"By 1927, adventurous souls with $400 for the fares could theoretically piece together a 32-hour transcontinental flying trip in a variety of open-cockpit, two-place biplanes and enclosed-cabin, four-place Boeing 40-B4s. Since the airlines' chief revenue still came from government postal contracts that paid by the pound, passengers had to sign a proviso that allowed them to be dumped anywhere along the line if the company could pick up a more lucrative cargo of correspondence . . .
". . . In the meantime, however, daytime passenger airline services on a regional basis began to develop in the mid-twenties. Numerous new airlines, organized primarily to operate the government's contract air-mail routes, acquired a variety of aircraft that could also carry two to four passengers - sometimes in enclosed cabins and sometimes not. Either way, seating accomodations were decidedly cramped. On routes that seemed likely to generate increased passenger traffic, some companies equipped themselves with larger transport planes like the Boeing, Fokker, and Ford trimotors, carrying anywhere from 8 to 16 passengers in comparatively spacious, fully enclosed cabins. At speeds of about 120 mph, these planes boasted ranges of 600 to 800 miles . . . some carried a flight steward . . .
". . . Business flying in those years was not always a sedate experience. It was necessary to shout to be heard in a Ford trimotor in full flight. On cold winter days the cabin temperature hovered at a shivery 50° F. Nor would a businessman flying coast to coast consider five days fogged in at Omaha as part of a 'fruitful' commercial journey.
"Trimotors of the era flew at low speeds in the turbulent strata close to the ground. Fumes from gas tanks and from engine exhaust easily filtered into poorly ventilated cabins. Each passenger chair came equipped with a variety of paper bags, boxes, or basins for gastrointestinal emergencies. Most passenger planes of the day boasted sliding windows, the better to inhale pollution free ozone, according to airline advertisements, but the principal value of open windows seemed to have been their practicality for airsick travelers. Patrons immediately behind an airsick passenger learned to keep their windows closed. It was not unusual to hose out the entire interior of a plane after completing a turbulent flight."
- Flight in America 1900-1983, Roger Bilstein
"The . . . air is annoyingly potted with a multitude of minor vertical disturbances which sicken the passengers and keep us captives of our seat belts. We sweat in the cockpit, though much of the time we fly with the side windows open. The airplanes smell of hot oil and simmering aluminum, disinfectant, feces, leather, and puke . . . the stewardesses, short-tempered and reeking of vomit, come forward as often as they can for what is a breath of comparatively fresh air.
"Ford [trimotor] passenger cabins were always too hot or too cold and decibel level assured them a top place among the world's noisiest aircraft. Immediately on boarding, passengers were offered chewing gum which would allegedly ease the pressure changes on their eardrums during climb and descent, but it was just as much to encourage a cud-chewing state of nerves. They were also offered cotton which wise passengers stuffed in their ears so they would be able to hear ordinary conversation once they were again on the ground.
If the passengers retreated to the lavatory they found little comfort in any season. In winter the expedition became a trial-by-refrigeration since the toilet consisted of an ordinary seat with cover. Once the cover was raised for whatever purpose there was revealed a bombardier's direct view of the passing landscape several thousand feet below, and the chill factor in the compartment instantly discouraged any loitering."
- Ernest K. Gann, an early commercial pilot
Northwest Airways operates air-mail services in the Detroit area.
Colonial Air Transport flies to various east coast locations, mostly as part of its CAM 1 contract (New York to Boston) and CAM 20 contract (Cleveland to Albany); they also fly a New York to Atlanta route, with stops at Philadelphia, Washington, Richmond, and Winston-Salem. Their planes are Fokkers and Pitcairn Super-Mailwings.
Varney Air Line (by 1930 part of the United Air Lines) operates CAM 5 with only limited passenger accomodation from Pasco, WA, through Boise, ID, to Elko, NV.
Ford Motor Company operates CAM 6 (Detroit-Chicago) and CAM 7 (Detroit-Cleveland), with passenger service aboard (what else) Ford trimotors.
Philadelphia Rapid Transit Service flies 3 times a day from Philadelphia to Washington DC, using Fokker F.VIIIa-3m aircraft; this is CAM 13.
National Air Transport (eastern states) services CAM 17, Chicago to New York, with stops in Buffalo and Cleveland ($77.60 one way); also, CAM 3, Chicago to Dallas ($98.70 one way), and a few other routes (Chicago to St. Paul., Chicago to St. Louis, Chicago to Minneapolis, Chicago to Louisville, etc.). Passenger service (not their highest priority) uses Ford Trimotors; mail is carried in Curtiss Falcons.
