Evening star., 1935-12-01

or 40 tons, and the other Of 1875, 900
pounds or 621a tons. He believes that
200-ton flying boats are a definite
possibility Of the near future.
ITO my mind" Sikorsky said, III
an article written for the National
Aeronautic Associations monthly
magazine, scheduled airplane passen-
ger and express service across the At
lantic is already at hand. The best
vehicle, Is the large flying boat, with
a range above 5000 miles. With fur
ther improvements in the types of
planes we have already built, these
clipper ships can have a flying range
of 1000 miles. carry a reasonable pay
load and possess all of the luxurious
comforts Of an ocean liner. Without
pressing for high speeds, it Is easily
possible for large flying boats to cross
the Atlantic in "a hours"
Sikorsky expressed the view that
flying boats Of the 19-ton Sikorsky
type and the 25-ton Martin class, now
in operation, are "just normal de-
velopment." The trend, he said, Is
definitely toward much larger sizes,
particularly for flying boats. The rea-
son, he said, is that pay load In the
big ships comes from space and not
weight, which has become less i'm
portant factor. Larger flying boats,
he explained, offer better and more
comfortable travelling conditions, and
can be operated over greater ranges
and more economically than smaller
types.
Sikorsky takes the position that the
large airplane is definitely best for
transoceanic travel" It is more suit
able than the airship, because of its
much greater speed.
II personally do not visualize
stratosphere flying across the ocean,"
he said. "It is feasible and possible,
but there are no great advantages
and certainly the comforts of the pas
sengers would be less. For these rea-
sons, I believe the conventional ships,
flying from $4,000 to 10000 feet high,
with some provision for releasing
oxygen in the cabins, offer the most
over-ocean travel"
He said he thought a regular daily
flying service across the Atlantic would
be reality within three to five years.
The big flying boats which would be
available for such service within that
time, he believes. will cruise at be-
tween $50 and $50 miles per hour.
They will have two sets of radio equip
ment. two shifts of operators, two
shifts Of pilots and two shifts of stew
ards. The crew would number ~ or
13 persons and from 30 to 40 pas
sengers would be carried.
Our present-day clippers could sue
cessfully operate across the Atlantic"
he said. but the ratio of crew to
passengers would not make it feasible
from the viewpoints of comfort and
economics"
Establishment by the Federal Gov
ernment of a Nationwide system OF
subsidized aviation clubs in which
young men and women would be per-
mitted to learn to fly at cost is rec
commended in a proposal now before
Harry Hopkins. Federal emergency
relief administrator.
The proposal, made by T. J. Waggy,
local aviator and president Of the
National Association of Air Legions,
was made In the belief that such
move would promote American avia-
tion and at the same time provide
work for the hundreds of aviators
and aviation mechanics now idle after
having completed long and costly
training courses.
Creation of such a system of clubs
would put the United States on a
parity with France, Germany and
Great Britain, which have provided
governmental aid for flying clubs and
schools. The system proposed by
waggy for this country would, it was
argued, lend o powerful impetus to
private flying. a field Of aviation which
the Department OF Commerce has
been seeking to develop for nearly
three years.
waggy, in submitting his plan,
called to the attention Of the Fed
eral relief administrator the fact that
while the Government has taken steps
to provide work for almost every other
trade and profession, no action has
been taken to assist unemployed ,avia-
tors and aviation mechanics.
ITO this end" he said, may we
e,,00aef fhof ayiatiOT1
project be inaugurated? Our own
view of the proper plan for obtaining
jobs for these aviators and aviation
mechanics would be for the Govern
ment to subsidize Nation wide or
ganization Of aviation clubs in which
young men and women would be per-
mitted to learn to fly at cost"
The project could be supported, he
said, either by direct loan or by
grant to an existing organization or
government-owned corporation. Under
the proposed plan, one training air
plane would be used for instruction in
several localities and young men and
women could learn to fly for total
cost estimated by Waggy not to exceed
S75 each, to be paid in small install
ments as training proceeded.
IAN aviation project such as this"
waggy contended, would be self
liouidating and would therefore cost
the Government nothing in the final
analysis"
Results Of such q program were
enumerated by Waggy as follows:
Several thousand young men and
women would be trained in aviation.
Many new aviation landing fields
would be developed.
Needy aviators and aviation me-
claanics would be employed.
ssIrha sa1e nf airnlaf1es would greatly