New-York tribune., 1918-06-23
Wings Before Feathers
BY Theodore M. knappen

verted several Of their factories to plane
work and have completed a great new one
for planes in an incredibly short time. AL
ready they have made thousand training
planes, and now they are producing De
Havilands and great bombing planes, and
soon they will be making them at the rate
OF forty day, which dwarfs the output
OF any plane factory in Europe. took
whole day just to race through four of
their plants, and every time turned
corner I saw some new machine for short
cutting airplanes.
japanese Capital Helps
When you come to the Standard Aircraft
Corporation, at Elizabeth, ~ j., you find a
lawyer, II. B. Mingle, running a plane fac
tory with Japanese capital. Every cent an
vested in that big plant is Japanese. Mitsui
Go. had some claims against the original
company, which got into financial troubles,
and when they were cleared up the Japa-
ncse frm owned the plant. Their attorney
seemed to be the logical man to run the
business. Along came the war, and, prestol
the lawyer and his Japanese clients are
making airplanes for Uncle Sam.
A Mammoth Industry
year ago we had, roughly speaking, no
aircraft industry in America. To-day wa
have mammoth industry that in its rami-
hcations includes some FIVE hundred plants.
The problem now before Mr.. Ryan and
his assistants is that of using these great
m
Some way must be found hereafter to keen
the plants running to the top of their effi-
cheney and capacity.
1here have been innumerable mistakes,
fumbles and blunders. The Allies made
them before us, and we refused to profit by
their experience. Theoretically, we should
have done much better than we have. But
when maddened by this or that niece of
rea! or apparent stupidity or leisureliness
the Inflammation should be poulticsd with
two facts. One is that we have had to
Americanize the whole theory and practice
of aeronautics. The other is that the COM
plexities of aircraft design and manufacture
are such that it is utterly impossible to
convey to the layman any adequate idea of
the problems that have confronted the AIR
craft Board, the Signal Corps and the avia-
ton section Of the navy. In a desperate
effort to design, build up an industry and
obtain production within a year our air
crafters have mixed up engineering and
production and combined shops and labora-
tories, manufacture and research until you
couldn't tell where designing began and
construction ended. Before creation was
chaos, and we have initiated creation in the
making of aircraft
The British Experience
But there are others. Our British cousins
are graybeards in this game compared with
us, but lsten5 to what the British Ministry
OF the Air says in its report for 1917:
1.-THE science Of aeronautics is in a state
OF constant and rapid development; i'm
provements in engines, aeroplanes and their
numerous accessories are constantly being
worked out. But the interval between the
discovery OF an improvement and it's intro
ducton into the service is, owing to tech
nical considerations, very much longer than
Is commonly supposed. Experience shows
that as rule from the date of conception
and design OF an aero engine to the delivery
OF the first engine in series by the manu-
tacturer more than q year elapses; the cor
responding period for an aeroplane is about
half as long. Consequently, plans have to
be laid for long period ahead and these
plans are liable to be upset by many un-
certain factors. The hopes based upon the
promising results given by the first expert
mental engines of new design are fire.
quently disappointed owing to the difi-
culties Of bulk manufacture or to defects
only developed after long trial In the sir:
new types Of aeroplanes favorably reported
on when first tried are found on longer
experience not to give complete satisfac-
ton, and yet it is impossible, II We are to
keep ahead in the keen struggle for aerial
superiority. to wait for full experience
before placing orders"
The British experience indicates that at
best we shall always have disappointments
and delays in aircraft production, but now
we have the machinery of production on
lavish scale. I wish could give you somc
adequate idea Of the magnificent plants
thst have arisen within a year and of the
ingenious machinery and tools with which
they have been supplied. Engines and air.
planes alike have been adapted to the fur
thest possible degree of machine produc-
tion. some $4,000 workers have been assem-
bled and trained and q great flow Of ma
terials has been created not only for our