Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-09-07
AIR RACE DEATHS
CLAIMED NOT VAIN.
Mai. R. w. Schroeder Ex-
plains How Industry Profits
by Fatalities.
npeciaI Dispatch to The star.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
CHICAGO, September 6 (N.A.N.A).-
The airmen. who lost their lives during
the National Air Races here sacrificed
themselves to the advancement of
science and were not the victims of
foolish stunts.
So says Maj. r. w. Schroeder, d.
rector of the races, who himself has
suffered because of his air exploits. The
majors eyeballs were frozen when he
Get one Of the early altitude records.
Lieut.. j. p. Deshaso died doing barrel
rolls in race competition, which taught
that the wash of racing planes is too
great for stunting, Mai. Schroeder ex-
planned. The stunt, while safe under
ordinary conditions, over-reached the
point OF safety when the pilot failed to
consider the zooming wash" of air
from the other competitors.
Perfect Plane Fails.
George @. Fernic, Rumanian airplane
designer, died attempting to demon
strate a theoretically perfect" plane.
His life was the third taken in an at
tempt to ny tandem monoplane. It
proved conclusively, pilots agree, that
the tandem nnonoplane is not practical,
especially for low flying
But the death of the third pilot, Capt
Arthur H. Page of the Marines, prob
ably taught the greatest lesson to air.
plane builders. From past experience
builders have constructed the wings.
struts and fusilages of planes to with
stand terrific centrifugal thrusts. Capt.
Page died because his seat in his plane,
hinsy affair, broke and fouled his
controls, in the opinion of Maj.
Schroeder.
Page with his parachute weighed
about 210 pounds" the major said. HE
was exerting thrust of about three
and half which, translated into lay
mans talk, means three and a half
times his weight. The result was the
735-pound pressure broke his seat.
It taught mighty lesson to the
craft. Hereafter planes will be con-
gtructed throughout to Withstand the
tremendous weights impressed on them
BY the centrifugal forces resulting from
sooms and banks"
Races Aid Industry.
The airplane business is in the same
category. Maj. Schroeder explained, as
the automobile industry at the Indian
apolis Speedway short generation ago.
ITO the spectators the National Air
Races are Just q series of thrills" he
said. But to the industry it is far
different. At the air races the plane
manufacturers meet on common field
In competition. New wrinkles are ironed
out: new stuff tried out to win or lose
its place in aviation.
The air races, in other words, con-
gtitute q great laboratory where actual
competitive tests sift the good from the
bad and result in better planeS OF
course, 1t is to be deplored that some of
the flyers, the best in the world, are
sacrificed to the tests, just as automo-
bile drivers crashed In the races be-
cause OF defective gears or bearings.
But out Of the great laboratory of
the air come better and safer planes
just as better and safer automobiles
are developed on the proving grounds
Of dirt and brick tracks"
Two Glasses Of Flyers.
There are two classes of prospective
4yers, said Maj. Schroeder.
The youngsters, who constitute one
ct, look upon the death Of a pilot and,
whistling up their courage, say that
never viii happen TO me- That class
VIII ny no matter how many fatal
crashes occur. The accidents would
not affect them in the least. but they
should learn the lesson that stunt
flying has its place and its purpose and
should not be tried just for the thrills.
The other class is composed of the
Of the deaths at the air show they
found reason for the accident which
they viii store up as knowledge and
treasure as part Of their experience"
(Copyright 1880. by North American News
paper Alliance.)