Evening star., 1933-09-24

the great European glider camps no
f1rst-clasS German university would
think any more of doing without its
glider activities than an American COL
lege would of giving up foot ball.
Aviation Alone Shows Gain.
Air transportation alone of all the
forms of transportation used in export
trade showed a gain in volume during
the first six months of 1898, as COM
pared with the first half. of last year.
Statistics compiled by the Department
of Commerce covering the expectation
of merchandise from the United States
show that during the first half of this
year shipments by aircraft were valued
at $29850l, as compared with $160,03l
during the same period of last year,
gain Of more than 18l per cent.
During the same six months goods
exported in vessels were valued at
5748l2,284, as compared with $685.
517,6l4 during the first six months
of 1882. Land vehicles carried exports
valued at S77,724.6O3 during the first
half of 1888, as against 1878, ,O80
during the first half Of last year. Ex-
ports by parcel post were valued at S4,-
117,721. against S4,839.313 a year ago
Virtually all export trade by aircraft
is via Pan-American Anyways from
Miami, Fla and Brownsville, Tex, to
Central and South America and the
West Indies. This air express traffic
has been increasing consistently and
heavily for the past two years.
Seadrome Idea ExtoIled.
The proposal to construct five great
seadremeS, to be anchored at intervals
OF 45O miles apart across the Atlantic
as airline stepping stones between
the United States and Europe, is
characterized by Reuben H. Fleet, air
plane designer and builder and former
airline operator. as the largest project
possible in aviation today" Applica-
ton has been made to the Public
Works Administration for a loan of
S3000000 with which to finance the
project
In discussing the proposal, Fleet, who
as an Army air service officer was in
charge of the first airmail service, ex-
planned graphically that the plan con-
templated the creation "of an air
boulevard across the Atlantic over
which 20-hour schedules could be main
tanned with regularity and safety"
Fleet considers the seadrome proposal
not only feasible but indispensable for
transatlantic flying" He explained
Iile1t illS dIICIdlL COlllpdlly produced the
big twin-engined Navy patrol planes
which recently established world for
nation nonstop distance record in a
flight from Norfolk, Va, to the Panama
Canal. He said he now is building for
the Navy patrol plane which will
have a range of 1000 miles on one
load of fuel, twice that of the record
holders
Although we now can build planes
which will fly greater distances than
that between the United States and
Europe" Fleet explained, lit is not
commercially practicable to undertake
any sort of air service across the ocean
without intermediate refueling stations.
Great fuel burdens, obviously. mean
reduced or eliminated pay-loads. The
smaller the fuel loads, the more prac-
ticable the service from an economic
standpoint"
Fleet is convinced that the seadrome
plan not only would be of inestimable
value to the world as peace-time
transportation medium, but that it
would be Il most powerful deterrent to
war through the increased mobility the
ocean airports would give to fighting
planes No nation, he explained. would
be willing to take a step which would
bring a hostile air force around its
ears in less than a day