Evening star., 1934-04-22

ester H. Warrington, president OF
spirit behind the meet.
landing gear are coming into wide
spread use, What happens when 6
pilot lands an airplane with wheels
up?"
The answer, according to Hall l.
Hibbard, noted airplane designer, is:
Every little"
Bottoms of fuselages and wings
have been scratched somewhat, Hib-
bard said, but in no case has a
'Hwheels up" landing resulted in an in
jury to persons.
Because of the low center OF
gravity of low-wing monoplane and
the high cushioning effect of the
wing" Hibbard explained, "the plane
merely skids along the ground for
$50 to $50 feet after landing, and
stops. There is no tendency to nose
over. In snow, in water, or on rough
ground. the bottom of fuselage and
wing serves landing purposes much
better than wheels. 1t is much more
hazardous to land on water or rough
ground with wheels down than to
land anywhere with the gear re-
tracted."
Pilots who fly regularly over very
rough terrain prefer to fly airplanes
equipped with retractable gears, Hib-
bard said.
Where wheels might drop into a
rut or hit rock and nose a plane
over" he said, the bottom of a
fuSelage and wing forms a large skid
and permits safe landings to be made
where they might otherwise prove
hazardous"
To Comforts: 107 Pounds.
To provide modern airplane pas
sengers with the service and comforts
they demand, air transport companies
have had to allow for approximately
lO7 pounds weight per passenger
above the ITO pounds allowed as the
average passenger weight
In the neutrality-suspicious. Boeing
247 transport planes used on the
northern transcontinental run, for
example. the following allowances are
made for each passenger. in addition
to his own weight: Baggage, 80
pounds; seat and safety belt, 19
pounds; laminated window glass, "A
pounds; sound-proofing and cabin
lining, 1863 pounds; lavatory, "A
pounds; stewardeSs and her equip
ment, 28.8 pounds, and miscellaneous,
including ash trays, steps, hat and
coat racks, visual intercommunica-
tions system and other items, 22.6
pounds.
This total does not include weight
allowed for heating and ventilating
the passenger compartment, which in
many planes includes individual
heating and ventilating units. AS
transport planes seek the favorable
winds and storm-free skies of extreme
attitudes, some form of supercharg-
ing of the passenger compartment or
the use OF oxygen apparatus is ex-
pected to become necessary, further
increasing the weight which must be
carried for each passenger.
Engineering Meet Called.
Manufacturers of aircraft engines
and propellers will be given an op-
portunity to present comments and
suggestions on proposed amendments
to Department of Commerce require
ments for their products at a con-
ference to be held Wednesday by the
aeronautics branch of the depart
ment.
The amendments have been draft
ed to cover recent engineering
changes and to bring the require
ments into closer agreement with
modern developments and practices
in the industry.
ITO accomplish this" the Depart
ment of Commerce announced, lit was
not necessary to make any extensive
revisions to the propeller require
ments, but the engine regulations
have been reworded and clarified,
particularly with reference to alti-
tude engines. The proposed rules also
incorporate the policy of testing at
the manufacturers plant, which was
adopted some time ago."