Sleeper ’Plane

Manawatu Times, Volume 61, Issue 66, 19 March 1936, Page 4

Sleeper ’Plane

FOR TRANS-AMERICAN AIRWAY CRUISING SPEED, 184 M. P. H. LOS ANGLES. The largest land airplane in the United States—tho No. 1 Douglas sleeper transport on display at the National Pacific Aircraft and Boat show —demonstrated hero that commercial airline passengers can now expect all the comforts of suifface. transportation without sacrifice, of speed or safety. Already tested in a series of flights which kept tho giant craft in the air for 80 hours, tho Douglas sleeper /plane was shown in its interior completed exactly as it will he delivered for service on the American Airlines about February 15. Its exterior is almost identical with that of tho DC-2, which is now flying all over the world, tho exception being in tho fatter, more nearly circular fuselage. The tupered wings are sft wider, having a 95ft span. The engines are radial air-cooled power plants carried in cells faired into the leading edges of the wings. Sixteen Passengers The difference in tho interior is striking. The cabin is divided*into eight compartments, four on each side of a central aisle. Each compartment is intended to accommodate tffo passengers. By day tho passengers sit facing each other on wide seats. A( night the compartment is converted into ujjper and lower berths slightly wider and longer than those of a Pullman railway car. Forced to conform to weight restrictions in building the elaborate interior, tho manufacturer uses neither mattress nor springs, but supplies a sort of feather bed ticking filled with rubberised horsehair. This forms a soft resilient bed. Tho heavy green curtains faipiliar to Pullman car riders give sleepers privacy. Carl Cover, test pilot for tho Douglas Company, discovered during the tests that the big 'plane, which will have a total weight of 24,0001 b when loaded, flies best at altitudes above 12,000 ft. This was the maximum altitude at which the Federal Bureau of Air Commerce allowed the transport operators to take passengers without special permission because the lack of-' sufficient oxygon'in the air at .extreme heights caused certain persons to faint. Height Limit, 18,000 ft.

Last summer, however, Douglas engineers began a series of experiments which revealed that careful regulation of oxygen into the cabin would prevent any ill effects, even though passengers were taken up to 20,000 ft. As a result the Air Commerce Bureau recently removed the old restriction, and now will allow the airlines to fly 'up to 18;000 ft provided proper oxygen equipment is carried. With 1(3 passengers aboard it has a cruising range of 1000. miles. Climbing up to 14,000 ft., the best operating alti-

tude for the twin motors, it will cruise there at 184 miles an hour, with a top speed of 219, according to tlio Douglas Company figures. This kind of performance will enable the commercial lines to make one-stop transcontinental crossings.