GIANT AIRCRAFT

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23106, 3 August 1938, Page 10

GIANT AIRCRAFT

PLAHS FOB ITJTUlffi|f|p UNITED STATES DESIONS'^V ■ - • *•>?£•' 100-PASSENGER MODELS To prepare a "first line of defence'* against the threatened competition lf|' of Europe's powerful air transport systems on the ocean trade routes, on which America's famous clipper ships now hold undisputed leadership, Pan. American Airways, in invited America's leading aircraft manufacturers to submit bids for the design and construction of a fleet of giant transocean aircraft, states tha Pan-American Bulletin. In response to this invitation the Boeing Aircraft Company, Douglas Aircraft Company and the Sikorsky aircraft division of the United Aircraft Corporation, submitted designs capable of meeting tha specifications. Long Range and High Speed The specifications called for aircraft capable of carrying 100 passengers, storage space for five tons of cargo, quarters for a crew of 16, and a noa- " stop range of 5000 miles at speeds rang, ing from 200 miles an hour at sea level to 300 miles an hour in the sub-strato-sphere. The competing designers' conceptions of what this aeroplane of tomorrow will look like have now been made public. While it is logical to'assume that all of x the astounding specifications caa be met in the submitted designs, no comparative details of the various proposed aircraft could be made available, since the designs are competitive. Tha preliminary analysis of more than a ton of charts, drawings and blueprints, which composed the proposals, has been assigned to Pan-American Airways' technical committee, of which - Colonel Charles A. Lindbergh is chairman. It is estimated that from 30 to 60 days will be required for.-completioa of the engineering analysis required to determine the successful design or designs, for which engineering and construction contracts Trill be let. - 'ff 1 Dreams Coming True T The designers' concepts, as made pnblic, as to what a 100-passenger aeroplane will involve, were sufficiently striking to show that all present existing aircraft have beep rightly termed "the last of the little ships," and that, to-day's designers have at last caught up with the most breath-taking visions of the most romantic dreamers of yesterda3*. Streamlining has been carried to a seemingly ultimate point in all the designs. Some are four, but most are six-engined aircraft. All promise the aspect in flight of giant ocean liners cruising swiftly through tha clouds. Interior drawings are equally impressive, with greait staircases joining the various deck levels, dining and dancing salons, cocktail lounges and bars and promenade decks. They proride hitherto undreamed of facilities for the air traveller of to-morrow.