Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-04-14
AVIATION
BY JOSEPH s. EDGERTON-

T@HOUGH sorely hampercd by
lack of funds, the Army
Air Corps is completing ar
\ rangementS for a demon
stration in Ohio next month
which will be somewhat in the
nature of a report of progress to
the American people. AS an Air
Corps and general Army training
feature, the demonstration will be
CT great value, as an expression to
the people nof the Air Corps
aspirations it should be helpful
to the Army and to the people as
whole, and asa spectacle it will
be unrivaled by any aerial event
in recent years.
More than 400 Army airplanes
OF all types will be concentrated
from all parts of the country and
divided into two almost equal
"hcStile" forces with their bases
at Norton Field, Columbus, and
at Wright Field. Dayton. The two
opposing aerial forces will act in
cooperation with ground armies
supplied by the Fifth Corps Area,
under command Of Maj. Gen.
Dennis Nolan.
Military Problems to Be Solved.
Pursuit, attack, observation,
bombing and transport pilots will
work out military problems in
volving aerial combat; attacks on
hostile ground armies and co-op-
Grafton with the various units of
their own ground forces. A num-
Der Of very definite problems are
to be attacked by the Army's fore
most aerial experts, and 1t is ex-
pected that some most interesting
conclusions will be sreached7-so-
buttons which may have a direct
bearing upon the. future oftthe
Nations aerial defense. f
The maneuvers will test plans
which have been worked out in
the service schools, but which
heretofore have not been put to
the acid test of performance be-
cause of the lack of opportunity
for a gathering Of the units of the
Air Corps.
Unfortunately, the Army Air
Corps has been forced for lack of
adequate appropriation to cancel
plans for what was to have been
one Of the greatest series Of
Spring maneuverS and tactical
demonstrations in the history of
the corps. The Ohio maneuvers
were to have been merely the
elimination Of the demonStra-
tions.
Kelly Demonstration Barred. :
ManeuverS which were to have
been held during the first two
weeks of May at the various Army
service schools have been cancel
ed. Demonstrations at Kelly
Field, Tex, the Army Air Corps
training center, in which 40C
Army fighting planes were to take
part, also have been stricken
from the program. That a mere
lack of funds should block such
program is unfortunate. It is
blow not only to the flying Serv-
ice but to the Army as a whole
and, even more, to the Nation.
Representative British people
claim that in the royal air force
they possess the. finest military
air defense in the world, and this
may very well be SO. The excel
lence of the British air force
which is an independent, arm OF
the nations defense, is due in
large part to the fact that the
royal air force at ,leaSt once each
year makes a concerted effort to
show the public how its money is
being spent for aerial defense by
giving a huge aeronautical pag-
cant involving all the military air
activities. -
Britain Realizes Worth.
The pageant is in the nature of
q public report made by the air
force, not through the medium of
FLOODED bulletins of progress,
but by actual demonstration. The
theory is that If the public has an
opportunity to see in action and
to understand and talk about the
relative merits of the Bristol
Bulldog Fighter, the WeStland
Wapiti, the HawkerS Horsley
Condor, the Fairey Fox and
other popular types of military
planes, this enlightened public
will be more willing to stand for
additional appropriations for
building up the air force. And it
certainly seems to work out that
way. ~,
This country In. ;the past has
not had an opportunity to see its
air forces on display as have the
British citizens. The average
American taxpayer has very little
real first hand information about
the military flying services. There
are tactical units scattered
throughout the country, it is true,
but these outfits rarely get to-
gether for cooperative action as
they would have to do in time of
war.
Washington Fields Cited.
This city, for example, is the
base for two military aviation
poStS-Bolling Field and the Ana
costa Naval Air Station. They
are listed as non-tactical posts
and each has comparatively few
planes and those not at all repre-
sentative of the various arms OF
air forces. Important test flights
are made here and much training
work is conducted but the average
citizen cannot go to either of the
posts and get anything like. an
adequate idea of what either the
Army or the Navy flying services
are attempting to. do, s.
Virginia citizens who live in the
vicinity of Hampton, where Lang
ley Field is located, are more or
less familiar with the work of the
second bombardment group, which
is stationed there and which
trains and holds its maneuvers in