The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-01-08

lures as low as 65 degrees below zero which will give you an idea of wha' kind of arctic flying conditions the Army is ready to face.
 One of the biggest cold weather problems the engineers have is the treatment of rubber at these low temperatures. When rubber "freez- es" it becomes brittle. One hard blow will crack or shatter ordinary rubber equipment at sub-zero tenn peratures and when this equipment happens to be the tube feeding oxy- gen into a pilots mask in high al- titude hying-there goes your pilot RUSSIANS LICKED IT
 Russian aircraft engineers have developed one novel, simple, yet practical, method of thawing out airplane tires which have been exposed to low temperatures for any length of time. A plane resting on the ground throws its full weight on it's tires, and the surface of the tire against the ground will tiatten out and freeze that way. Naturally, a wheel with on flat side is no good, 50 thta flat surface must be rounded out before the plane can take oil. The Russians do it by simply play ing blow torch flame n the tire. At 30 degrees or more below zero, 1t takes a lot of heat before that tire will begin to burn. Gradually, 1t re- sumes normal shape.
 Portoge power plants, run by a small gasoline engine, are now stan- dard equipment in all cold climates where Army airplanes are flown. They were developed to start plane motors at sub-freezing temperatures.
 Shelter for planes - knockdown or portable frames for tents that can be erected around engine pa- celles or cabins to permit servicing or repairs when planes are on the ground-forms another piece Of standard equipment being developed at Wright Field as winter weather flying aids.
 Ice is still the wortS enemy of the airplane in flight, particularly when ice forms on the leading edge of 8 plane wing. The rubber de-icers which have been standard equip ment on U. s. commercial airliners for some years are still used in Army flying, but new ways of beating this ice formation are still being sought.
 One new idea being tried out makes use of a current of warm air channeled along the inside of the leading edge of the plane wing. Still another is use of porous metal leading edge for the plane, through which air can be forced outward to prevent icing.
 DUST IS MENACE
 One of the queer mechanical difl- culties which planes have encouI1- tered in flying at high attitudes Is the failure of gasoline to feed from auxiliary and reserve tanks after the main gas tank has been emptied. An ingenius automatically operated valve has now been developed to correct this fault without the pilots ever having to touch 1t.
 But cold isn't the only element aviation has to lick. Dust and dirt can be just as damaging. That is particularly true in desert fighting conditions such as the Air Force now encounters in Africa. Let one sand storm sweep or even a propeller blast over a grounded, unprotected plane, and that plane will have to be over- hauled to clean out the fine particles of dirt that will be forced into al- moStinacceSsible points, clogging carburetors, scoring cylinders, foul- ing valves. The result has been re- search to develop an amazing array of filters and screens to keep air in- takes clean, to filter oil and fuel and to keep dust from doing dirt.