The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1928-06-19
OFFER $4,000
! PRIZES TO HELP
/ SAFER AVIATION
Guggenheim Fund Sponsors
Contest to Boom
Sky Travel.
Aviation
BY THOMAS CARROLL.

NO element OF Une dlrpldIlc lido
been so emphasized as has its lack
yiof safety. And still airplanes OF to-
5day are comparatively safe and the
most sought objects Of development
and research at this time are for
THE improvement of safety.
To emphasize this condition ana
to encourage more rapid develop
snent the Daniel Guggenheim Fund
Nor the Promotion of AeronautlcS
has instituted a Safe Airplane Com
soetition, for which prizes aggregat-
Sng $150000 have been offered. This
competition invites designers and
manufacturers from any part OF the
world to submit their airplanes.
In order to provide conclusive
tests for these competitors some OF
the best minds in aviation have as
sisted the fund in drawing up SET
of test conditions and performances
which vii. demonstrate that the
airp]ane under test is, to a high
degree, safe.
Seek Low Speed Safety
Safety in an alrplane is an elu-
,xive term. It is obviously unjust
ito expect of any means OF trans
soortation which assumes such high
speeds, safety or security compar-
able to other means of tranSporta-
tion. which are slowe. and operate
anon the ground. On the ground
The safety of a vehicle is less as its
speed increases, while in the air
The greater the speed, within ordl-
nary limits, the greater the safety
It is in low speeds that danger
turks.
We therefore find in the tests
provided by the competition that
low speed performance is empha-
sized. The airplane must fly at
speeds of thirty to thirty-f1ve miles
per hour and maintain stability and
ability to be steered. 1t must land
and come to rest in a short space;
it must take off after rolling
short distance and Immediately
climb fast enough to clear trees or
distractions which may be within
a shorter distance than now is per-
Missile.
Preliminary tests of this program
have indicated that airplanes now
exist which meet some of the re-
CURED factors, indeed, that all OF
the factors are met individually by
some planes
The contest has been open since
last October and will remain open
until October l, 1929, at which time
the grand prize of 100000 will be
awarded unless some competitor has
made a perfect score and thereby
won prior to that date. Five indi-
vidual prizes of $4,000 each are
offered to the first five entrants who
meet the qualifying conditions,
which consist in demonstration OF
their ability to meet the grand prize
requirements to limited degree.
Most Entries British
No entrant as yet has stated an
exact date for his demonstration
although several have definitely
entered. Of these entrants an air.
plane of the slotted wing" variety
by Handley Page and the Auto-Giro
of La Cierva, both of whom, despite
the Spanish ancestry of the latter,
are British, should prove most
interesting. Others include, Vickers
Ltd, the Glostershire Aircraft Com
pany, and Handley Page, the father
of the famous and sometimes in
famous, OH 4, all of whom are like
wise British.
American entrants include designs
by Major Schroeder, famous test
pilot of the wartime United States
Air Service, and one by Charles
Ward Hill in conjunction with the
Aluminium Company of America.
While at this time British en-
trants predominant, it is certain
that many will enter from other
European countries and that Amer
lean designers will be attracted.