Archives consist of articles that originally appeared in Collier's Year Book (for events of 1997 and earlier) or as monthly updates in Encarta Yearbook (for events of 1998 and later). Because they were published shortly after events occurred, they reflect the information available at that time. Cross references refer to Archive articles of the same year.

1938: Aviation

Dominating the aeronautical scene in 1938 were two major factors — one military, the other civil. Realization of the weakness in our national defenses and the determination of the President to increase our air power gave promise of a more efficient utilization of the productive capacity of the industry and an opportunity for our air forces to develop to equality with those of other world powers. Creation of the long awaited Civil Aeronautics Authority, in compliance with the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938, marked the beginning of a new era in the relations between the Federal Government and the aviation industry. The story of aviation for 1938 therefore divides itself into two broad classifications, airplanes for defense and airplanes for commerce.

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Appraisal of the air-defense problem requires an international viewpoint, because the European armaments race has a direct influence on our military aircraft policy.

The flight of the Prime Minister of England to Munich in an American-built Lockheed airplane was an ironical indication of the relative air power of the major European nations. For the past three years England has been building military airplanes fast and furiously. She had thrown overboard her traditional 'buy British' policy; and in the spring the Air Ministry ordered 200 militarized versions of the Lockheed 14 Transport, at a price given as $17,000,000, and 200 North American NA-16s. Both types were alleged to be used for advanced training. But courageous efforts to build up her air forces in adequate numbers had been started too late to provide the necessary bargaining power at Munich. The British 'shadow plan,' which provides for the construction of airplanes in factories operated by automobile manufacturers, had taken a long time to get started. As 1938 closed, Fairey Battle Airplanes were not yet flowing smoothly out of the huge Austin shadow plant near Birmingham. Production there was only a small fraction of that of the parent Fairey plant at Stockport. Similarly, the Roots shadow plant at Speake was having a hard time getting into production on Bristol Blenheim bombers. Most reliable estimates place Britain's production rate at 200 airplanes per month with the prospect of rapid acceleration as the shadow scheme takes hold.

The air preparedness of France at the time of the Munich showdown was pathetic. Teetering precariously on the political fence, the French had nationalized their aircraft plants along with the rest of the munitions industry. Squabbles over the prices the Government was to pay for the factories occupied valuable time. Labor troubles were the order of the day. And it is a sad bit of advertising for nationalization that the entire French airplane industry, according to the best obtainable figures, at the time of the Munich conference was producing only about 75 planes per month.

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In sharp contrast to the armament policies of the democracies are those of the Fascist nations. Germany has now passed the forced-draft stage of production. Her plants have been built, and her training is well under control. The new Heinkel factory at Oranienburg is probably the best equipped and most efficiently operated in the world. On one eight-hour shift per day, it is turning out leisurely about a dozen ships per week. And there are a half-dozen plants almost as large, and many smaller producing units. The German industry probably turned out 6,000 planes in 1938 and should be up to 8,000 units by 1940, with most of the plants working on a single shift. Personnel employed is estimated at 150,000 to 200,000, as compared with our 36,000.

But airplane production is not the only yardstick of air strength. There are many other contributing factors. A thoughtful and reliable appraisal of the position of the teams in the international armaments race was made by S. Paul Johnston, editor of Aviation, following a post-Munich tour of Europe.

At present, our Army and Navy together boast slightly under 3,000 modern airplanes. The Navy is already authorized by Congress to acquire up to 3,000 aircraft, but it has not modified the procurement policies under which an earlier program called for 2,000 planes by 1940. Even more confused is the present Army situation. Legislation resulting from the Baker Board report authorized expansion to 2,320 planes by July 1, 1940.

Shocked, by events at Munich, into a stern realization of the increasing fragility of our frontiers and the inadequacy of our air forces, the President called together his advisers to develop an armament program adequate to meet our needs. As the year closed, the Presidential request to Congress for military airplanes was set at 13,000.

The President's $525,000,000 Defense Message, delivered to Congress Jan. 12, 1938, requested '$300,000,000 for the purchase of several types of airplanes for the Army to provide a minimum increase of 3,000 planes.' Of this amount $50,000,000 was requested immediately. Subsequent interpretation revealed that $170,000,000 of the $300,000,000 was for new planes, engines, instruments and spares, and the remainder was to be used to train and pay required additional personnel, build new airport facilities and hangars, and expand the research and testing work done at Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio. Actually the Air Corps expects at least 3,032 planes within 18 months to two years for the $170,000,000 requested. Orders will be placed as soon as enabling legislation for the first installment of $50,000,000 is passed. All this is in addition to the 2,320-plane objective set for July 1, 1940, for which an item of $20,340,700 is carried in the regular Military Appropriation Bill for the current year.

The Navy's expansion really started last year with the authorization of the 3,000-plane program at an estimated cost of $125,000,000. But the funds were slow in coming as last year's appropriation bill provided only $27,211,100 for airplanes. This year the Navy will ask for a regular appropriation of $41,261,047 which, added to a $21,000,000 request in the President's Defense Message, totals $62,000,000. For the creation or strengthening of Naval bases in both oceans the Defense Message asked $44,000,000.

The weakness of our air forces heretofore has been in quantity rather than quality. We have bought airplanes in dozen lots when we should have bought them by the hundreds. Lack of appropriations has been the most important reason, but the hardships imposed on contractors by present procurement methods have constituted a serious handicap to progress and a definite impairment of productive capacity. Add legal profit limitation to a system under which production orders are never large enough to absorb development cost, and you have a picture of the plight of the warplane producer.

A bidder of an Army contract must furnish a finished airplane, costing frequently as much as a million dollars to develop, with his offer. If he is among the 'also rans' in the design competition, he may have to charge the million to experimental expense and like it. The Navy contractor doesn't have to be quite so big a gambler; but, in a recent two-year period, average profits on Navy production orders fell to 2.8 per cent, and average losses on experimental orders rose to 71 per cent. The cost of engineering will necessarily increase still further under the new Wage-Hour Law, which definitely excludes experimental work from overtime exemption. These procurement policies are being revised. It has been the phenomenal expansion of our export market that has kept these plants open during some of the recent lean years.

