Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-07-13
AVIATION
BY JOSEPH S. EDdERTON.
! ESPITE plaintive cries from
\ private pilots and embryo

~ ESPITE plaintive cries from
private pilots and embryo
j private pilots of the coun-
try for cheaper airplanes
in which buzzing around on buSi-
ness and pleasure may be accom-
plished without the necessity OF
mortgaging all the family prop
erty, the average price of the
American-built airplane today
hovers around the $4,000 mark.
There are on the market single
seaters of the type designated as
sport planes" for which the man
ufacturerS ask as much as $4,000
without even bluShing. And many
of them continue to ask but do
not receive. The story is told
among aviation people of a for
mer military pilot who went out
into the world to make his way as
a civilian and who was doing quite
well as his own commanding Off
Ger. He set his heart on having
a certain type of plane to which
he had become accustomed in the
service, and which was being pro-
duced as a sport plane.
This pilot went to the company
manufacturing the plane and
asked for a price on one of their
ships, new or used. He was told he
could have one of a model three
years old for $24, 1000! To himself
he laughed laugh and went his
way.
The situation is not all that
bad, however. There are on the
market several types of light
planes selling for around $4,000 or
less, and some of them, even
though not put before the public
by any aggressive sales force, seem
to be doing fairly well. Prices,
however, still are far too high to
be considered by the average citi-
zen who might take to flying If he
could afford the price.
Sport Plane Adopted.
Among the wealthy the airplane
Is beginning to take its place for
sport and business uses. There
are in the vicinity Of New York
some $50 private pilots, many OF
whom belong to the newly formed
Long Island Aviation Country
Club. Others fly as independents,
among them such widely known
private pilots as Roger Wolfe
kahn, who owns a whole hangar
full of planes at Roosevelt Field;
Eric Wood, and Reginald Brooks,
neohew of Lady Astor.
The anyways of this and other
countries know the American pri-
v2te pilot. The Folkker tri-mo-
tored transport plant bearing the
cc!or of Van Lear Black, publisher
of the Baltimore Sun, is known in
four continents. j. M. Patterson
and his daughter, Mrs. Alicia Pat
terSon Simpson, have found ro-
nance among the hundreds OF
islands of the Spanish Main in
their SikorSky amphibian, which
also is known at many of the air
ports along the Atlantic Coast.
A. P. Seversky has made two
round trips from New York to
the West Indies.
Col. Edward A. Deeds, war time
chief of aircraft production, has
his own airport at his estate, near
Dayton, Ohio, ranking with the
private du Pont airport in Della
ware. Col. Deeds has just pur-
chased an amphibian plane to be
used as an aerial tender" aboard
his new steam yacht.
Flying Vacationists.
Last Winter more than 200 pri-
vately owned airplaneS were
checked in at the Florida fields on
vacation tours. Spring and Fall
the flying vacationistS. The local
airports, which during the past
Spring and the Fall before were
stopping places for many privately
owned planes on vacation trips,
report that such trips are much
more infrequent now.
In the Middle West, however, 1t
is said, there is brisk chartered
plane business for the benefit of
tired business men who want to
get off into the Canadian wilder
ness in a hurry for fishing. Sea-
planes or amphibianS are used,
and trips which formerly required
days of difficult going by canoe
and portage now are made in
hours. The pilot lands his pas
sengers on wood-bound lake and
leaves them with their camping
equipment, having arranged to re-
turn for them when the time
comes for them to scrape off the
growth of beard attained by re-
turn to the primeval.
Last Summer the chief of the
Army Air Corps, Maj. Gen. James
E. Fechet, led such a trip into the
Canadian wilds during his period
of annual leave. He took his fam
lily and a party which filled two
amphibian planes loaned him for
the purpose by friends in the avia-
tio1 INDUSTRY.
An Embarrassing Moment.
Many pilots have used airplanes
on hunting and fishing expedi-
tionS. None perhaps has used them
with more embarrassing results
than a brace Of doughty Army
combat pilots, then on duty at one
of the Florida fields. This twain
took advantage of the Army cross
country flying time requirements
to get in little fishing. They did
their prescribed cross-country fly
ing between the home field and
one wonderful fishing hole some
distance removed from civiliza-
ton.
Landing in an open meadow
near the fishing hole, they would
set about the serious part of the
cross country mission. Having