Boeing Air Transport (west coast) flies 24 of its own Model 40A biplanes (2 passengers each) and Model 80 and 80A trimotors (12 to 18 passengers each) along CAM 18, San Francisco to Chicago (fare $200 one way). Boeing also operates over CAM 8: Seattle-San Francisco-Los Angeles, and a route from Sacramento to Seattle and on to Victoria B.C.
Eastern Air Transport (later Eastern Airlines) flies Pitcairn Mailwings along CAM 19, serving the New York to Atlanta route, by way of Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, and Richmond. They also fly from Atlanta to Miami, and Atlanta to New Orleans via Birmingham.
Western Air Express (west coast, with 15 stewards serving box lunches aboard their aircraft) flies various routes, and also services CAM 4: Los Angeles to Salt Lake City. They operate brand new Fokker F-32 four-engine transports between Los Angeles and San Francisco; they have a high reputation for reliability and safety. For express freight, the company uses Lockheed Air Express planes, and Douglas M-2s. A single Sikorsky S-38 flying boat is operated on the Long Beach-Catalina Island service. This company began the first sustained scheduled passenger service in the U.S. in May of 1926, and will later be known as Western Airlines.
Braniff Airways has been flying Stinson SM-1s on a Tulsa to Oklahoma City route since 1928.
Transcontinental and Western Air (TWA) offers, since July 1929, a transcontinental air-rail route. Westbound passengers leave New York's Pennsylvania Station aboard the Airway Limited train, and travel overnight to Port Columbus, Ohio, where a special combined air-rail terminal has been built. From there they fly to Waynoka, Oklahoma, and transfer to AT&SF train for the night journey to Clovis, New Mexico. Finally, from Clovis they are flown to Los Angeles. From Los Angeles, their tickets entitle them to a free journey to San Francisco (by rail) or to San Diego (by Maddux Air Lines, using Ford Trimotors). The entire New York to Los Angeles journey takes exactly 48 hours, and fares are about $400 one-way. Aircraft are Ford and Boeing trimotors. This company was formed in 1930 as a merger of Maddux Air Lines, Western Air Express, and TAT, all now portions of the North American Aviation group.
Since 1927, Pan American Airways flies to Latin American destinations, including Havana, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and South America. Fokker F.VIIa-3m trimotors, Ford trimotors, Fairchild FC-2s, and Sikorsky S-38 flying boats make up most of their equipment. By August 1929, Pan Am had 11,075 route miles, and in the first six months of 1929 flew 1,000,000 passenger miles, carried 7,000 patrons, and delivered 250,000 pounds of mail. Panama could be reached in two days (instead of 12 by sea); mail to Chile took 9 days (instead of 20 by sea and rail); travel to Tegucigalpa, Honduras took a day and a half (instead of three and a half weeks by boat and burro).
Since August of 1929, NYRBA Line (New York, Rio and Buenos Aires Line) flies new Consolidated Commodores from Miami along the eastern coast of South America; they offer a seven day journey from Miami to Buenos Aires, with service to Montevideo, Buenos Aires, and many other port citys; the Brazilian interior is also being served by this company. NYRBA Line was bought by Pan Am in September 1930.
Some of the more prosperous airlines flying trimotors, or larger craft, have begun offering the services of an on-board steward, and in-flight food. Meals typically consist of box lunches. Ellen Church was the first airline stewardess, aboard a Boeing Air Transport aircraft on May 15, 1930.
London-Paris
London-Brussels
London-Amsterdam
London-Basle
Southampton-Guernsey
Amsterdam-Berlin
Amsterdam-Hamburg
Hamburg-Copenhagen
Berlin-Stockholm (note Stockholm has no land airport)
Stockholm-Helsinki
Berlin-Munich
Paris-Basle
Paris-St. Moritz (winter only, Swissair Fokker trimotor lands on the frozen lake in front of the Grand Hotel!)
Naples-Rome
Rome-Munich
Rome-Milan
Milan-Trento
Trento-Munich
Rome-Venice
Venice-Milan
Venice-Trieste
Venice-Turin
Genoa-Rome
Milan-Paris
Paris-Barcelona
Barcelona-Madrid
Madrid-Lisbon
Madrid-Seville
Seville-Larache, Spanish Morocco
Basle-Zurich
Paris-Strasbourg
Strasbourg-Prague
Prague-Vienna
Vienna-Budapest
Budapest-Belgrade
Budapest-Bucharest
Budapest-Istanbul
Istanbul-Brindisi
Brindisi-Albania
Belgrade-Zagreb
Königsberg-Moscow
Moscow-Nizhny Novgorod (aka Gorky)
Moscow-Leningrad
Moscow-Kiev
Most major European cities have air service to all of the nearest 'other' major cities. Very little night flying is done (Paris-London routes are about it); also some routes operate only during the summer.