There was a time when airplanes could be held up as examples of economy in military defense, but they are now becoming more expensive as they improve in construction and performance. A modern twin-engined Army bomber costs about $75,000, while the four-engined flying fortresses sell for more than three times that amount. In addition, there is the cost of the engines, which has remained constant for many years at about $10. per horsepower. Most of the military ships of today use 1,000-h.p. engines. Several thousand dollar's worth of instruments also go into each military plane. Another contributing factor to the increasing cost of air defense is the recent tendency to buy large multi-engine machines in the same numbers as single-engined fighters, whereas the ratio of single-engined to multi-engined machines purchased had once been as high as about 5:1.

On the other hand, the Army has saved money recently by buying in somewhat larger quantities than heretofore. The larger orders under contemplation at present should reduce unit costs still further. Additional economy has resulted from the recent policy of using an intermediate type of ship, called the basic trainer, in the transition period of instruction between the low performance primary trainer and the advanced combat types.

Because of the large geographical area to be defended, our Air Corps must encourage the development of long-range bombers capable of concentrating anywhere in the country within a few hours. The necessity for reaching Alaska or Hawaii in a hurry must not be overlooked. For this purpose, ships of the flying-fortress type have been bought recently. Designated B-17, this ship weighs 22 tons, carries 4½ tons of bombs and ammunition, and has a range in excess of 3,000 miles at a speed above 250 m.p.h. Four 1,000-h.p. engines constitute the power plant. A convincing demonstration of the effectiveness of this type of equipment was made in the flight to Buenos Aires, in February, 1938, of six bombers of the 2nd Bombardment Group. As a result of this flight, Lieut. Robert Olds received the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Our Army air strategists were among the first to develop the attack airplane for low contour flying and operation against ground troops behind the enemy lines. The value of this type of craft in breaking up troop concentrations has been proven in recent European warfare; a typical example is the twin-engined YIA-18 attack plane. These ships weigh about 6 tons, and their armament includes bombs and machine-gun equipment. For pursuit ships, the Army seems to have settled on the single-seater type with one 1,100-h.p. liquid-cooled engine.

An entirely new Air Corps conception is the Airacuda Combat Fighter, bristling with armament and equaling any type of ship in performance. Two engines developing well over 1,000-h.p. each are mounted with pusher propellers to leave the forward portion of the ship free for a wide variety of guns and cannon. Thirteen of these have been ordered. Finally, the observation function utilizes low-wing airplanes, autogiros, and mobile captive balloons.

In the first 10 months of 1938 the Air Corps ordered: 236 pursuits, 35 single-engine attacks, 33 observations, 78 twin-engined bombers, 40 four-engined bombers, 95 basic combat planes, 20 primary trainers, 51 cargo ships, and 26 amphibians.

Personnel has lagged behind material in the Air Corps building program. At the end of the fiscal year 1938 (June 30), there were 1,430 officers in the Corps. 200 more were added from the graduates of the Randolph and Kelly Field Training Bases in the fall. The estimated requirement by 1940 (excluding any unusual expansion), is 2,300-2,400 officers. The average number of reserve officers on extended active duty in 1938 was 550. Enrollment at the Training Center was more than 1,000, an increase of over 100 per cent above 1937. Almost all graduates are now ordered, with their own consent, to 3 years active duty immediately upon graduation. As a practical matter, however, the average has been much lower than 3 years.

There has been some extensive rebuilding of Air Corps bases; but only one new field, the Northwest Air Base at Tacoma, Wash., has been started, although the survey following the passage of the Wilcox Bill of 1935 suggested 7. But no enabling legislation was enacted. The six strictly air bases at which modernization has been in progress are: Langley, Mitchell, Selfridge, March, Hamilton, and Barksdale. In addition, work has been done at 5 schools and 4 depots. The development of our commercial fields is a contributing factor to national defense. We cannot underestimate the military value of the extensive airport improvement program of WPA.

The tactical trend of recent years has been toward greater independence of action for the flying units. In this country the most important step in this direction has been the organization of the General Headquarters Air Force. Until three years ago our Army Air Corps was spread over nine separate corps areas. The new G.H.Q. Air Force concentrates this air power into a single, highly-mobile command and increases its striking power immeasurably — a particularly important factor where a geographical area as large as the United States is to be defended. Under the able leadership of Gen. Frank H. Andrews, the G.H.Q. Air Force has developed through a trying period of growing pains and is now an accepted branch of the service. Details of its organization are still being studied and will be modified as the need for change appears. At present, the G.H.Q. is far below the strength of 980 planes originally specified; its plan for bases at strategic points around the country has not progressed very rapidly; and it may have to contend with a personnel shortage if training does not keep up with procurement of equipment. Of the 1,406 officers required by July 1, 1938, a few over 700, including more than 300 reservists, were available, 7,141 of the 8,000 enlisted men were on hand. Although 800 ships were needed, there were only 369 — 142 attack, 88 bombers, 20 reconnaissance, and 149 pursuit planes.

On the other hand, it has increased morale by providing personnel with a new degree of independence. It has made possible a uniform program of post-school training and a system of minimum fitness qualifications. To perfect its organization, a requirement was instituted that all Army pilots, even those on administrative work, fly at least 100 hr. per year, including 35 hr. cross country, 10 hr. on instruments, 10 hr. at night, and 5 hr. on formation. Combat pilots are required to do more than double that amount.

Usefulness of the G.H.Q. was proven during the summer maneuvers, in which 3,000 officers and men and some 220 airplanes participated. During the year the G.H.Q. home base was moved from Langley Field, Hampton, Va., to Scott Field, Rantoul, Ill.

Another symbol of the growing importance of the Air Corps in the Army setup is the proportion of the total Army appropriation allotted to it. In 1938, the figure was $127,246,873, or 28.9 per cent of the total Army appropriation. This may be compared with $44,300,000, or 12.7 per cent in 1936.

Included in the research program of the Air Corps was a series of substratosphere flights in the XC-35 airplane, designed, constructed and equipped by the Army Corps. Release of the details was particularly helpful to the several commercial designers now at work on pressure-cabin airplanes within which conditions approximating those of lower altitudes are maintained when the ships are flying above 20,000 ft. For this valuable work the Air Corps was awarded the Collier Trophy for the 'greatest achievement in aviation whose value has been demonstrated in actual use during the previous year.' Among those cited as principles were Maj. Carl F. Greene and Capt. Albert H. Johnson, of Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio; Dr. John E. Younger, University of Maryland; and Lieut. Col. Oliver P. Schols, also of Wright Field.

