New-York tribune., 1918-05-11
Autonobihng
Automobile Man, After
Flight, Praises Liberty
Motor
By c. E. T. Scharns

L. LIE Roy Pelletier, of Detroit, who
week ago at Dayton made a flight
OF an hour in battle plane with a
Liberty engine, in the course of which
he rose to a height of $4,000 feet, said
yesterday at the Hotel Knickerbocker
that the Liberty is the best all-purpose
plane in the world, and that this coun-
Try Is ready to challenge all the vari-
Gus special aircraft of other countries
TO send their airplancs over to COM
pete against our all-'round product
All the problems Of experiment have
been met, he said, and the machine is
now perfected and ready to go into
production. Pcletier, who is known in
the automobile world chiefly as an ad-
Vertlsing man, was early in his career
an engineer. He built a pioneer air.
cooled car, and was for three years on
the Ford payroll as consulting en-
glneer. He knows, therefore, when he
speaks about mechanical features
The Liberty plane in which he flew
with Major Reinhart was one that had
come through manufacture the day be-
tore. 1T was assembled and tested only
Just before Pclletier went up. Directly
ms flight was over the plane was
shipped out, along with enough to make
up two units.
Interesting things that Pelletier told
yesterday in this city about the Lib
erty plane were that it uses ordinary
cylinder oil and regulation gasolene.
Castor oil isn't needed. The angle of
the cylinders, criticised earlier, has
done away with vibration, and the en-
glne does not tune" at any point. Igni-
ton and cooling are most satisfactory,
he says.
In his flight, Pelletier said the plane
made eights, loops, dead-leaf drops and
1mmelman turns. He is convinced that
the American product, with two fliers,
and complete Photographic and bomb
ing equipment, can outrun any of the
single seaters, climbing or descending.
American aviation experts are sure,
he said, that with the latest type car
bureter, the Liberty plane will attain
ceiling" Of $4,000 feet. That is what
aviators call altitude. The Liberty
plane has thus far made a ceiling of
2l,3OO feet in fifty minutes, as against
, the old American altitude record of
5000 feet in three hours. The best
height record was made by an Italian
machine, $4,000 feet. A Liberty plane
recently, with two aviators and full
equipment, made 10000 feet in seven
Pelletier reports that only a few DAYS
ago at Kelly Field practice airplanes
were up for a total of LOO hours,
showing that the training is going for
ward splenddly.
The Detroit man is enthusiastic in
favor of the Liberty arplane, and saws
it is the best all-'round machine the
world has produced.
In the Liberty Loan campaign Glenn
A. Tisdale the Franklin dealer, let the
committee have car while the drive
was on Jim Sherwood, one of the
| drivers sent out, heard lot of the
speech making, and one night when the
speakers were inside at meeting he
started meeting of his own outdoors
His talk was very effective, and the
first thing he knew he had a regular
engagement to talk as we'll as drive
Since the close of the loan campaign
he has had formal offer from the REQ
Cross people to leave his job and trave]
in this and other cities talking for that
organization. Sherwood, however. is
going to stick to his mechanical work
Applications from institutions to
have space allotted on Orphans Auto
mobile Day, June 6, for the children in
their care are coming in to the asso-
ciation headquarters, 1777 Broadway
far faster than donations of cars or
money. The dealers have thus far
fallen greatly below their past per-
formances in supporting this worthy
charity. If they don't support this an
nual outing, which they started years
ago, the general public hardly will
There is urgent need of cars and cash
and the committee will be glad to get
thtln