Evening star., 1937-05-02

Air and United A1rlineS. All three
have made highly valuable contribu-
tions to the science Of air transporta-
ton and all three are going ahead
with expanded programs Of research.
Pan-American, because it pioneered
in international operations, entirely
outside the range OF Federal aids to
air navigation, has been forced from
the beginning to fight its own research
battles and has contributed more to
the development of ocean flying than
any other single organization. It's ire
mendous world system-by far the
greatest operated by any air transport
agency-has been based on original
research. To this research it owes
its world supremacy
Transcontinental & Western Air
and United have done for overland
air transportation what Pan-Amer-
ican has done for overseas operations.
They have engineered new types of
aircraft, as Pan-American has done
in the case Of flying boats, and have
developed independent aids to air
navigation. They have evolved new
methods of pilot training and of air.
line operations.
Pan-American and T. w. A. both
are working on the problems OF high
altitude flying, which soon may in
volve the supercharging of passen-
ger cabins and other means of over
coming altitude effects. They have
done much in the development OF
radio homing devices and direction
finders. Pan.American's success has
been possible only through its own
development Of such devices Their
perfection is shown by the airlines
unfailing accuracy in navigating the
70O-mile Caribbean jump and more
recently in the Pacific. Its veteran
captain, Edwin c. Musick, had no
difficulty in finding the tiny spot of
sand which is Kingmans Reef in
binding rain on his trail-blazing
flight to New Zealand, and its pilots
the little Pacific islands along the
China route
United few days ago announced
the appointment of Ben o. Howard,
famous airline and racing pilot and
airplane designer and builder, to the
post of flight research engineer in
its technical division A large in
crease in the company's appropria-
ton for technical development was
announced at the same time. Howard
assumed his new duties yesterday.
In his new capacity Benny Howard
will be pilot and flight engineer of
flying laboratory, twin-engined
Boeing PAID transport, which has
been filled with laboratory desks and
testing equipment Anti-static and
landing beam projects are among
those Immediately confronting How
ard and his new laboratory staff.
While much of the progress which
has made modern air transport op-
erations possible in this country has
been due to the research work of the
National Advisory Committee for
Aeronautics and the Bureau of Air
Commerce, the new programs of the
airlines, devoted to special problems
confronting them promise to supple
ment the Federal work to no small
extent
zach day the airlines of the United
States fly distance equivalent to
eight times around the world at the
Equator or flve-eighths of the distance
to the moon, according to Col Edward
S. Gorrell, president of the Air Trans
port Association of America.
Each second of the "a hours of
the day, on an average" Gorrell said,
there are 1869 persons and IA tons
of mail in the air over this country
and in United States planes in in
ternational service Considering the
increasing number Of persons and
cargo carried, the record of the air
transport industry. which is but 10
years old, is unequaled In the annals
Of transportation"
Gorrell voiced the opinion that
there is no cause for enmity or jeal-
ousy between the four major modes
of transportation. Operators of rail-
ways, seaWays, highways and airways
should be friendly competitors" he
said.
Few people in other forms Of
transportation, Gorrell said, realize
that rather than being a direct COM
petitor, air transport supplements
other forms and aids the others to
obtain increased business. The air.
craft factories, in the main, are out
on the West Coast. The engines are