The Mackay Trophy for 1937 was awarded, in its twenty-sixth year, to Capt. Carl J. Crane and George V. Holloman for the first wholly-automatic blind landing in aeronautical history, made August 23. Project engineer Raymond K. Stout, a civilian, received a letter of commendation from air-minded Assistant Secretary of War Louis Johnson for his participation.

The entire industry was shocked by the death in an airplane accident of Major General Oscar Westover, Chief of the Army Air Corps, at Burbank, Calif., Sept. 21. He received his appointment in December 1936, and directed the Air Corps through its period of greatest progress. He was succeeded by Brigadier General Henry H. Arnold, who was appointed with the rank of Major General.

For aero-mapping, see PHOTOGRAPHY.

Long-range aircraft development constitutes a primary objective of the Navy as well as the Army. Two large experimental flying boats were completed and test-flown in the past year. Performance and specifications are not yet available, but the Consolidated XPB2Y-1 and the Sikorsky XPBS-1 are both four-engined craft weighing in the neighborhood of 35 tons. The Consolidated ship is a high wing monoplane of metal construction. Living accommodations for the crew include roomy sleeping quarters with clothes lockers, toilet facilities, heating and ventilation. An electric range and a refrigerator operate from the 110-volt a.c. generating system, which is independent of the engines. (This feature is being included in the equipment of all large aircraft.) This ship is a lineal descendant of the Consolidated patrol boats that have figured so prominently in many of the spectacular long-range mass flights of the Navy which are recorded modestly as 'routine transfers' of equipment.

On June 25, 44 Consolidated PBY patrol boats made a non-stop mass flight from San Diego to Seattle (1,025 miles), thence to Sitka and Kodiak, Alaska, for maneuvers, and back to Seattle for a return non-stop flight to San Diego, arriving Aug. 1. The group included 80 officers and 200 men under Capt. Alva D. Bernard. Two other 'routine deliveries' of Naval equipment were made in September. On the 2nd, Squadron 5, consisting of 14 planes, reached Coco Solo, C.Z., from San Diego, Calif., in 26 hr., 40 min. flying time. On the 7th, Squadron One (17 planes), arrived at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, from San Diego in 17 hr., 20 min.

The Sikorsky XPBS-1, which is similar in size and general design, is also a descendant of a long line of successful flying boats, which includes the commercial clipper ships used by Pan American Airways in its Caribbean services and in the earlier operations across the Pacific Ocean.

At the close of 1938, there were about 170 patrol bombers in active service and 43 additional machines of older types still on the active list but on limited-usage status. Most of the 57 new craft ordered earlier in the year had been delivered, bringing the total to about 270. This number is less than one half of the quota of 600 patrol bombers believed to be required as a minimum for our air defense. (See also NAVAL SCIENCE, AMERICAN.)

Increased production costs have brought up the estimated prices of patrol bombers from $163,000 to $250,000 between the fiscal years 1938 and 1939. For this reason, only 320, instead of 397, can be purchased with the $28,860,000 originally available. Unit cost of Naval aircraft has increased on an average of 28 per cent. During the last half of 1938, 1,048 airplanes were available to the fleet, and inclusion of the shore-based craft brought the total up to 1,415.

Appropriations for the fiscal year 1939 (beginning July 1, 1938) were as follows: Aircraft construction, $24,582,000; experiment and development, $3,403,500; maintenance and operations of aircraft and stations, $19,120,800; navigational, radio, aerological, and photographic equipment, $968,700; the total being $48,075,000.

Effectiveness of aircraft of this type can be increased enormously by the use of mobile bases or tenders; but at present we have only two of these, the twice-converted Langley and the Wright. Several smaller vessels which once were mine-sweepers are being used for this purpose. Naval authorities estimate our needs at four new tenders of 8,300 tons each and seven smaller vessels at 1,650 tons each to provide for the new 3,000 plane program of the Navy. A shortage of shore bases for this airplane building program also exists.

The shore-base situation on the Pacific Coast has been improved recently, but the Atlantic setup leaves much to be desired. On the West Coast new bases were started recently at Sitka, Alaska, and San Pedro, Calif., and improvements are being made at Alameda, Calif., Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and Coco Solo, C. Z. Survey work on two prospective bases in the far North, on the commercial bases on Midway, Wake and Guam islands, and on one at Samoa has been done. At present there are four bases on the Atlantic Coast — at Norfolk, Pensacola, Guantanamo, and St. Thomas. At least four more are necessary. During the current fiscal year $2,800,000 of WPA funds were earmarked for naval air bases, but this is only 3 per cent of the funds necessary for the present program.

Inadequacy exists also in our complement of aircraft carriers. In 1938 two new vessels, the Yorktown (commissioned September 30, 1937) and the Enterprise (commissioned May 12, 1938) were given their shakedown cruises and put in operation. Two other carriers are planned for the near future and will bring the total up to 7.

There is a serious shortage of personnel in naval aviation, and estimates indicate that there will be a shortage of 670 pilots by the end of June 1939, when equipment for that fiscal year is in operation.

During the year the Naval Aircraft Factory completed its first allotment of Government-built ships. The production unit consisted of 185 training planes, twenty of which were powered with the NAF-R760 engine rated at 235 h.p. and built under Wright license. Other production underway included 44 scout observation planes and a large number of parachutes.

The Navy's Medal of Honor went to the late Lieut. Carlton B. Hutchins, killed in the collision of two patrol planes during fleet exercises on Feb. 2, 1938. Lieut. Hutchins remained at the controls after the collision, enabling some of his crew to escape by parachutes.

Other Naval awards included the Edwin Francis Conway Memorial Trophy to the Oakland Naval Air Reserve Station, and the Noel Davis Trophy to the First Aviation Division VS-12R Squadron of Kansas City, Kan. Both awards are made by the Navy Inspection Board.

Immediately after the declaration of war, the Navy would be augmented by the service of the U. S. Coast Guard. The aircraft branch of this service has been doing valuable work in saving lives, aiding distressed ships, warning shipping of impending disasters, transporting emergency medical cases, and rounding up smugglers. Its operating expense for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1938, was $1,820,900. It has about 50 airplanes in service and 19 enlisted pilots, 19 warrant officers, and 43 officers. Total roster is 460 men. Complete air bases are located at eight points. In July 1938, a million-dollar base was opened at Floyd Bennett Field, Brooklyn. N. Y. Funds have been appropriated for additional new bases at Elizabeth City, N. J., and San Francisco. Calif.

First Distinguished Flying Cross for a Coast Guard man was awarded recently to Lieut. C. B. Olson for bringing in a seriously ill Army officer from the transport Republic, 300 miles out at sea, in June 1935.

