The New York herald., 1922-08-22
EXPECTS 10 FASTEST
AIRPLANES FOR U. S.
Gen. Mitchell Says the SlOwest
of Them Will Cover 200
Miles an Hour.
NO TWO ARE JUST ALIKE
Army to Have Newest Type Of
Pursuit Fliers in Operation
in Two Months.
NO TWO ARE JUST ALIKE

Brig. Gen. William Mitchell. assistant
chief of the United States air service
announced yesterday that within two
months or less the United States will
have In operation ten pursuit planes. all
o. them of novel types, which he expects
to be the fastest fi!ers In the world.
The slowest OF them. Gen. Mitchell
said. ought easily to cover 200 miles an
hour. No two of the models will be
precisely alike. and in them will be In
troduced innovations in aircraft con-
struction.N The General made this state
ment In the Vanderbilt Hotel after hav-
ing completed a tour of inspection in
cluding the factories in which these
planes are now approaching completion
II Is expected. they will be all finished
In time to take part in the Pulitzer air
plane races in Detroit next October and
in other speed tests.
These Government planes are being
built In the shops Of the Looming Aero
nautical Engineering Corporation, the
Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Corpora
tion. the Lawrence Sperry Aircraft Com
pany and the Thomas sMorse Aircraft
Corporation. The motors are being sup
pled by the Wright Aeronautical Cor
poration of Paterson. n. j.; the Curtiss
Corporation and the Packard Motor Car
Company Of Detroit
skids for Landing.
The Thomas-Morse planes are to be
all metal, equipped with $50 to 400
horse power Wright motors. Lawrence
Sperry has incorporated In his new type
pursuit planes several innovations. The
pilot. by touching a button, may release
and drop to the ground at VIII the en-
tire rubber tired running gear after
having taken the air. The whole con-
struction then remaining beneath the
fuselage Is folded up. thus greatly re-
ducing wind resistance. When the pilot
comes to make landing he brings into
play set of skids fitted under fuselage
and tail and equipped with shock alb
sorbers. these taking the place of the
wheeled running gear.
Gen. Mitchell said he had witnessed
tests made last Friday of this device
by Mr.. Sperry. president of the COM
pany, in Farmingdale. L. l., in which
three successive landings were made
with a 60 horse power service type OF
biplane with a speed of seventy-five
miles an hour. These craft ordinarily
require roll of 500 feet before being
brought to a stop. Mr.. Sperry. the Gen.
eral said, halted his skid equipped plane
after a roll of less than fifty feet
And that difference" said Gen
Mitchell, might be a vital one IL a
pilot were forced to make a landing, let
as say, on tennis court"
Radiators In Wings.
One of the novelties Incorporated In
the Curtiss ships is that they have their
radiators ins ssalle in their wings They
will take their initial flights this month
and the first of the Sperry planes will
be in operation soon after. All the craft
are from so to 95 per cent completed
The Looming planes will have 600 horse
power Packard motors.
Last year" said Gen. Mitchell. "the
Air Service devoted its chief attention to
developing the possibilities OF bombing
attacks upon sea craft. This year we
made our principal objective the inten-
sive development of the pursuit plane.
We therefore selected four OF the most
progressive and reliable airplane build
ers and virtually gave them carte
blanche to develop the fastest pursuit
planes consistent with safety and other
essential qualities. / Lave seen enough
already to be confident the results will
be so important that this will prove to
have been one of the greatest impulses
ever given to military aviation in the
history of human flight"