Transport Planes

Transport Planes

Last week Consolidated Aircraft Corp. of Buffalo delivered its first 32-passenger flying boat, the Admiral, to the Navy, whose men tried it out at once at Anacostia, D. C., and found it reliable. The event was significant. In the present industrialization of aeronautics two factors have become highly important-- private and commercial exploitation. Some twoscore aircraft companies are making small planes for private gadabouting. Less than a dozen are important manufacturers of great planes capable of carrying pay passengers, express, mail. They are to flying what buses and trucks are to motor ing. The greater their payload per trip, the greater their profits. Fokker and Ford-Stout certainly have the lead in transport manufacture. Close to them is Loening, who makes amphibians. Another amphibian maker is Sikorsky, whose development has been retarded by constant experiments for new designs. Fokkers, Ford-Stouts, Loenings and Sikor skys carry usually a dozen passengers, or their weight-equivalent in freight. Boeing and Curtiss have big planes in trial. Larger are the Keystone Patrician and the Chapman Airliner, both new developments. Each can carry 20 passengers and each shortly will make a transcontinental demonstration tour. Largest of course is Consolidated's new Admiral. Its wing spread is 100 feet, its body 60 feet long. Its twin motors carried it last week at more than 100 miles per hour. Waiting as a reward for the Navy tests was a commercial order for Consolidated.