The Washington times., 1930-03-17
L|NDBERGHSE
PRACTICAL USE
/. FOR GLIDER
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craft and for the study Of
meterology and aerodynamics,"
Colonel Lindbergh declared.
His reply to the third question
is: There is practically no dan.
ger in operating a glider Of the
type, With which I am now ex.
perimenting."
The glider tests which Colonel
Lindbergh is making along the
California coast and points ill
land, are for very definite pur
pose and contrary to some i'm
pressions he is not merely risk
ing his life" or playing at a ia
voTite hobby when he scars his
Silvery-winged glider aloft to be
buffeted along by the winds.
Perhaps it may be a few
fmonths-perhapS longer-but the
future is sure to bring about a
definit tie-up between the air
plane and the glider. according
to Colonel Lindbergh, anG he
hopes that the tests he has been
conducting here will hasten that
day.
Cost is Around $9.75
"At present I am interested in
discovering by practical tests just
what can be accomplished with
the glider" he declared.
Cost of operating a glider is
nothing except the strain on the
muscles of the six or eight m9n
who catapault it from the ground
plus the cost of the gasoline con
Sumed by the small automobile
which tows it out to its starting
point. Furthermore the cost q!
a glider is but around $9!75."
With the airplane. the original
cost of the machine is not only
heavy, but its consumption OF
fuel is also to be considered. he
pointed out.
Controls Of the glider and the
airplane are identical, Colonel
Lindbergh also explained, with the
result that student pilots can be
put through their primary ground
training in gliders operated at lit
tie or no cost, except the salary
Of the instructor.
Ordinarily it requires between
two and four hours Of training
in a glider before the student
pilot is ready for his first solo
flight. In a power plane the
time is usually about IL hours"
It is the belief of Colonel Lind
bergh that the future will see the
development of a glider, equlp?eG
with a light motor to aid in tax
ing off when there is little or
no wind.
Safer Than Airplanes
Regarding the hazards Of
operating a glider, Colonel Lind
bergh Scoffed at the suggestion.
"Gliders are safer than air.
planes for the reason that it is
impossible for them to go INTO q
tailspin or slip off on a wing"
The very fact that they are
light (his present glider, the
Anne Lindbergh," weighing but
| 1iU pOunQSJ a11OrQS an aQQeQ Qe'
gree of safety, he declared.
Their landing speed is slow
and by heading them into the
wind, it is possible to bring a
glider to a stop within Is feet
of the place where the skidS first
touch the ground"
In the matter of using gliders
for the training of wartime air
plane pilots, Jack Barstow, Lind
bergh's assistant. pointed to the
fact that whereas, in the World
War the Government was ham.
pered in mass production" of
pilots by lack of equipment and
training fields for students, such
an emergency could easily be over,
come under similar circumstances
in the future.
by employing gliderS for
primary training, student pilots
could be turned out at the rate
of approximately 10 week, per
instructor, as compared with an
average of IL or IA a week with
the use of power planes" Barstow
explained.