Evening star., 1940-11-07
Plane Makers See
Election as Guaranty
Speed
Change Of Leadership
Would Have Interfered
With Routine, They Feared
BY JOSEPH S. EDGERToN.

BY JOSEPH y. EDGEhION.
Relieved of the fear that change
of administration in the midst of
the national defense building pro-
gram might act to slow up the build
ing of warplsnes for the United
States and Great Britain, aircraft
manufacturers today set to work on
the task of increasing production to
meet the added requirements recent
ly outlined by President Roosevelt,
among them 10000 additional bonn
bardment airplanes for England.
There is no disposition to ques-
ton the sincerity of Wendell WILL
kie's desire to accelerate aircraft
production" a leader of the indus
try explained. 1T is too much to
expect, however, that a change of
leadership could have been made
at this time without interfering,
perhaps entirely unwittingly, with
the development of quantity pro-
duction.
There never was a new group
which came into control in gov
ernment or industry which did not
have ideas for Improvements. But
in the case of aircraft production
today Improvements would only
mean delay. In order to achieve
production we have got to freeze
aircraft and engine models and pro-
duction methods"
Guaranty of Speed.
The results of the election are
believed by representatives of the
aircraft industry to act as a guar
antee of the present aircraft pro-
duction schedule, which calls for
1900 airplanes a month by Janu-
ary, when the third term will begin.
The warplane production curve is
expected to increase sharply to an
output of approximately 5000 a
month early in 1912.
The aircraft industry was in
clined to accept as a mandate Presi-
dent Roosevelt's prediction cam
paign promise of 10000 additional
bombers for Britain, in addition to
the $4,000 military airplanes already
on order in this country for the
Royal Air Force.
Increasing stress is expected to be
laid on increasing aircraft engine
production, which holds the key to
such an increase in the airplane
program, and to speed up the par
ticipation of the automobile manu-
featuring industry in the airplane
production program.
The automobile industry may be-
gin the actual production of airplane
parts before President Roosevelt's
inauguration on January 20. BY
early spring it is anticipated the
automobile factories will be turning
out some 400 individual airplane
fuselage and wing parts on a mass
production basis for assembly by
the aircraft industry.
Auto Industry's Part.
The automobile industry now is
pressing to completion a survey to
determine exactly what stamping
and press work can be taken over
for the aircraft industry without
major alterations of tools used in
the normal automobile manufacture
ing processes. 1t has been esti-
mated that by next spring the au-
tomobile industry will be engaged
in more than S1,000,OO0 900 worth of
defense production, approximately
half Of which will be for the air
craft industry.
President Roosevelt has indicated
during the course of his prediction
swing around the major plants en-
gagged in defense production that
he is well aware of the potential air
craft engine bottleneck which
threatens to develop if the new
British 12.000-airplane program is
undertaken.
Prompt steps to make good in the
future the present shortage of air
craft engines were taken late yester-
day with the announcement of two
new contracts, one to the Ford Mo-
tor Co. in the amount of S122 1923. .02O
and the other to the Wright Aero
nautical Corp, Paterson, N. j., for
S11 ,436,042 worth of engines for
the Army and Navy.
The Ford contract, awarded by
the Army, calls for 1000 engines,
which, under a licensing agree
ment, will be duplicates of the
Pratt e. Whitney radial, air-cooled
1000 horsepower engine. The
Wrights also are to be air-cooled
radials of somewhat similar design.
More Developments Expected.
These contracts are among a Sc
ries of important developments ex-
pected in the near future in the
aircraft engine manufacturing field.
1t has been estimated that the
present anticipated aircraft engine
production of $4,000 units during
the 1912 fiscal years will have to
be at least doubled to care for the
expanded aircraft production pro-
gram.
"All elements of aviation may be
depended upon to render unquali-
fed cooperation with the President
to assure the destiny of the United