The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1939-01-04
Boake Carter
Says:
Congress Should Act
Control OF Aviation
Outmoded Engines

Tie lnNestiE allnE INTO the dlIcfai
industry picture it would discover
why the Germans are ahead Of not
only the United States. but also
England and France when 1t comes
to civil and military aircraft per-
Torrance
There probably is no doubt that
we have the finest set Of aerodyna-
mic engineers in the world. They
have designed the most perfect fly
ing machines from the aerodyna-
mic standpoint But that is only
50 per cent of the problem.
AerodynamicallY perfect ships
will not perform Il they are driven
BY engines whose fundamental
principle is outmoded and outper-
formed. Engines form the other
80 per cent of the question.
Today the Germans II lCkes 4
Co. succeed in agitating the nation
into sufficient state of hvsteria
over an ideoelogy that war even
tuates could dispatch bombers
900 miles off the United States
eastern sea board. drop their bombs
and then fly all the way back TO
Berlin,
Because they use fuel oil instead
of gasoline. they have 30 per cent
larger carrying capacity. they con-
sumo less fuel and their engines
outperform our own gasoline ma
chinery.
These facts congress would find
by simply asking questions.
Digging little deeper to find an
answer as to WHY we stubbornly
stick to gasoline for our aviation,
the congress would find something
along this order
The American aviation engine
field is virtually divided between
two companies. Tied up in the
companies are about $4,000, 900
worth Of tools, jigs and dies for
the sole manufacture of gasoline
aviation engines.
On the board of one company is
]. p. Morgan. On the board of the
other is young Stettinius. of United
States Steel. in its turn linked back
to the New York banking interests.
To scrap the construction of out
moded gasoline engines would re-
auire writing off the $4,000, 900
the bankers have invested in tools
and equipment for past research.
Financial interests dictate the
terms by which the airline opera
tors must abide. There are many
fine engineers I'm the aircraft indus
try who know full well what the
German engineers have accom-
plished but they cannot help them
selves.
Back in 1886 German air lines
were operating four-engine, oil
fueled passenger ships. We in the
United States are just coming
around to four-engined passenger
planes and equipping them with
inefficient, deadly and explosive
gasoline motive power
The $50 horsepower engines used
on the air lines today do not deliver
that rated power beyond a few sec
onds. The heat generated when
forcing the engine to deliver that
rated horsepower is so great as to
cause an immense loss of power.
An overseas air line is preparing
specifications for a gasoline engine
of > 800 horsepower. The estimated
cost of each engine is in the neigh
borhood of $4,000. Yet the oper-
ator does not expect to obtain more
than 1000 horsepower out of them
for practical purposes. The amount
of money he il preparing to pay
for something he can never obtain,
plus the fact that his fuel capacity
must be 80 great as to cut down
the space for revenue producing
freight and passengers. Is fan
t,stic.
The navy engineers desperately
desire oil engines for their aircraft.
So do the army aviation engineers.