out at the rate of about forty a month, with an 1n- creasing ratio. Factories are work ing to full capacity, and some of them may go broke in their efforts to comply with the demands of the government.
 Army Wants Thousands The plans of the army alone for the next three years call for 3,700
 machines by the end of the next fis-
 cal year, SOTO during the second year and $500 at the end of the third. These machines are of the
 school type for use in training flyers
 for the army. In addition, if it. be- comes necessary to send a force to
 Europe, the United States will re-
 quire a large number of scouting machines battleplanes and other types of aircraft used by the Euro
 pean belligerents.
 The army now has less than 200 aeroplanes, whereas something like
 10000 young men and some young
 women have signified their desire to
 enter the aviation service. This
 branch of the army has been so ex- plotted that officials are swamped with applications. Every private and army school is filled to capacity at
 present. Would-be flyers are required to take a preliminary course of four
 months This merely fits them to
 go ahead. but does not make seasoned flyers of them. The idea is to train three new squads of prospective fly CTS every year, giving each a course of four months.
 Officers in Training With the expanding facilities of the schools and an increasing output of aeroplanes it will be possible to train a much larger number of avia-
 tors at one time. As many as seven ty-five army officers are now stu
 dents at the military school at San
 Diego, Cal. Other officers are learn ing to fly elsewhere. All available
 machines are being utilized for school purposes.
 For eight years before Aug. 29, 1916, Congress appropriated a little
 more than $1,O0O,0O0 for aviation,
 On that date $13,OOO,OOO was appro-
 priated-a good deal more money
 than was asked for. It quickly de- veloped that there were numerous things about the development of
 aviation which money cannot buy. The first and most important is
 time. The aeroplane industry in this
 country had been neglected for years.
 The industry is on requiring the
 highest grade of mechanical skill. The only way a man can learn to do the work is by actual practical prac- tice and experience!
 Work of the Manufacturers
 The failure of the army to develop a great flying corps is due primarily to the fact that machines are not available. Aeroplane manufacturers are absolved from blame by officials who are familiar with the facts. Most of the manufacturers spend a lot of their time in Washington. Glenn H. Curtiss, for example, is spending most of his time here and has virtu- ally placed himself at the disposal of the War Department.
 The Curtiss plants are making aeroplanes and hydroplanes for Great Britain and the Allies, but MT. Curtiss is ready to stop this work whenever the United States Govern