The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-08-23
SAYS j. s. LEADS
IN AVIATION
DESIGN
Glenn n. Curtiss Believes
America Will Soon Retake
Record for Altitude.
BY WILLIAM RANDORF,
Cosmopolitan News Service.


GARDEN CITY, L. l., Aug. % -
America today leads the world
| in aviation design despite many.
handicaps it struggles against IN
its air development, Glenn II. Cur
| tiss, pionetH of aviation and one OF
| the country's outstanding experts
| Of the industry, said today.
1.-THE United States held all the
worlds records until the French
! aviator, Sadi Lecointe captured the
worlds height record by ascending
to nearly six and four-fifths miles,
recently. But ! feel certain the
record he wrested from our own
Lieutenant MacReady, by lettering
it about 1000 feet, we will be able
to recapture.'
Believes Records Important.
Making records. Mr.. Curtiss be-
lieves, is important in developing
the art of flying. for 1t tests the
endurance, power and possibilities
Of both m;<l and machine. But only
IL the means are provided to utilize
| knowledge obtained from these rec
ord flights In practical construction
of flying machines are they Of
much value, he declared.
america established another
wonderful record when its post
office route reported that 1t had
operated IS per cent on schedule,
flying every day, rain, shine or
Storm" he said.
But our future progress In avn
alton win be in proportion to our
| invention. In order to further in
yention, either q subsidy by the
Government or some other encour-
agement Of private aeroplane manu-
featuring plants is needed.
Cites Military Necessity.
One reason why America .Enust
keep developing the flying machine,
asserted Mr.. Curtis, is because avi-
alton il OF inestimable value to
the army ana navy.
IF there should .bsa another war;
| the first battle wilt probably be
an air battle" he said, Whether,
as one expert said, it is true that
| the country which wins the first
air combat wins the war is true
| or not, know that the navy must
rely on airplanes for defense, and
they will prove Indispensable to
army movements and for protection
Of cities against hostile airplane
attacks.
with the experiments made In
the United States Of sinking war
ships with bombs hurled from air
ships, 1t seems impossible not to
realize the importance Of the air.
| ships.
1T almost seems to me that
were we behind the rest of the.
/ world in aviation, there would be
more encouragement for it than
there is today" @
| Plants Losing, He Says.
Mr.. Curtiss said many plants sup
plying the army and navy with
airplanes undertook these contracts
although 1t meant a loss, merely
to keep the factories running rather
than shut down entirely and take
a bigger loss.
Zone way of helping J, the in
| dustry," he said, would be for the
Government to follow the example
of France. There the government
lets private firms train army and
navy pilots, which enables the man.
ufacturer to keep his field busy, to
develop his machines, and keep go
ing generally.
Another thing much needed is
an air chart, which the Govern
ment could prepare. This would
mean compilation Of air routes, Of
! pO00AOAC dIlU CIIISISCASy
landing fields, and other informa-
ton useful to every aviator"
The spread of commercial avia-
ton. Mr.. Curtiss said, is somewhat
hindered by the psychological fear
which people have Of going up in
a flying machine.
1.-THE dream of centuries of be-
ing able to fly has been realized"
he declared. "Yet somehow people
fear to fly. Such a route as that
from Detroit has been singularly
free from accidents, yet many per-
sons who want to go by air are
restrained by lack of courage from
doing so.
Safety Is Aim.
Safety Is one of the aims that
we are always striving for in avia-
ton. We are improving the en-
CINE, the machines and our ex-
per4ence. What is needed for ,ab-
solute safety is not only a safe
machine, however, but more land
ing fields. Probably the greatest
number Of accidents do not come
from engine trouble or other de-
fects, but from lack Of landing
| fields.
"Going at the rate Of 100 miles
an hour, a machine can now land
at about thirty three miles, but
even that requires a fair expanse
1 - Iao