The most significant civil aeronautics development in 1938 was the passage of the Civil Aeronautics Act and the resulting appointment of the Civil Aeronautics Authority. The Federal Aviation Commission (Howell Board), appointed by President Roosevelt in 1935, had recommended the appointment of a permanent separate commission for the regulation and promotion of aviation and the aviation industry. In accepting the report the President disagreed with the recommendation for an independent commission, and air transportation was placed under the jurisdiction of the Interstate Commerce Commission. In 1937, however, additional legislation opened the way for the passage of the Civil Aeronautics Act in the spring of 1938.

The Civil Aeronautics Authority consists of three parts: the Authority itself (a five-man board), the Administrator, and a three-man Safety Board. Legally, the Authority is the governing body and is directly responsible to Congress for the regulation and development of the aviation industry. The five members are elected for six-year terms and receive $12,000 a year. They are appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate and are removable by the Chief Executive for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office. Not more than three members can be appointed from the same political party. Present appointees are: Edward J. Noble, private pilot and former candy manufacturer, chairman; Grant Mason, former special representative of Pan American Airways; Harlee Branch, former Assistant Postmaster General; Robert Hinckly, former WPA airport administrator and flying service operator; and Oswald Ryan, former member of the Federal Power Commission.

Transferred to the jurisdiction of the Authority are the employees of the Bureau of Air Mail, the Interstate Commerce Commission, and the Bureau of Air Commerce, Department of Commerce. Officers and employees, excepting a secretary of the Authority, a secretary for each member, a general counsel, a director of each bureau, assistant directors, and directors of divisions or sections, are subject to civil-service laws.

Receiving the same salary as the members of the Authority is the Administrator, similarly appointed, but without a definite term, and subject to the President's unimpaired right of removal. Functions of the Administrator are promotional and managerial. He is responsible for the encouragement and development of civil airways and facilities. The present incumbent is Clinton M. Hester, formerly of the Treasury Department, who assisted in drafting the Civil Aeronautics Act.

The remaining part of the setup is the three-man Safety Board, whose functions consist mainly in studying and reporting on accidents with the ultimate aim of reducing them; publication of material and recommendations regarding accidents when it is deemed within the public interest; and conducting research to better safety conditions. This board neither takes orders from the Authority nor gives orders to it, but may make recommendations to it. Members, one of whom must be an active airline pilot with at least 3,000 hours of scheduled flight to his credit, receive $7,500 per year. The piloting requirement is filled by Thomas Hardin, formerly of American Airlines. The chairman, Lt. Col. Sumpter Smith, was formerly principal aeronautical engineer of the WPA Airports Division. The third appointee is C. B. Allen, former aviation editor of the New York Herald Tribune.

Immediately upon its appointment the Authority went to work on the industry's problems. Among its first official acts were: (1) Routine granting of certificates of convenience and necessity to existing airlines and consideration of applications of proposed lines, some 80 of which are now, at the year's close, under examination; (2) Study of rates of payment to air-mail contractors, with the object of adjusting them; (3) Continuation and embellishment of the airport survey begun by the Air Commerce Bureau. (The Civil Aeronautics Act requires that a report and recommendation regarding the advisability of Federal financial aid for airports be submitted to Congress by Feb. 1, 1939.) (4) Study of the problems of private flying, with the idea of developing a program to bring flight training within the reach of the nation's youth. (5) Recommendation of the Safety Board that the airport facilities at Washington, D. C., be improved.

American aircraft, engine, and accessory manufacture boomed during 1938. The military, transport, and export markets kept the larger factories hard at work. Manufacturers of aircraft for private use suffered somewhat from the depressed business conditions. But when the totals were chalked up, the aggregate dollar value of planes, engines, and parts was $130,000,000, as compared with $114,992,863 for 1937. This business gave employment to about 36,000 persons, or nearly three times as many as in 1934. Many more were kept at work in the 1,000 companies supplying materials, instruments, and parts for the manufacture of airplanes, which is rapidly becoming an assembly-plant process.

Breaking down the year's airplane production by number of units gives us: military planes, 1,800; transport planes, 150; private ships, 1,725. Of the latter, however, 1,425 were light planes selling at less than $2,000 each. Although the number of transport ships produced was fairly small, the cost per unit runs from $60,000 to more than $100,000, and will be much higher when the large 40-passenger ships of the DC-4 and Boeing 307 are in production. Value of military units varies from about $40,000 to $250,000.

Export business continued its meteoric rise in 1938, accounting for more than one half of all production and scoring a total volume of $68,209,050, as compared with $39,400,000 in 1937 and $9,300,000 in 1929. This continuing increase is due not only to the high quality of the product but to the preoccupation of other nations with the upbuilding of their military air strength. While all of the airplanes were exported under license from the Government and under compliance with the Neutrality Law, it is unfortunately true that some used equipment found its way out of the country to destinations not approved by the Government.

Of the $68,209,050 total, 876 aircraft accounted for $37,977,924; 1,307 engines brought $7,899,844; parts and accessories, $21,930,343; and parachutes and parts, $400,939. Best customer was Japan with a total billing of $11,062,500. Next in order were: Netherlands Indies, $8,495,300; China, $6,391,700; Argentina, $6,187,300; U.S.S.R., $5,171,300; United Kingdom, $3,916,100; Canada, $3,511,100; Netherlands, $3,278,600; Turkey, $3,160,300; Brazil, $1,946,900; Mexico, $1,246,800; Australia, $1,240,500; Hong Kong, $1,213,400; and Sweden, $1,004,300.

While the export market has made a highly important contribution to the industry and in other years saved many a plant from closing its doors, it cannot be depended upon as a source of revenue. As European nations smooth out their production schedules, they will not only have sufficient equipment for themselves but will be able to create a surplus for sale outside of their own borders. Germany is already giving preference to export orders. Widespread dumping, currency manipulation, war, or many other factors might curtail seriously our orders from abroad. Already we are finding competition in South America and certain parts of Europe and Asia from England, France, Germany, Italy and Russia. (See also INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES.)

Regardless of what the future holds, the 1938 export market paid our shop labor alone some $30,000,000; for 44 cents of each production dollar is paid out to workers in the shops. The remainder goes mostly to other workers, to management, materials, plant maintenance, tools, depreciation, sales, research, and taxes. Combined shop wages for the total manufacturing industry aggregated about $60,000,000.

