Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-05-03

OMBAT planes Of the near fu-
tllre will be radically different
in appearance and performance
~ from those of today, in the
opinion of Col. Edward v. Rick.
enbacker, Americas foremost Wcrlo
War ace. rv -
Tonorrows fighting planes viii be
exceedingly fast, he predicted. gains In
kpeed being achieved by burying engines
entirely within the wings or fuselage
of the plane as step toward reduction
of parasite resistance, the deadly Zoe
of speed.
ably will have the engines in the fuse
Iare behind the pilot, who will straddle
the propeller shaft, Rickenbacker pc
HAYES. This will make possible perfect
streaYnlining, better disposition OF
weight, with resulting increases in sta
hility, maneuverability sand speeo'
"Rickr holds. 49, .r
The two seaters will have the rear
cockpit behind the motor. the pnoS ".
'front.' of the motor and the three place
ships will carry the third man IN the
nose. ahead Of the pilot, he thinks. !.
Rickenbacker Is q vice president OF
the Fokker organization, which has
taken q long step toward the realiza-
ton Of the type Of plane he describes
in producing, the Army's experiment.
XO-27 twin-e><ined reconnalssance
plane, now at Wright Field, Dayton,
Ohio. The xO-27 is a three-place
plane. gunner and observer in the nose;
pilot at the leading edge Of the wing,
gunner and radio man In cockpit pc
Find the wing The engines are purleo
In the wings and the landing gear Is
retractable, making the ship an ap..
preach to the flying wing" type OF
which Rickenbacker dreams.
Urges Racing As Laboratory"
Rickenbacker is one OF the country's
NEST ardent advocates of racing as the
laboratory in which may be produced
the sorely needed high speed planes of
tomorrow. Seventy-five per cent OF the
automobile of today IS the result CT
race-track experience, declares Rtcken-
hacker, who was one OF the country
foremost race track stars before the
war and who built automcbiles a1Cer
the war.
The scientific research which has
made It possible for Great Britain,
France and Italy to prepare planes
for Schneider competition, Ricken-
hacker pointed out, has been OF in
estirnable value to those countries In
carving forward the development CT
fast military planes. The United
States he said, has nothing wnlcn
could be considered as even remotely
approaching Schneider caliber.
But even in Great Britain, where
the speed record of 356 miles per hour
was established, Rickenbacker said,
there Is room for further speed de-
1.-The British have flown at q speed
Of ass miles per hour machine
weighing ~ tons" he said. But
when we realize that they also have
attained on the ground q speed OF
264 miles per hour with q vehicle
weighing six tons it becomes clear
that there is room for much improve
ment in the air"
Rickenbacker found many faults in
the airplane of today, but was OPP
timistic as to the future. A1rplanes
TODAY are too expensive, he said. This
ne attributed in large part to the
necessity for continued engineering re-
search. Until the price Of transport
planes comes down to q rate compare
bic with the earning power OF the
planes, he pointed out, it obviously Is
impossible to attain success.
The airplane remains too noisy and
means must be found of cutting down
both sound and vibration, he declared.
He urged improved ventilation OF cabin
planes, improvement of passenger COM
fort, Improvement Of airport equip
nent and especially Of transportation