Very few aerodromes are available in Scandinavia (Stockholm does not get an airport till 1936); Copenhagen does have Kastrup airport, which includes a jetty for servicing flying boats. In England, Croydon is the main airport for London, with a new terminal opened January 1928, mobile and fixed landing floodlights, and a red flashing beacon visible 80 miles away - but the runways are still grass. Hendon, located just north of London, has been in service as an aerodrome since 1910 or so. In France, Le Bourget airport at Paris is particularly well equipped for night flying.
Five years ago the Zentralflughafen Tempelhof opened 2 miles from downtown Berlin. It is Europe's most advanced airport: its hangar/terminal block is the world's third largest building, and aircraft taxi under a canopy to load and unload passengers.
Note also that there are numerous political problems: for example, France will not allow other nations' aircraft to overfly without stopping on commercial flights, and will not allow other nations to provide commercial service to Italy at all. Persia will not allow air travel at all, except on coastal routes. Transcontinental passenger routes include (not all stops listed):
France - Dakar
Cairo-Baghdad-Basra (2 day trip, once per 2 weeks)
Genoa-Alexandria
London-Alexandria-Karachi (a dozen stops, $325, since March 1930)
Karachi-Jodhpur
Karachi-Delhi
Marseilles-Beirut
Marseilles-Algiers
Beirut-Baghdad
Italy-Tunisia
Italy-Rhodes
Italy-Tripoli
Italy-Haifa
The Pan-American Convention, held in Havana in 1929, bound 16 countries on the American continents by rules similar to those of the 1919 Paris Convention; a notable concept is the right of 'innocent passage.'
The Warsaw Convention, also of 1929, unified much of the law on carriage of paying passengers and cargo. The best known effect: a limit of about $10,000 liability of the air carrier with respect to the passenger on international flights.
Airway lighting has been in place on air mail routes since 1926 or so. The only detailed flight charts available (showing locations of fields, altitude of hazards, etc.) are in the Post Office Department's Book of Directions which covers the major mail routes; the Commerce Dept issues airway charts for major routes. Weather prediction is nonexistent; current weather information consists of lists of major cities and airports, with daily updates, giving cloud cover, wind, precipitation, etc. - but nothing between these points.
Within the U.S. in 1929 there were 61 passenger lines, 47 mail lines, and 32 express lines serving 'trade areas' containing 90 million people; 7,772,014 pounds of air mail were carried that year, 257,443 pounds of air express (freight), and 159,751 airline passengers within the country. Private freight carriage (most notably by the Ford company) added 3 to 5 million pounds of freight carried. Typical freight carried by air: air mail, financial records, fruit, film, repair parts. Well over half of the passengers are executives and businessmen. About 95% of air mail flights are completed without delay or problem. Since the Kelly Bill (the Contract Air Mail Act) passed into law in 1925, air mail is carried by private companies.
Under the McNary-Watres Act of 1929, airline operators are paid CAM rates according to how much cargo space they make available, with bonuses for airlines using multi-engine planes and all the latest navigational aids.
Air mail costs 10¢ per half ounce, with a maximum weight of 50# per item, and a maximum combined length and girth of 84". Air express, carried for the American Railway Express company over all routes, costs $1.00 to $3.00 per pound, with a maximum of 200# and 106" combined length and girth.
Running costs for an average air service break down as follows:
wages and salaries (except pilots) 42%and of course the fairly expensive planes must be paid for.
pilots' pay ($300 - $600 per month) 7%
fuel and lubricants 8%
repair parts and spares 32%
buildings & improvements 11%
If in doubt, assume 'modern' prices for air travel; particularly busy short routes might charge 10 cents per mile. Most routes offer one flight per day in each direction; and since air travel is done in daylight if at all possible, many flights begin between half an hour before dawn and mid-morning. Some of the routes listed are nominally "mail only", but passage can be negotiated usually.
Regulation of commercial aviation in the U.S. is by the Aeronautics Branch of the Commerce Department, formed by the Air Commerce Act of 1926 reorganized air transportation. The Aeronautics Research Division is part of the Bureau of Standards; the Airways Division is part of the Bureau of Lighthouses.
Until 1932, airline pilots are not required to have 'airline transport ratings' but must merely be licensed pilots.
The largest professional pilot's organization is the Air Line Pilots Association. The National Aeronautic Association encourages private flying and certifies official flying records. The Ninety-Nines (so named for the number of charter members) was formed at the National Air Races in 1929, as an organization of women pilots.