The 1938 productive capacity of the industry has been reached following a general wave of plant expansion in the past couple of years. Most of the factories have been modernized in that period and are now well equipped. In spite of the expansion in business this year, they are not operating at full capacity, and many are working on only one shift. Recent estimates show that, if the plants were working at their full capacity, it would be possible to employ 74,000 men, or double the present number, without increasing their physical facilities. Unfortunately, there is not that number of trained shop workers available, even though the mechanics' schools are crowded and vocational training courses are springing up in public schools throughout the country. An example is New York City's Manhattan High School of Aviation Trades, where about 100 students are turned out each semester and are readily absorbed by the industry. Aid up to 50 per cent of teachers' salaries may be provided under the Smith-Hughes and other Federal laws for vocational work approved by state boards of education. The state school for mechanical training at Elmira. N. Y., is typical of the institutions throughout the country that are operated on this basis.

Rotary wing aircraft development received a boost in the closing days of Congress with the passage of the Dorsey Bill, recommending an appropriation of $2,000,000 for research work on this type of aircraft. No appropriation was made in 1938.

Airlines in Operation. Our scheduled airlines are without question the most highly developed in the world. By their use it is possible to travel between almost any of the key cities of the country at night without loss of any part of the business day. For example, you can leave New York at 5 p.m. and be in Los Angeles ready for work well before the beginning of the business day. Railroad time is 60 hours. In general, railroad schedules are three to four times as long as those of the airlines. Sleeping accommodations aboard modern airliners are as comfortable as those on the railroads, and in some respects more so. Meals aloft are furnished without charge to the passenger.

As of Jan. 1, 1939, there were 23 airlines in operation in the United States. Foreign extensions included lines in Alaska, the Hawaiian Islands, and the Pacific, Central and South American Services of Pan American Airways and Pan American-Grace Airways, Inc. The New York-Bermuda Service is operated jointly by Pan American and England's Imperial Airways. In the West Indies, Mexico, Central and South America there were 12 services; and in Europe, Africa, and Asia there were also 12. Domestic lines fly 201,993 miles daily; foreign extensions, 32,929 miles.

The most encouraging symptom in the domestic air transport picture was the growing realization among the lines that cooperation was more to be desired than bitter competition. Although the battle of the airlines is still being waged, there are signs that its intensity is decreasing. An important step was the September meeting of operating executives and the C.A.A. in Chicago, at which it was agreed to slow up operations so that ships would cruise at 50 per cent power instead of the usual 65 per cent. Field rules were established preventing one line from taking off in weather considered unflyable by competing lines; and cooperation was agreed upon in such elements of operation as radio, engineering, and weather reporting. Still another cooperative enterprise was the National Air Travel Week (Oct. 1-9), during which thousands of first riders were taken on demonstration flights in airliners, while a series of parades and other events did much to increase public air travel consciousness.

Advertising. Airline advertising had reached a new low level early in 1938. Newspaper and national magazine copy was intended to divert passengers from one line to another rather than convert travelers from other forms of transportation. Meanwhile the Association of American Railroads was sponsoring a concerted program highly beneficial to its members. Then a cooperative campaign for the airlines was decided upon at Chicago.

Traffic. The bad taste in the public mouth from the previous winter's accidents and the depressed condition of general business combined to push the traffic figures below the 1937 levels during the summer months. Late in the year they began to show signs of rapidly-accelerating recovery. In spite of the summer slump, however, the traffic total for the year stood at 577,719,268 passenger-miles, as compared with 476,603,165 miles last year. Traffic of foreign extensions was 90,000,000 passenger-miles, as compared with 73,025,242 miles for 1937.

Personnel. In 1938, there were 11,750 persons employed in the domestic air transport branch of the aviation industry. Their payroll totaled about $24,000,000. Flight personnel included 775 pilots, 613 copilots, and 443 hostesses and stewards. The average monthly salary was: pilots, $675; co-pilots, $230; hostesses and stewards, $115. Ground personnel including maintenance crews, hangar and field crews, dispatchers, meteorologists, radio operators, traffic men, and office personnel, totaled 9,855. Salaries ranged from $90 per month for field and hangar crews to $240 per month for dispatchers. The ratio of ground to flying personnel was about 7½:1.

The relatively high salary of pilots as compared with key personnel on the ground presents a difficult management problem. When a man has attained a first pilot's berth he realizes that he cannot increase his income and, after he has outlived his usefulness in the air, he is likely to resent being placed in a ground position at a very much lower salary. Yet it is here that his experience is most needed. One solution that has been offered is that pilots be required to set aside insurance reserves in their more productive years, to be applied to increase their ground pay later on.

Operating Costs and Revenues. Salaries account for 36 per cent of airline operating cost. Other elements of operating cost are: fuel and oil, 12 per cent; depreciation, 15 per cent; materials, 7 per cent; insurance, 7 per cent; advertising, 6 per cent; rent, 4 per cent; taxes, 3 per cent; and miscellaneous, 10 per cent. Airline income is from three sources: passengers, 61 per cent; mail, 36 per cent; express, 3 per cent.

The proportion of passenger revenue to total revenue has been steadily increasing with the upward trend of traffic over the ten-year history of the airlines. Mail poundage has also been on the increase. Express poundage has been increasing steadily but not so rapidly, excepting last summer when it suffered a seasonal slump. Poundage for the year was 7,335,967, and pound-miles flown, 4,347,411,761. Domestic passenger-route mileage was 32,333, and foreign 35,405, making a total of 67,728 miles. Of these the mail-route mileage was 59,143. Domestic passengers carried were 1,343,427 and miles flown, 69,668,827. Domestic seat-miles flown were 949,421,755, and the average-load factor was 58.74 per cent. 94.23 per cent of the trips started in the domestic services were completed, 93.86 per cent of the trips scheduled were started. Average length of a passenger trip was 436 miles. Average passenger fare was 5.6 cents per mile as compared with 12 cents in 1929.

The trend of passenger fares has been steadily downward, and it is generally believed that they will continue to decrease. Operating costs of modern transports have increased only slightly as passenger capacity went up rapidly. It is now possible to operate a 24-passenger ship for about 60 cents per mile. This means that, at present rates of fare, operators may break even at load factors of 50 per cent or slightly less. Although the average load factor of 56.73 per cent has been high as compared with other transport systems, it is likely that it will increase with a decreasing rate of fare. From these facts it is obvious that air transport is now at approximately the breakeven point. Future increases in efficiency of equipment and increasing load factors with decreased fares will lead the way to profit from a transportation medium which is inherently the most efficient known.

