Evening star., 1953-04-22

PuVS VAAC -OVD SUL SA11AuAdGOK
Col. w. L. Deemer of Air Force
Star Staff Photo.
formance. AS his speed increases,
the scream of air outside is
heard. And when he comes in
for a landing. ERCO's engineers
have even simulated the screech
of the F86D wheels hitting the
runway. All sounds are produced
electronically.
The trainer, which puts the
embryo pilot through every
known emergency including ac-
tual shooting by an enemy, is
credited with saving many lives
for the air services. A pilot learns
what can and cannot be done
with his plane long before he
ever takes it from the ground.
Best of all, it conditions his re-
f1exeS to emergencies so that his
reactions will be split-second and
SuIG W41c1 ucGOCO.
Headed by Col. Berliner.
ERCO's founder and current
chairman Of the board is Henry
A. Berliner. 81, a retired Air
Force colonel who took part in
the first all-American raid on
Germany in January, 1943. He
later was honored for his work
as chief of the planning section
of the 9th Air Force during
World War II. In World War
he served as an air observer with
the Army.
A described tinker" and
gadgeteer, Col. Berliner, who
lives at 2841 Tilden street NV,
might be characterized as a
man who. was born with an idea
for something new. The son of
the late Emile Berliner, a Wash
ington resident who invented the
phonograph disc record and the
method of their mass production,
Henry Berliner grew up in an
atmosphere of science and
engineering. Aeronautical rec
ordS credit him with designing,
building and flying the first sue
cessful helicopter from a field
in the Washington area. He was
% years of age.
Soon after World War I, Col.
Berliner began production of his
own airplane designs in the old
Navy torpedo plant buildings in
Alexandria. He later joined
forces with a Baltimore firm to
produce the Berliner-Joyce air.
plane in the middle 1920s.
ERGO. as he describes it, is
the outgrowth of tool shops
and tinkers' benches around a
dozen airports." The first plant
was set up in 1881 to solve a
pressing problem in the aircraft
induStry-machine tools for Spe-
cial parts. Business expanded
quickly and the quarters were
shifted in 1885 to 61OO Sligo Mill
road NE, which after a few
years also began shrinking un-
der increased volume.
To Riverdale in 1888.
In 1888 Col. Berliner took his
entire staff of IS and his ma
chinery to Riverdale. Nearly all
of the 1000 employees now work.
ing at ERGO live in nearby
Maryland and the District, with
a few committing from Balti-
more and Annapolis.
AS the plant grew Col. Ber-
liner surrounded himself with
top administrative and techni-
cal talent. The colonel left the
presidency of his corporation to
become chairman of the board
in 1912, turning over the former
job to L. A. Wells, of 10 East
Blackthorn street, Chevy Chase,
Md, a veteran of more than 20
years in the aircraft industry.
A Washington lawyer and
brother-in-law to Col. Berliner
is vice president and secretary,
Milton w. King of 1000 Cathe-
dral avenue NV.
The spark plug" of the plant.
however, is a 38-year-old aero
nautical engineer, w. l.. Greene
of Ashton, Md. who holds down
the job of vice president of en-
gineering and general manager.
With hundreds of defense con-
tracts still untitled, ERGO still
isn't banking on a future of
nothing but military orders. The
aevrage age of the engineering
staff is 35 and many of these
younger men aer busy in the
planning section, laying out ideas
for future peacetime applications
Of ERCO's highly-specialized
knowledge and manufacturing
ability.