GIANT AIRCRAFT

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19701, 5 August 1938, Page 14

GIANT AIRCRAFT

PLANS FOR FUTURE UNITED STATES DESIGNS 100-PASSENGER MODELS To prepare a "first line of defence" against the threatened competition of Europe's powerful air transport systems on the ocean trade routes, on which America's famous clipper ships now hold undisputed leadership, PanAmerican Airways, in December, 1937, invited America's leading aircraft manufactureres to submit bids for the design and construction of a fleet of giant transocean aircraft, states the Pan-American Bulletin. In response to this invitation the Boeing Aircraft Company, Douglas Aircraft Company and the Sikprsky aircraft division of the United States Aircraft Corporation, submitted designs capable of meeting the 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 crew of 16, and a nonstop range of 5000 miles at speeds ranging\from 200 miles an hour at sea level to 300 miles an hour in the substratosphere. The competing designers' conceptions of what this aeroplane of to-morrow will look like have now been made public. While it is logical to assume that all of the astounding specifications can be met in the submitted designs, no comparitive details of the various proposed aircaft could be made available, since the designs are competitive. The 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 completion of the engineering analysis required to determine the successful design or designs, for which engineering and construction contracts will be let. Dreams Coming True The designers' concepts, as made public, as to what a 100-passenger aeroplane will involve, were sufficiently striking to show that all present existing aircraft have been rightly termed "the last of the little ships," and that "to-day's designers have at last caught up with the most breathtaking visions of the most romantic dreamers of yesterday. Streamlining has been carried to a seemingly ultimate point in all the designs. Some arc four, but most are six-engined aircraft. All promise the aspect in flight of giant ocean liners cruising swiftly through the clouds. Interior drawings are equally impressive, with great staircases joining the various deck levels, dining and dancing salons, cocktail lounges and bars and promenade decks. They provide hitherto undreamed of facilities for the air traveller of to-morrow.