Evening star., 1927-05-22
[|NDbERGH PLANE
SWIFT AND UNIQUE
Beautifully Stream-Lined and
Capable of Making 1876
Miles an Hour.
Special Dispatch to The Star.

NEW YORK, May 91.-The Ryan
monoplane, in which Capt. Charles
I.indbergh wended his way toward
Paris all alone, Is unique among the
transatlantic planes because of the
construction of the pilots cockpit.
1t IS entirely inclosed in the fuselage
!? so that the plane appears to be fly.
ing itself. 1t is beautifully stream
lined and offers the least possible re.
sistance to the wind, which gives it
"a high top speed, believed to be about
: 1875 miles an hour when flown with
q wjde.open throttle.
The plane was practically stock
plane, built by the Ryan Air Lines.
: Inc, at San Diego, Calf, except that
10 feet were added to the wing spread,
!, making span Of 46- feet. 1t is
similar to planes which have been
flown by the Ryan Air Lines on mail
and passenger routes son the Pacific
Coast B. F. Mahoney. president OF
, the Ryan company, who is only 26
years old, is particularly proud Of the
plane because 1t was turned out in
. so days after the order was received.
Comparison with the Bellanca.
q Superficially the plane resembles the
: Ballanca plane, because it has struts
from the wing to the bottom Of the
fuselage, deeply stream-lined. But the
Bellanca struts are made in the form
Of wings, so that they add to the lift
of the plane, and also the fuselage is
built with a convex curve on the top
which helps lift some of it's own
weight. The Ryan wing also is of one
piece, straight across the top, and
fastened to the top Of the fuseIage,
whereas the Bellanca wings are in
two pieces, Joined to the top outside
edge Of the fuselage and tipping very
slightly upward. so slightly that it Is
hardly perceptible.
1t is in these minor details. not no.
ticed particularly by the Impractical
observer, that the planes differ, and
: they are essential differences. The
Ryan wing is built of wood, carefully
> braced and lightened as much as is
consistent with safety, and covered
:: with fabric, ''doped" and painted silver
Fcolor. Where the struts join the wing
and the body of the plane they are eX-
tremely we'll stream-lined, offering the
minimum wind resistance.
The body of the plane also has un-
usually clean lines, from the nose,
which supports the 200-horsepower
. Wright motor, to the tail. This motor
is the same as the one used on the
Bellanca and on Comdr. Byrd's tri.
$ motored Fokker. 1t has a remark.
able performance record, and Is be.
slieved to be as reliable as any engine
in the world at the present time. 1t
has been thoroughly tested in Lind.
bersh's transcontinental hop.
Duralumin on the Bow.
: Just in back Of the motor the bow
: of the plane is covered with polished
duralumin, which shines in the sun.
oh ND FRO, fIo nsYnf NrrHA "A
owing joins the fuselage aft to the
: xsldder the surface is covered with
: fabric also painted silver color. The
fuselage frame is made of duralumin
tubes welded together. 1t has to be
of great strength to support the
weight Of the big, tank just in back
, of the engine and under the forward
. half of the wing. In back OF this
tank is the pilots compartment, in
position that is as safe as possible
in crash or forced landing, because
The weight Of the tank goes forward.
In the Bellanca the tank Is in back
of the pilots, so that they are between
it and the engine, if the plane dives
: into the ground.
=. In order to stream-line the plane as
en1uch as possible the usual cockpit,
cMhich permits the pilot to look for.
ward over the wing, was abandoned,
and the cockpit was dropped entirely
Einside the fuselage, making a tiny box
Gin which LindberGh sat cooped up in
front of his instrument board. He
was not as uncomfortable as would be
Imagined. because his wicker chair IL
splaced far enough back so his long
3egs did not get unduly cramped as
nHhey rested on the rudder bars. But
esthere Is mighty little room for him
Eto move about.
Sees Through PeriscOpe.
The odd construction of the cockpit
&. makes it impossible to look ahead in
the usual way, so he has had peri
scope made SO that he can push it out
.on the side when he wants to see what
is in front of him. 1t works only on
{. the left side, however. His only other
vision is down on the sides from the
II tiny windows about level with his
2 shoulders. An opening about an inch
and a half square under the wing on
the right side carries fresh air to the
. cockpit, SO that he will not suffer from
sfumes Of the gasoline tank and engine
y Under the instrument board, on
which are all the dials showing en-
-,gine speed, altitude, and the many
things a pilot wants to know about
his engine and plane, are many small
valves which enable him to regulate
the flow Of gasoline from the tanks
sdn the wings. He can draw from any
tank at will, the gasoline being pumped
10 them automatically from the main
tank by small pump on the motor.
There is also a small chamber with a
glass tube attached to it which he
can drain at intervals to determine his
gas consumption at any point during
his trip. An emergency hand pump
senables him to pump gasoline to the
wings il the automatic pump should
break down.
;. Nothing was overlooked on the
plane to make it as efficient as pos.
.ssible, and Lindbergh pronounced it
perfectly satisfactory for his purpose.
The fact that it would hold only one
person, and that he could have no
relief from the constant task of watch.
ing his motor and navigating at the
same time he was flying the plane. a
terrific task for IS or SO hours, did not
worry him in the least. And his STAN.
ina would indicate that he could stand
the strain.
KANSAS CITY JUBILATES.
n