Evening star., 1927-12-04

mercial plane in fight on the day war
| is declared could be transformed
almost overnight into a deadly
weapon, heads nodded approvingly.
but today military airmen have come
to the conclusion that the possibility
of sweeping every non-military plane
in the country into active fighting
service on a few hours notice is as
remote as a future executive order
equipping the Infantry with double
barreled shotguns used for rabbit
hunting and pistols designed for
feminine handbags.
While the commercial plane may
not be able to fight side by side with
speedy pursuit plane or a powerful
bomber, it can render valuable service
behind the 'front.'" the airmen hold,
and should extreme danger befall the
country, one or two of the commercial
types might, as a last resort. and with
some remodeling. be sent into the heat
of battle.
Viewed at the present time. how.
ever. commercial planes are flying in
one direction and military planes in
another, and it would he a rare and
perhaps unhappy occasion when the
former would sit side by side on the
war front with battle-scarred mill
tary plane. ready to take its place in
a patrol or bomb raid.
Money and Design.
Design and money are the wedge
that has been driven into aviation.
separating commercial from military
flying. In the case of the commercial
ship. 1t is designed for type of fly
ing calling for a normal take-off,
horizontal flight and a normal glide
into landing al the destination. For
this work. the cabin monoplane with
the 225-horsepower air-cooled radial
engine has convincingly demonstrated
its purpose.
The military plane, however. needs
horsepower and more horsepower:
good visibility. the strength Of
maneuver-ability.
/. The characteristics of the CONNER
| cial plane can be purchased for COM
paratively small sum-at $4,000 and
down as low as 81 000-and the pur.
chaser will be satisfied with the equip
ment as being capable of filling his
purpose. The characteristics required
of the military plane, however. range
from $25 900 upwards.
The average person regards an air.
plane as contraption that flies
through the air and little more. To
the Army and Navy airmen, an air.
plane that cannot perform, but just
flies, is no airplane at all. The pur.
pose for which it is to be used deter
mines the design and type of airplane.
and as the national defense ranks first,
it is altogether fitting that the Gov.
ernment should employ product that
is beyond the financial reach of its
citizens.
OF the commercial planes that could
be used in a pinch. the big three-en-
gined Fokker monoplane, manufac-
tured commercially by the Atlantic
Aircraft Corporation, which also is a
contractor to the Government, prob
ably would serve the greatest useful
purpose. in the opinion of aerial strate.
gists. These monoplanes would func.
ton excellently in the capacity of
troop transports, as each plane car.
ries 10 persons; as transports for haul.
ing motors, airplane armament and
ordnance or as ambulance planes. But
this would put them in the behind
the-front" category.
Army Short on BOmbers.
The Army is short on bombers to-
day, primarily because it has insisted
on getting the best type that Ameri-
can aeronautical genius can produce;
but with a small amornt OF remodel
ing, the Fokker monoplanes could be
converted into bombers carrying at
least a 2,000-pound bomb in addition
to sufficient fuel for a fairly long
cruising radius.
The Fokker three-engined passenger
ship. so remodeled, would make a
fairly good bomber. but nowhere near
as efficient as its military sister ex-
perimental bomber now being tested
by the Army. This Fokker bomber
carries two 40O-horsepower Pratt &
Whitney Wasp" air.cooled engines
mounted on either side of the fusilage
under the wing, and the space ordi-
narily occupied by the third 225-horse-
power air-cooled Wright "Whirlwind"
engine in the nose Of the commercial
| Fokker has been utilized as cockpit
/ for the bombadier and the machine
| gunner. In addition. bombay Is To-
Gated where the cabin should be in
the commercial job, and quarters and
equipment are provided for two ma
chine gunners. one to man guns firing
| through the floor and another to op-
crate guns firing through the "roof"
Of the fuselage.
| This experimental monoplane bomb
er also is departure from Army Air
Corps precedent, which in the past
has called for mammoth twin.engine
biplanes. Competing with the Fokker
| the Curtiss Condor" biplane, powered
with two 600-horsepower water-cooled
engines, and the keystone "Cyclops,"
also biplane with two heavy Packard
water.cooled power plants. These
| tests, now under way at Wright Field,
Dayton, Ohio, will determine whether
the monoplane bomber is in the same
efficient class with the universally
used biplanes.
| The Army and Navy planes bear
not the slightest resemblance to com.
mercial ships that, for the purpose
of argument. could be put in the cate
CORY of reserve observation" craft:
The Army uses the Curtiss and
Douglass biplanes. fitted with engines
ranging in horsepower from 400 to
$50. They must carry good load of
small bombs, have space for mounting
] fixed machine guns that are fired by
I the pilot through the propeller and
guns in the rear cockpit for the OBJ.
| server to operate. The Navy has the
highly efficient Vought "Corsair" air.
cooled-engined biplane for shipboard
use.
Observation Craft.
| The modern commercial reserve OBJ
seryation" craft referred to consist Of
the 225.horsepower cabin monoplanes
of the Ryan Spirit OF st. Louis type,
Bellanca Columbia, Stinson.De-
troiter, Travelair. Buhl Aid Sedan,
| Fokker Universal and Fairchild
planes. These types, although they
have demonstrated in the past few
| months they can carry enormous
loads even though their single Wright
"Whirlwind" engine is half the
| horsepower of the Curtiss. Douglas
and Vought ships, could not make the
grade as, military observation jobs. IL