Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-05-04

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fuselage and wing construction.
The results are expected to be
of far greater worth to the avia-
ton industry than the value of
the hangar, fire control inStalla-
ton and other equipment as
sembled and destroyed to make
the experiments successful. 1t
has been another example of thor
ough digging in on problem of
Importance to every one engaged
in the aviation industry.
INCIDENTALLY, those of you
interested in the early history
of aviation should have seen
some of the quaint aircraft
collected for the bureau fires. 1t
was a Sargasso Sea OF ancient air
craft. The Sargasso Sea, as you
probably remember, is that great
vortex of the Atlantic Ocean cur
rents in which, according to leg
end. were gathered the bones OF
derelict vessels, lost through the
ages-a graveyard of lost ships.
At the bureau were pathetic
relics of once proud fighting
planes, collected from the junk
yards of the Nations military
fields. The grandpa of all the
Voughts was there, with a mount
ing for a HiSpano-Suiza motor.
Hoary old Martins stood around
in senile detection, awaiting a
fiery finish. A Looming amphib-
ian, which needed no authenti-
cation as an aeronautical antique,
too tired even to burn with any
vigor. succumbed to the blaze
after two attempts had been
made to offer it up as a burnt
sacrifice.
A Rigger's Holiday.
The crew of riggers who as
sembled the pathetic collection of
rheumy old wrecks for their
Roman holiday were not averse
to using bomber wings on an OBJ
servation fuselage, and many
CHASTITY hybridS were the result.
When they ran out of interplane
struts lengths of two-by-fourS
were made to suffice.
Any aviator who saw such a col
lection of planes in a dream
would know instantly that the
welsh rarebit had been just a bit
too unrefined or that the elbow
had been crooked once too often.
The Bureau of Standards, the De-
partment of Commerce, the Army
and the Navy are to be congratu-
lated on bringing together that
aggregation Of decrepit airplanes.
Burning was not a bit too good for
them.
A WALTON has done perhaps
more than its fair share in
adding new words to the lam
guage. Some of these words have
been fairly easy to define accu-
rately. The definitions of others
have caused aeronautical people
some concern.
The definition of the word
"sailplane" or "soarer," applied to
the most advanced type of gliders,
has worried officials of the ma
tional advisory committee for
aeronautics no little. The COM
mittee is preparing a revised edi-
ton of its valuable glossary OF
aeronautical terms and the word
"sailplane" is to be included. The
definition of the word, so as to
cover concisely the functions Of
this type of aircraft and to show
how it differs from the glider and
from the airplane, has been one
of the most difficult problems en-
countered in compiling the re-
vised list.
The committee, however, has
enlisted the aid of all the experts
available and when the definition
finally Is made public you may rest
assured that the word "Sailplane"
has been pinned down as secure
ly as any butterfly or beetle you
ever saw with a pin rammed
through its middle in q museum.
COME day some one is going to
- embalm "mecaviator" in
story and legend. "Mecaviator"
is the Army Air Corps name for
the Sperry gyroScopic automatic
pilot for airplanes. It's q safe
bet, however, that "mecaviator"-
short for mechanical aviator
is going to get a more Snappy title
before he is laid away.
Gyroscopic controls are not
especially new. They have been
used for some time to steer ocean
steamers. The sailors call the
marine mechanical pilots Metal
Mike" Great Britain has a me
chanical airplane pilot similar to
"mecaviator." The British fly
ere laconically, call him George"
The feats of George have been
sung loudly by G. G. Grey, noted
British aeronautical writer, and
others.
George" at His Worst.
One of Georges widest stunts,
as described in Grey's authorita-
tive magazine, was the looping OF
q big flying boat when irritated
by the smell of frying kipperS
prepared by the human crew on
a Primus stove in the main cabin
of the plane. George, who had
been left alone at the controls,
Grey says, was enraged because
he had been offered none Of the
kippers and Topped the plane to
call the human pilots back to
their duties as punishment for
their rudeneSs.
1t is rumored that when Lieut..
Roland Birnn comes back from
the California Air Corps maneu-
vers, where "mecaviator" did a
noble job of flying, he is going to
have a yarn that will make the
tabled exploits Of George" seem
simply silly. Birnn is the bright
lad who served as intelligence Of
ficer on the staff Of the list Pro-