Safety in Operation. Safety figures soared as the number of fatal accidents dropped off sharply in the last half of 1938. Passenger-mileage per fatality for the whole year jumped to 22,000,000 as compared with 12,000,000 in 1937.

Significant recognition of the safety of scheduled operation came from the insurance companies, who since Jan. 1, 1938, have been offering an air-travel policy for $5,000 at a premium of 25 cents for each 4 hours of flight. This is on a par with railroad rates.

Several new developments to increase safety still further saw light of day in 1938. Notably among them was the absolute altimeter developed jointly by United Airlines, Bell Telephone Laboratories, and Western Electric and publicly demonstrated for the first time early in October. The new device indicates the altitude above the terrain instead of above sea level as all other altimeters have done. It operates by radio and is completely independent of barometric pressure. Although technical details have not yet been released, it is known that it employs the shortest waves yet put to practical application. These waves are 0.6 meters in length and experience a high degree of reflection from any surface. After more tests, Western Electric will build enough of these indicators for all U.A.L. transports, and after that they will be generally available.

Another important milestone on the road to greater safety was passed when the Sperry-R.C.A. Automatic Direction Finder was introduced on October 13. There is nothing new about the homing radio which leads a pilot to any broadcasting station within range that he selects, but the new one is automatic and saves valuable time in getting bearings on the destination station. Airplanes move so rapidly that, in the time necessary to calculate your position, you have gone somewhere else. With the new 'Index Finger' Direction Finder you tune in the station, and an arrow mounted above an azimuth scale points to the actual direction from which the signal is coming and keeps pointing there regardless of the maneuvers of the ship.

Also, in the realm of radio aids to safety, is a static eliminator which consists of a six-inch cartridge mounted on the trailing edge of the wing. When interference becomes unbearable, the cartridge is set off, and a short length of fine braided wire streams out behind. This device actually does away with most of the static.

Aerodynamic researches of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics have given us a 'stall-warning' device which lights a light or sounds an alarm a short time before a wing reaches the stall — the condition or attitude of the airplane at which the airflow around the wing breaks up and its lift is destroyed, usually resulting in a tail spin. The new device, reported by F. L. Thompson, of the Langley Field Laboratories in an N.A.C.A. Technical Note, consists of a false section of wing, which will stall earlier than the whole wing. A Pitot-static head near by reports the burble of the air-flow through a relay actuating the warning device. Thus the pilot has time to correct the altitude of the ship before the whole wing stalls.

Most of these and other important safety devices introduced during the year fill part of the long-felt need of some means to simplify the pilot's job, which has been growing ever more complicated. It is only through such simplification that the human error, which has been responsible for so many accidents, can be reduced. (See also RADIO: Aeronautics.)

Air Mail. Government assistance to the airlines is largely in the form of mail contracts; but it is frequently forgotten that a very large part of the air-mail appropriation comes back to the Post Office Department in the sale of stamps for air-mail letters.

Compensation rates for air-mail service were to be determined by the Civil Aeronautics Authority, but the Authority found it a far more complicated job than they first thought. The airlines didn't make it any easier for them, either. Bids to carry the mail ranged from zero to $7 per mile. The gratuitous offer won for Eastern Airlines the strategic Houston-Brownsville, Tex., contract over Braniff, whose bid was $.00001907378 per mile. The $7 per mile bid was part of an application of Pan American's for relief from the expense of operating across the Pacific. Pan American announced that the present base rate of $2 per mile in both directions between San Francisco and Macoa had resulted in heavy losses and requested the $7 rate for the westward flight for a maximum of 800 lb. plus $1 per thousand pound-miles above that figure. For the eastward run it wanted $8 per pound from Guam to Honolulu and from Honolulu to San Francisco plus all the revenue from foreign air mail credited to it by the Post Office Department.

Now if Pan American Airways should be forced to suspend service, there would be loud complaints from those who suffer from loss of service; and the Navy will be deprived of airline connections with the Pacific Ocean bases. If the request is granted, no one can foretell how much the domestic operators will ask to carry the mail. This is one of the neat little jobs for the solution of which the C.A.A. has hired a corps of experts. Another is the adjustment of air-line fares, which last year were cut on every possible pretext. Special educational rates, free tickets for wives, and half-fare for children were a few of the reasons.

New Pacific Air Routes. Pan American Airways, father of our foreign airline extensions, showed traffic gains of 30-40 per cent in all departments, despite decreases on the Trans-Pacific route, due to the Sino-Japanese hostilities, and decreases on some South American routes, due to increased competition from European airlines. The total was about 90,000,000 passenger-miles.

During the year 4,500 miles of new routes were added. New routes include Rio de Janeiro-Buenos Aires via Iguassu Falls and Asuncion, Paraguay, providing the first American air link with Paraguay, and including the last Latin American country in the Pan American Airways System. A new overland route from the Canal Zone down the western coast of South America was added by Pan American-Grace Airways, and late in the year was re-routed between Cali, Colombia, and Guayaquil, Ecuador, to make a stop at Quito, Ecuador's capital. This was the last Latin-American capital to be served by P.A.A. A new direct Trans-Caribbean route, from Miami to Port-au-Prince, to Maracaibo, Venezuela, brings Venezuela's oil fields within a day of Miami. It has become the fourth Trans-Caribbean trunk-route. A new all-American 'overseas' route connecting the Territory of Alaska with the Pacific Northwest was pioneered and will doubtless soon be open to traffic. The route covers Seattle-Ketchikan-Juneau, where schedules connect with the Electra service to White Horse (Yukon Territory) and Alaska's inland commercial capital at Fairbanks. The Pacific operation suffered its first loss during the summer when the Hawaiian Clipper disappeared July 29, without explanation or trace between Guam and Manila, leaving the Pacific Division with two instead of three ships.

Trans-Atlantic Operation. Transoceanic operating ambitions are held by American Export Airlines who have devoted three years of survey work toward service into the Mediterranean. In September, the company contracted with Consolidated Aircraft for a commercial flying boat of a design based on the Navy patrol bomber at cost of about $200,000.

