Evening star., 1936-02-09

command Of Maj. Roy z. Whitehead,
chief of the medical section Of the Bu-
reau of Air Commerce, is expected to
take new lease on life. Handicapped
by lack Of equipment and funds, the
local Army Reserve unit has been un-
able to keep pace in flying time and
training standards with the more for
tunate VN-6R or vO-3MR, the local
Navy and Marine Corps Aviation Re-
serve units at the Anacostia Naval Air
Station. While the Army Reserve,
even after delivery Of its new equip
ment, still will be behind its sister re-
serve units In airplane strength, 1t ex-
poets to 60 long way toward catch
ing them In point of training efficiency.
The new Army airplanes will be
North American two-seater, all-pur-
pose trainers, so Of which have been
ordered by the Air Corps. These ships
are low-wing monoplanes, with in
closed cockpits. They have rated top
speed Of about 100 miles per hour and
a cruising speed of 160 miles, and will
closely approximate in performance
the new attack airplanes with which
the combat squadrons are equipped.
Prepare for New Ships.
A number Of the local Army Reserve
flyers are putting in flying time in
preparation for the new ships and for
more active Reserve program. Dur
ing the final quarter of 1895, Capt.
Brintnall H. Merchant led the local
reservists with 13 hours and 35 min
utes of flying time. Capt. Merchant
is national secretary of the Air Reserve
Association of the United States and
Is member Of the executive board Of
the Joint Committee for Air Defense.
Lieut.. Paul Waterman ran Capt.
Merchant a close second, with l3 hours
and 20 minutes of flying time. The
next three highest times were chalked
up by Col. Larner, Lieut.. william r.
Enyart and Maj Whitehead.
The Regular Army detachment at
Boiling Field, under command of Col.
Martin P. Scanlon, retiring station
complement commander, has been CIV
ing all the cooperation possible to
the reservists, turning out one or two
0-38 observation planes and a primary
trainer for Reserve use whenever the
acute shortage of ships at the local
field permitted.
Maj. William E. Farthing has re-
lieved Col. Scanlon as commanding
oficer pending the arrival of the new
commander, Maj. William o. Ryan,
from Maxwell Field, where he is chief
Of the Aircraft Board. Mai. Farthing
has recently returned from the Com.
mand and General STAFF School at Fort
Leavenworth, Kans. He was unit in
structor for the Reserves here several
years ago while on duty in the ofice
Of the chief of the Air Corps.
Capt. A. L. Bump Relieved.
Capt. A. L. Bump has been relieved
Of assignment as local Reserve unit
instructor because Of the pressure Of
his regular duties at Boiling Field and
has been replaced by Lieut.. H. r.
Baxter, who recently arrived at Boil
ing Field from Panama. Lieut.. Bax-
ter will be officer in charge of the next
monthly Air Corps Reserve conference,
to be held in the Munitions Building
at 8 pm. Tuesday. Capt. j. S. Grif-
fifth. on duty in the Office of the chief
of the Air Corps, is to lecture on in
strument flying.
The new Link trainer at Boiling
Field is expected to prove a boon to
reserve and Regular officers who have
not had time because of lack of al
lotted flying funds or for other reasons
to put in instrument flying time. The
trainer will be similar to one nov
in operation in the Bureau of All
Commerce. When In good shape, the
Link trainer is said by pilots who have
used it to be almost as good for in
strument flight training as real air
plane.
Unified air express service over 2s,-
ITO miles o commercial air routes II
this countr- and over an almost equa
foreign mileage to South and Contra
America and the Orient has just beer
established at new uniform rates. The
new unification of service promise:
to increase greatly the field of use
fulness of the rapidly expanding al
express service, now the fastest
growing phase of air transportation
The new service has been hailed b!
Secretary of Commerce Roper as 30
great significance to American com
merce and industry" He pointed ou
that the new combination Of unifiec
air express service with ground-con-
Meeting service provides an eficient
union of air and rail service with
door-to-door handling.
Through air and rail connections, thu
service today is binding together 49,
900 cities and towns into high-speec
delivery network.
Satisfied with preliminary fiight
tests of the giant Douglas 24-passengel
kroncroort air,,Iane American Airline,