THE UPKEEP OF AN AIRPLANE.

Dunstan Times, Issue 3130, 14 August 1922, Page 2

THE UPKEEP OF AN AIRPLANE.

(By Francis Arnold Collins.)

In the recent developenmt of the airplane, special effort is being made to reduce the cost of upkeep and otherwise simplify the problems of commercial Hying. During the war such questions of economy were naturally neglected in the ettort to develop speed and fighting qualities at any price. The exact cost of gasoline and oil per Hying mile is now carefully counted, and tile salaries of pilots and mechanicians, the cost of parts and the rent of' hangars are being standardised, liven possible loss by accident may be avoided by various forms of air insurance. The cost of flying may thereiore be anticipated to-day as definitely as of motoring and'other forms of locomotion, and the comparison is favorable to aircraft. More than 1200 airplanes and seaplanes arc at present in commercial use in the United States and more than 300 are driven for pleasure. A serviceable airplane is as cheap as a good automobile. The new two-pas-planes are . quoted at from £"1/1,0 to £2oiio, but the market is overstocked with ''used models" left over from the war, which are much cheaper. 'five purchaser to-day has a, considerable choice of models which are entirely airworthy selling at £375 and upward. A Hying boat carrying two passengers costs about £(525. In the present period of transition from war to commercial Hying there is also an excess of pilots and mechanicians. Air pilots may be engaged for £lO a week and upward, and mechanicians at £8 ion a week and upward, the salary depending upon their experience. The owners of airplanes and seaplanes are learning to fly their own machines and take pride in the accomplishment, much as motorists have come in recent years to drive their own cars. [t is found that a one-motored plane carrying two passengers consumes on the average one-half gallon of gasoline per minute, and a two-motored plane about twice this amount. The average speed of these planes is about one' and one-half miles per minute. Taking the cost of gasoline at Is 8d per gallon, the fuel consumption is about 3d per flying mile per passenger. A great deal oi flying is done at a much lower rate. in larger machines carrying several passengers the upkeep is much lower. One five-passenger machine flying between New York and Atlantic City carries passengers at the rate of less than id per flying mile. The best record for economy to date was made in a flight between Washington and New York when the gasoline cost less than l-5d per mile for each passenger. The cost el transporting one ton of freight in the United States by air is at present his per mile, it cost the Government air mail service 3s 9d a mile to carry -10,000 letters at a speed of from ilid to 150 miles per hour. An airplane in good condition may be depended upon as a rule to fly 100 hours, or, say, 1(1,000 miles, without repairs. Much, of course, depends upon the skill and carefulness of the pilot. It >s generally found that by the time an airplane has flown .150,000 miles the cost of repairs and replacements is equal to the initial cost of the machine. A careful pilot, however, who flies for pleasure in fairly good weather can usually get through the list season with little or no expense lor repairs. A flying craft requires much more space than an automobile, but since they must be kept in the country or rural neighborhoods the hangar rates are not high. The rent of a hangar out of town is not likely to exceed the garage rate of the city of from £2 IDs to £7 IDs a month. A flying boat may be anchored in any sheltered water and takes up little more space than a motorboat and less than a yacht. An airplane or seaplane may be insured at present against fire at the rate of -I per cent, for a period of six months. The rate against accidents I'roin collision varies from 8 to 18 per cent, lor six months, according to the type of airplane and the standing and experience of the pilot. This insurance covers accidents from collision with ether planes in flight, as well as crashes on landing. During the past year one death has occurred in flying for every 401.285 miles flown and only one injury for every 295,45-1 'miles llown.