With admirable precision the Germans maintained pre-announced schedules of North Atlantic Ocean flying. From July 21 to Oct. 18, 28 flights were made between New York and Horta in the Azores. Connecting services between Horta and Berlin via Lisbon were maintained, constituting through service between New York and Berlin. On the over-ocean leg of the flight, the catapult ships Friesenland and Schwabenland were used. A third seaplane, the Nordstern, was added to the existing fleet of two — the Nordmeer and Nordwind. Average east-west elapsed flying time was 15 hr., 39 min. In the opposite direction it was 14 hr., 21 min. A non-stop landplane flight from Berlin to New York was made in 24 hr., 54 min., in a Focke-Wulf Condor. Departure from Berlin was made August 10. This ship, the Brandenburg, also returned non-stop, leaving Floyd Bennett Field and arriving in Berlin 19 hr., 55 minutes later, on August 13.

England's solution for the problem of launching long-range aircraft with heavy fuel loads is the Mayo Composite or 'pick-a-back' plane. The Composite is launched from the back of a larger airplane. The mother-ship provides a certain amount of initial velocity and altitude before uncoupling. The principle was successfully demonstrated in a Trans-Atlantic flight between England and Montreal, started July 20, consuming 20 hr., 19 min., and delivering a half-ton load. After a visit to Port Washington, L. I., the Mercury found its way back to Southampton on July 27, stopping at Montreal, Botwood, N. F., the Azores, and Lisbon. The French got started over the Atlantic when the Lieut. de Vaisseau Paris landed at Port Washington August 31 after a 22 hr., 48 min. crossing. Three days later it headed homeward. None of these airplanes are fitted for passenger carrying over the Atlantic. That work will be left to ships of the Boeing 314 Clipper type, to British ships now under construction by Short Brothers, and to other large planes of Germany and France. Service should be started in 1939.

Three transport airplanes significant for their size emerged from the factories in 1938 — the Douglas DC-4, the Boeing 307 Stratoliner, and the Boeing 314 Clipper for Trans-Atlantic service. The first two are landplanes of about 40-passenger capacity. They probably represent a temporary peak in size, as subsequent designs such as the Douglas DC-5 and the Curtiss-Wright 20 are somewhat smaller. The large land-transport planes will probably take care of the needs of the domestic trunk lines for some time to come. The smaller ships are intended for short-line, or feeder, service. A different situation exists in the development of large seaplanes. Although the Boeing Clipper is the largest ship of its kind yet built in America, weighing about 80,000 lb. gross, there is at least one 110,000-lb. design on the drawing boards, and a specification has been issued by Pan American Airways calling for a boat of more than 200,000 lb. gross. The P.A.A. specification was made public early in 1938 in a letter from Col. Charles A. Lindbergh, technical adviser, and calls for at least 100-passenger capacity, a crew of 16, and a payload of 25,000 lb. Range of 5,000 miles at minimum cruising speed of 200 m.p.h. is also specified. Eight manufacturers received this invitation, and at least 5 have set to work on preliminary designs.

Both of the new land-transport planes are designed for high-altitude operations and have some degree of provision for maintenance of comfortable air-pressure conditions within the cabin at altitudes above 20,000 ft. Production models of the DC-4 will be pressurized to carry a pressure equivalent to that of 12,000 ft. altitude while flying at 20,000 ft. The Boeing Stratoliner is designed so that cabin pressure will be the equivalent of 12,200 ft. at 20,000 ft., and 8,000 ft. at 14,700 ft. Automatic regulation will change cabin pressure at the rate of 300 ft. per minute while the ship is ascending or descending at the rate of 565 ft. per minute.

Private flying and miscellaneous operation had as good a year as could be expected. The best estimates of miscellaneous flying activities place their total at 111,000,000 miles and more than 1,500,000 passengers carried. This gives some idea of the extent of the services rendered by about 2,000 fixed-base operators.

At the end of 1938 there were 22,983 certificated pilots of which 1,159 held airline transport ratings, 6,834, commercial, 1,005 limited commercial, 10,676 private certificates, 13,005 solo, and 304 amateur ratings. There were 172 glider pilots. In addition 39,314 were taking flying instruction. Active airplanes certificated in this country were 10,000 in number.

The year 1938 began with a nationwide wave of resentment toward the old Bureau of Air Commerce for the Civil Air Regulations introduced late in 1937 and widely misunderstood because of their involved legal phraseology. Gradually, however, the differences were ironed out, but the C.A.R. are still in the process of revision. In final form the much-contested Chapter 160 provides that the itinerant flier can go anywhere he ever could if he and his equipment are properly qualified to do so. An instrument pilot's rating and certain radio equipment constitute the major part of this qualification. The restrictions placed upon the contact flyer (who uses the ground for reference in his navigation) boil down to those necessary for safety along the airways and around transport terminals where ships are constantly coming and going in bad weather 'on instruments.' Anyone who has watched from a transport window while a private ship loomed out of the fog unheralded can appreciate the need for such regulation.

While the C.A.R. were in process of revision and interpretation, indignation meetings were called in most sections of the country by non-scheduled operators and private pilots, who realized belatedly that they were not sufficiently well organized to present a united front for their own protection and welfare. During the International Aircraft Show in February in Chicago a three-day series of meetings was held to organize the fixed-base operators on a national scale. This plan failed because of the overelaborate organization proposed and for lack of sufficient representation. But out of the local meetings emerged several active organizations which have already made themselves heard on various important questions. Among them is Non-Scheduled Aviation, Inc., on the Pacific Coast, and other organizations in New England and the Southwest. In Florida, a promotional enterprise known as the 'Ed Nilsen Operator Plan' was inaugurated by the Florida Aviation Association. Briefly, the plan provides for community assistance for competent operators during the difficult period of starting a business at an airport. In September, in Cleveland during the National Air Races a national organization of airport managers was formed.

Alarmed by the unnecessarily large number of accidents due to carelessness in private flying, there has been a demand in several quarters for more carefully-controlled instruction and more nearly standardized curricula in the smaller flying schools. A first step in this direction was the Instructors' Rating established by the C.A.R. which requires that a pilot must have 'ability to impart knowledge' in addition to the transport certificate (200 hr.), which was all that was formerly required. But the need for further qualification is apparent, and much thought is being given to it by the C.A.A., insurance companies, and others.

Sensing the demand for Federal recognition of the private flier and his problems, a Private Flying Section was set up in the old Bureau of Air Commerce in April, during the brief directorship of Denis Mulligan. But no appointments were made, and nothing further was done about it until after the C.A.A. took over and absorbed the Bureau. It was not until August 31 that Grove Webster, private flyer and publisher, was appointed to the post. In December, the Section was expanded to a Division with Webster continuing as head.

