Evening star., 1940-10-23
j. :. Aircraft Plant
Sets World Mark
For Production
Turns Out 1000 Light
Planes for Private Flying
In Nine Months
By JOSEPH S. EDGERTON.

While the United States military
services and Great Britain plead
for more rapid warplane produc-
ton and the American industry
seeks to build up mass production
of fighting planes, the way toward
mass building of aircraft is being
shown at present by the companies
which are producing light airplanes
for private flying.
One of these companies. produc-
ing an airplane which has no mill
tary value but which Is designed
wholly for the private flyer, has
Just announced a new world record
for aircraft production by a single
company. During the first nine
months Of 1910 this company, the
Piper Aircraft Corp. Of Lock Haven,
Pa. manufactured more than 1000
of its Cub model. This sets a
quantity record, it is claimed, which
never has been equaled by any
manufacturer of either military or
commercial aircraft.
w. T. Piper. president of the
company. predicted that 3,1o0 Cubs
would be produced during 1910,
since production in the last half
OF the year is at q much greater
rate than during the first half.
Present rate of production is aver
aging 100 Cubs per week, but this
will be increased when two new
assembly buildings, nearly COM
pleted, go into use. Before the end
of the year production is expected
to reach level of l25 planes per
week In the meantime all depart
ments are being planned and ar
ranged for a capacity of 200 planes
per week. or nearly 1000 airplanes
q year.
Civil Production Up Al Per Cent.
The Civil Aeronautics Beard has
reported that domestic civil air
craft production during the first
half Of 1910 increased Al per cent.
as compared with the first half of
1899. and amounted to nearly three
times the production during the
first half Of 1888. Production for
the first six months of 1910 totaled
2,289 domestic civil aircraft. as COM
pared with 1927 in the first half of
last year.
THE increased demand for light
planes with improved performance
was demonstrated by the gain in
production of single-engined air
craft with power plants Of 81 to 10
horsepower from 466 in the first
half Of 1899 to 1,496 in the cor
responding period Of this year." the
c. A. A. announced. I'm the like
period of 1888 only seven such air
craft were made"
Washington's only aircraft COM
pany, the Engineering & Research
Corp. recently transferred from the
District to Riverdale. Md, one of
the latest arrivals in the private
aircraft manufacturing field, ex-
poets to attain production rate
OF 40 planes a month by Novem-
ber I.
Other light plane manufacturers
also are increasing production,
some of them solely on models for
private flying but many on aircraft
suitable for training purposes,
either in the primary military field
or In the c. A. A. civil pilot train
ing program.
Schedules Not Comparable.
It should be pointed out that the
production Of a single small airplane
Of the private type may involve
only 10 per cent of the labor in
man-hours required for a military
airplane, and that the two pro-
duction schedules for this reason
are not comparable.
Nor would it be possible to turn
over private-plane factories for
warplane construction without a re-
modelling and retooling which would
virtually duplicate the effort Of set
ting up an entirely new factory.
The Importance OF even light
plane production for military
purposes is stressed by Federal and
civil aviation leaders. Private fly