Evening star., 1935-07-14

low remaining is that coming from
that a substitute road around the
litary road is closed. The McSwain
bstitute.
liams, Miss Helen Richey and Miss
Fay Gillis.
Raw Cooper, who last Spring left his
post here as general manager of the
National Aeronautic Association, is
general manager of the show.
DEVELOPMENT Of the worlds largest
aerial camera installation has just
been completed as a preliminary to
the largest single aerial Photographic
mapping project yet undertaken in
the United States. The new camera
is a giant 1O-lens unit which exposes
a film measuring 80 by 80 inches at
each operation and which can cover
76O square miles Of ground at each
exposure from an altitude Of 10000
feet.
The mapping project is being un-
dertaken under contract awarded by
the Soil Conservation Service. De-
partment of Agriculture, to Fairchild
Aerial Surveys. The area to be
mapped is known as the Rio Grande
survey and is in Central New Mexico
| This project, with two others under
taken by the same organization, will
cover more than $4,000 square miles
Of territory.
The Rio Grande project. it was ex-
planned by Fairchild officials, is part
of the Governments program to con-
serve resources and prevent fertile
regions from turning into deserts.
The survey has just started.
The new 10-lens camera is COM
posed Of two five-lens units installed
in a special mount and set at an
angle of As degrees to each other, all
10 lenses being operated simultaneously
by operation of single release, max
ing huge composite exposure. Film
for a single loading of the great
camera weighs 10 pounds and is sufd-
cient for 200 exposures each nearly a
yard square.
The camera, without film, weighs
275 pounds, and its mount weighs IS
pounds. The airplane had to be re-
designed to hold the giant and is
fitted with an overhead track with
trolley and tackle, to aid in moving
the camera.
Construction Of the huge camera
was necessitated primarily as a new
means of securing ground control
points for accurate mapping of the
area. Smaller aerial cameras could
not be used. it was explained, because
they do not take in enough territory
to include the needed control points
in single exposure.
Control points will be established
by flying the giant camera back and
forth over the area along courses 80
miles apart, with the camera photo
graphing lanes II miles wide. About
third Of the area will be covered
in this manner and the remainder
filled in at closer intervals with a
smaller camera to include detail. The
,, big camera will be flown at the max
imum ceiling of the airplane, which
because of the heavy equipment
;; probably will be about $4,000 feet.
The Fairchild organization has just
completed the aerial mapping of the
, Boulder Dam area, one of the most
t hazardous pieces of air mapping YET
: undertaken because of the dangerous
{ terrain and lack of landing places
The Boulder Dam survey was ar
, emergency job intended to supply
engineering and soil erosion data
prior to the filling of the canyon
This data is of vital Importance tt
, the proper control of silt in the dam
area as a means of prolonging the life
, of the dam.
r Only one-third Of the United
e States has been adequately mapped
= and the new giant compound Gamers
promises to make possible speedy sur
! veying of large unmapped areas O.
| this country and other unmappec
areas of the world, notably in China
the Soviet Union and Brazil.
John w. Currell, local inventor
: who has to his credit several aero
. nautical devices now in common use
> has found that the simplest and leas
> expensive ideas are the hardest to pu
. across. For IA years Currell has beel
trying to induce airline and militar.
1 pilots to carry a simple railroad fuse
: or red signal flare for use in case o
$ forced landings in inaccessible places
e "The idea is no invention, o
= course, but it has been harder to pu
e it across than any complicated in
0 venlion would be-" Curren said. 1T
e probably so simple and obvious nj
one wants to pay any attention to it.
t Currell pointed out that Ahe. fuses
/ which can be purchased in A~S cit!
S for or 10 cents each, might hav'
= saved a number of lives in forceC
landings in recent years. He ha!
S compiled a history of accidents il
= which the simplest type of flare woulc
= have saved lives or leSsened tht
0 agonies Of accident victims. In man!
2 of these cases pilots or passenger
. of lost airplanes have seen airplane'
= searching for them, but have beer
J. uIldDIC W oA6IAdA "OAAA-SS ANS
! cuers.
( "a red flare burning in thicklJ
! wooded section, with snow on the
! ground or otherwise, would illuminate
e everything in the vicinity and coule
be seen easily from an airplane ol
f by searching parties" Mr.. Currell ex'
planned. THE red fire of flare
/, also is visible in low ceiling fog
= also in rainy and snowy weather"
The Eighth Annual Miami ALI
/ American Air Races, aeronautica
I classic of the Winter season, will bt
4 held December IL, 13 and IA, thi'
= year, the date having been advanced
= a month because of the earlier Wintel
), tourist season of the past year or two
= Andrew H. Heermance, city avia
: bon director, is making plans for par
| ticination of 600 airplaneS this year