In the closing days of the year came presidential approval for a C.A.A. plan for training 20,000 pilots annually in the colleges and universities in the United States. With it came authorization for the allocation of $100,000 in National Youth Administration Funds for the first test phase of the plan. The tests will go on in thirteen selected institutions until next June and if successful will be applied in several hundred schools throughout the nation during the 1939-1940 school year. Among the guinea-pig institutions are Purdue University, Universities of Alabama, Minnesota, New York and Washington, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Texas A. & M. College, Georgia School of Technology and Pomona Junior College. A strong wave of protest from established school operators followed.

The plan provides for free flight training of 35 hours per semester, together with adequate ground-school instruction, for students between the ages of 18 and 25. The estimated cost to the Government of the first year of full operation is $9,800,000 for 20,000 pilots. Flight training will be given by properly qualified instructors, and steps are being taken to develop such men out of existing operators. Coordination of this civil training plan with plans of the Army and the Navy will provide a backlog of civilian pilots which will be useful in a national emergency.

The plan is inspired at least in part by the civilian training programs now in operation in every major country in the world. In England in the recently organized British Civil Air Guard, it is possible for properly qualified young men to receive flight training for as little cost as 62 cents per hour of dual instruction. This is the week-day rate on light planes. Week-end charges and rates on heavier ships are higher; but the instruction is well within the means of everyone, and 30,000 have applied for it.

In Germany, school children begin to make cardboard model airplanes at the age of ten. From these they progress rapidly to wooden models, gasoline-powered models, soaring, and powered flight. Selection of those best qualified is made from the public schools and from the Hitler Jugend which is similar to our Boy Scouts. Of the 6,000,000 Jugend members, 112,000 are in aviation work. Advanced students and school teachers are trained at camps maintained by the N.S.F.K., an Air Ministry reserve organization which is subdivided into a score of divisions and 520 subdivisions or Sturms. Night-school courses are available to those who are employed. At present 65,000 men up to age 35 wear the uniform of the N.S.F.K. The German plan has been projected along the 'Rome-Berlin Axis' to Italy. There the organization is called R.U.N.A., and its setup is very close to that of Germany's.

To the WPA we must be thankful for the major airport improvements of the past few years. Funds aggregating more than $95,000,000, in addition to sponsors' contributions, have been spent in the WPA Airport and Airway Program. Of these, $66,114,989 have been used to improve 169 of the 191 regular airline stops. The program extended to 47 States. Projects approved recently by the President total more than $16,000,000.

Since 1935 about 5,000 miles have been added to the commercial airline routes between key cities. In 1938, there were 22,671 miles of lighted airways; 85 radio-broadcast stations; 170 radio-range stations; 25,460 miles of teletypewriter service; and 1,950 airway beacon lights. Of the 2,364 airports, there were 784 municipal; 432 commercial; 268 intermediate; 630 auxiliary; 25 Navy; 62 Army; 163 miscellaneous Government, private, and State fields. Of the total, 715 were partially or fully lighted.

The construction of future airports and the maintenance of those now built constitute a major problem of the industry. It so happened that WPA labor lent itself to airport construction. But who is to pay for airports if and when relief funds run out? By the very nature of flying, an airport is an interstate facility, and it seems unreasonable to expect municipalities to bear the entire burden of expense. State-owned-and-operated airports have been built in Rhode Island and Pennsylvania, but State responsibility goes back to the problem of whether states should tax aviation, and, if so, what should be done with the funds derived by gasoline and other taxes. It is most reasonable to expect that the responsibility for airports be shared by city, state, and nation.

At least part of the necessity for continuous airport improvement has been due to the rapidly-growing size of aircraft. Fields rapidly become too small for the aircraft that must land on them. Key airports in every country of the world have had to be rebuilt. The Germans believe they have anticipated all future demands by making Berlin's Tempelhof 1 mile by 1½ miles.

Airport engineers hope that some arbitrary size limit can be set, and that manufacturers will find new means of limiting the space required to land and take-off their machines. Assisted take-off, which is a mild form of catapulting, has been mentioned as a possible solution; and authorities believe it can be accomplished without any more discomfort to passengers than they would experience in a jolting subway train.

The National Association of State Aviation Officials has been doing excellent work in exchanging ideas between members and presenting their views in Washington. During 1938 it actively cooperated with the organization of the C.A.A., of which it has always been an ardent advocate. The new N.A.S.A.O. president is Charles L. Morris, Aviation Commissioner for Connecticut. He succeeds Col. Floyd Evans of Michigan.

Among the important records established in 1938 was the flight of Howard Hughes around the world, via a close approximation of Wiley Post's route, in 91 hr., 8 min., 10 sec. After many months of painstaking preparation and organization of unparalleled ground equipment and personnel, Hughes and his crew of four took off Sunday, July 10 at 7:20 P.M. He returned to Floyd Bennett Field Thursday, July 14 at 2:37 P.M. At the take-off, his Lockheed 14 twin-engined transport was loaded to 25,000 lb. gross, or 4.7 lb. per square foot of wing area.

On July 18, public excitement ran still higher when Douglas Corrigan flew across the Atlantic, without equipment or assistance, in a Curtiss Robin monoplane of the vintage of the late 1920's.

First places in the National Air Races at Cleveland were as follows: Bendix Transcontinental Speed Dash (Burbank, Calif., to Cleveland) — Jacqueline Cochran, in a Wasp-powered Seversky Airplane. Elapsed time 8 hr., 10 min., 31.4 sec. Speed, 240.774 m.p.h.

L. W. Greve Trophy Race (20 laps on a 10-mile course) — Tony Le Vier, in a Menasco-powered Schoenfeldt Special. Elapsed time, 47 min., 49.89 sec. Speed, 250.88 m.p.h.

Thompson Trophy Race (30 laps on a 10-mile course) — Roscoe Turner, in a Wasp-powered Turner Laird. Elapsed time was 63 min., 30.01 sec. Speed, 283.410 m.p.h.

In the light-plane class a non-stop, non-refueling transcontinental record flight of 2,785 miles was made November 30 by Johnny Jones in a standard Continental-powered Aeronca Chief. He took off at Los Angeles Municipal Airport with a gross weight of 1,925 lb. and landed 30 hr., 47 min. later at Roosevelt Field, Mineola, L. I. Fuel and oil consumed cost $25.70.

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