ROCKET ’PLANE.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 4 May 1928, Page 9

ROCKET ’PLANE.

TRIAL FLIGHT TO BE MADE. EXPERIMENTS IN GERMANY. fUNITED PRESS ASSOCIATION—BV ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH—COP VRIGHT.) (UNITED SERVICE.) LONDON, May 2. The Berlin correspondent of “The Times” says that a serious attempt to slioot an aeroplane with a Human aboard into the air will shortly he made at Berlin. A contract lias been completed for the- -application of theOpel Rocket system. The aircraft oqcupant of the aeroplane will be Herr Rnab, a pilot of long experience, who once astonished Berlin by landing in the _ Unterdenlincler. The aeroplane- is one- of the Raahkatzenstein-Grasmalcke Company’s light ’planes. It weighs sewt. Two batteries of rockets will replace the engine, one on either side of the fuselage between the ’-planes. The cross-bracing of the structure will be specially strengthened to resist recoil and withstand high speed. It is expected the- pilot’s part will be to bring the aeroplane to earth by gliding flights, after the rockets have burned out. If the experiment is successful an attempt will he made to progressively increase the heights attained- by the use of more powerful rockets. Pilots will he provided with oxygen apparatus and parachutes. The- Opel Company believe it is technically possible to propel aeroplanes by the rocket method to immense heights well beyond the earth’s atmosphere. It is clear that a single succesful rocket flight will open up an entirely new field in aeronautical research, and might affect in important way-si the whole- future of aviation. The rocket car which carried out the most successful tests recently will shortly he tried out near Berlin.