Evening star., 1932-05-01

]
all of those landings were made in
student instruction, most of them by
students. Student landings are not
always the best kind of landings. for an
airplane to endure
SlXty-slX student members of the
Legion took instruction in the Bird.
and 43 Of them have flown solo in the
plane, % Of them taking their first solo
flights at its controls
Ihat any airplane should come
through such a period of service whole
and able to fly is a tribute to its
durability; that it should come through
and still have market value is. to say
the least, unusual, at least in local ex-
perience.
To replace the Bird the Legion took
over Nancy Hopkins Kitty Hawk On
the first day under Legion ownership,
April %, the Kitty Hawk put in a total
OF eight hours of student training
operations.
Valves Are X-Rayed.
Stereoscopes similar in principle to
the formerly popular parlor entertain
ment devices are used in conjunction
with X-ray photographs to determine
Just what is inside the modern hollow
steel aviation engine valves.
BY taking Xray photographs Of a
valve from slightly different angles and
then examining them through a Stereo-
scope, which blends the images so as to
give the impression of relief. the valves
appear in phantom, as though trans
parent. and it is possible to examine
their interior structure in detail and
detect flaws which otherwise could not
be noticed until the valve failed in
action
The hollow valve, without seams or
weldS has been recognized as a big
step forward in the aviation engine
industry. One of the great difficulties
in the path of turning out perfect
valves, however was the inability to
detect irregularities or flaws in the
inner chamber of the valve The X-ray
and stereoscope method, now being
employed by Thompson Products en-
gineers, has overcome most of the diff
ficulty in this regard.
Large Plane Order Filled.
What is said to be the largest and
most modern single group of military
airplanes in any service in the world
has been completed by the Army Air
Corps with the delivery yesterday of
the last of 135 new Boeing P-12E and
P-l2F single-seater pursuit planes.
The IF" which Is the latest of the
Boeing series, differs from the ''E" only
in the fact that the supercharging
ratio is higher. These planes are rated
by the Army Air Corps as the fastest
single-seater air-cooled fighting planes
in the world. They have a rated top
speed of approximately 200 miles per
hour
The 135 planes purchased under the
single contract which has Just been
completed have been placed in service
at Air Corps bases in the United States
and its possessions.
The "E's" and "Fs" are biplanes
with an upper wing span of 80 feet and
an overall length of 20 feet. They
differ from the older Boeings in that
the fuselage is Of all-metal monocoque
construction. instead of the older,
fabric-covered metal skeleton type.
These planes are designed especially
Planes of this type hold the interna-
tional formation altitude record. estab-
lished when a squadron of 18 Boeing
pursuits climbed in formation to nearly
10000 feet above Rockwell Field, Calf
Local Air Map Issued.
Showing every detail of terrain and
maE-made improvement Of Importance
TO the aviator in an area $50 miles by
$50 miles wide centering about the
National Capital, a new United States
airway map, part of a series covering
the entire United States, has just been
issued by the aeronautics branch Of the
Department of Commerce. 1t is dated
May, 1892 and is designed as Upper
J-18" in the series Of United States air
maps.
The map contains all the possible
aids to aerial navigation. 1t shows
radio beacon courses and every airway
beacon, with its number and flashing
code, all airports and landing fields,
with an indication Of the facilities to
be expected there, lines of magnetic
declination, compass roses and light
houses along the waterways.
Prominent electric transmission lines,
which are clearly visible from the air,
are shown, together with United States
highways and prominent State or
county highways which are likely to
be available as guides to the pilot.
Railroads are shown, with marks every
five miles along their length as a clue
to distances.
DISTINCTIONS which are likely to be
Of danger to an airman are indicated.
and high-eXplosive areas and the big
gun ranges in the Potomac and Chesa-
peake Bay are outlined.
Water Depths Marked.
Irregularities of the earth's surface,
such as mountains and deep valleys,
are shown clearly in color and for the
sake of those who must land seaplanes,
waters of less than three feet mean
depths are marked.
The approximate size of all towns
and cities has been indicated by
varying type sizes used for the names.
Concise instructions for use of the
map in plotting courses are printed
below a scale showing the varying Of
the minutes Of longitude due TO neces-
sary curying Of the lines of parallel.
separate scales of longitude being
provided for every 80 minutes Of
latitude. Minutes of latitude, which do
not vary, also are scaled Statute
mileage is shown along each Of the
four borders.
Despite the wealth of detail. the map
Is clear and easy to read. The maps
sell for 40 cents singly or 25 cents each
in lots of 25 They are proving of
great aid to those who must navigate
the airWays or plot their own courses
of the beaten aerial track.
Upper J-16 covers the area from the
Atlantic Ocean west to Orange, Va,
and Harrisonville, near Uniontown, Pa.
1t extends from Chincoteague, Nd,
and Tappahannock, Va, on the south,
to Manasquan and Lakewood, N. j.;
Bristol, Norristown and Shippensburg
Pa, on the north.
Air Passenger Trafflc Grows.
Passenger traffic on the Nations air
/ transport lines continues TO show a
/ healthy rate of growth in the face of
disturbed conditions which are cutting
down virtually every other form of
/ passenger traffic During the first two
months Of 1882 air passenger traffic on
/ the scheduled airlines in the United
! States increased 80 per cent as
! compared with the same period of 1881
according to reports to the Aeronautica
Chamber of Commerce.
In January and February so ,38t
passengers few the country's airways
as compared with 3S,527 for the same
| two months of last year. Passenger