Clover Field is in Santa Monica, CA, and is bordered by a golf course; the Douglas, McDonnell and Northrop companies are all located nearby. Mines Field, at Inglewood, much later becomes Los Angeles International. Long Beach has Daugherty Field. The "Grand Central Air Terminal" in Glendale is the western end of most transcontinental flights. The "Union Air Terminal" serves Burbank (later known as the Burbank Airport).
Los Angeles Metropolitan Airport (in Van Nuys) opened in 1928 and was spread over 80 acres amid the trees and farmland. In 1929, Hollywood discovered the airport. Howard Hughes, Hoot Gibson, Cecil B. DeMille, Gene Autry and Wallace Beery were among the growing number of stars flying at the new airport. The airport continued to expand and grow with three factories, six hangers, and a control tower on airport grounds. The airport also began hosting air races. During one such race in 1929, Amelia Earhart set a new speed record. Roscoe Turner's beloved Sikorsky S-29-A met its demise near here while being filmed for Howard Hughes' epic "Hells Angels".
In the 30's, Hollywood studio producers turned to Metropolitan Airport for their film location needs. "Lost Horizon," "Men With Wings," and "Test Pilot" all have scenes filmed at the airport. Within a few years, the original builders of the airport went broke, and the airport passed into the hands of a woman named Drusilla Daily Warner in payment for a debt. Warner's grandson, Dean Daily, inherited the airport after her death. The little airport with the 3,000 foot runway became home to stunt pilots in biplanes.
Edmonton Airport in Edmonton, Alberta opened in January 1927, as the first municipal airport in Canada.
Oakland, California has a large airfield.
Logan Field, located near Dundalk MD.
Hopkins Airport, in Cleveland, is a large and well-equipped facility, with long, paved runways, numerous hangars, lighting, etc. It is the home of the National Air Races (which begin each Labor Day weekend).
Lambert Field is the St. Louis municipal airport.
Mills Field will someday become San Francisco International Airport.
The U.S. Army operates 22 airfields, as follows:
Bolling - Washington, D.C.
Brooks - near San Antonio, Texas
Camp Nichols - Phillipine Islands
Chanute - Rantoul, Ill.
Clark - Camp Stotsenburg, Phillipine Islands
Crissey - San Francisco, California
Fort Crockett, Texas
Fort Sam Houston, Texas
France - Cristobal, Panama Canal Zone
Kelly - San Antonio, Texas
Kindley - Corregidor, Phillipine Islands
Langley - Hampton, Virginia
Luke - near Honolulu, Hawaii
March - California
Maxwell - Montgomery, Alabama
Mitchel - Mineola, Long Island, New York
Rockwell - San Diego, California
Scott - Belleville, Illinois
Selfridge - Mount Clemens, Michigan
Wheeler - Schofield Barracks, Hawaii
Wright - near Dayton, Ohio
Naval Air Stations are located at:
Anacostia, District of Columbiaplus an aircraft tender vessel, the U.S.S. Wright, of 11,000 tons displacement.
Coco Solo - Panama Canal Zone
Hampton Roads - Virginia
Lakehurst - New Jersey
Pearl Harbor - Hawaii
Pensacola - Florida
Rockaway - Long Island, New York
San Diego - California
Sand Point - Washington
Newark Airport, opened October 1, 1928, has the first hard-surface runway (1600' long) in the world; within a few months it was handling 55 passengers per day. Roosevelt Field, Long Island, is the usual starting point for trans-Atlantic flights from 'New York.'
Chicago Municipal Airport opened late 1927, replacing the primitive airfield at Maywood. The airport is 320 acres in area, and is bounded by South Cicero and South Central avenues, and West 59th and West 63rd streets. There are four cinder surface runways, the longest of which is 3200', and over a dozen large hangars. The rotating airport beacon of 4,500,000 candlepower can be augmented by three 7,000,000 candlepower searchlights. The weather in Chicago for 1927 was:
month clear days partly cloudy days cloudy days January 5 10 16 February 10 5 13 March 9 6 16 April 5 5 20 May 6 6 19 June 10 14 6 July 12 12 7 August 15 10 6 September 12 10 8 October 16 4 11 November 4 6 20 December 8 6 17
Scheduled flights leave Chicago as follows:
5:50 a.m. St. Louis via Peoria, Springfield (3h25m)*
5:50 a.m. Minneapolis via. Milwaukee, LaCrosse, St. Paul (5h50m)*
5:50 a.m. Dallas via Moline, St. Joseph, Kansas City, Wichita, Ponca City, Oklahoma City, Fort Worth (11h45m)
8:00 a.m. New York via Cleveland (9h40m, inc. 75m in Cleveland)
8:00 a.m Detroit (2h40m) - not Sundays
7:50 p.m. San Francisco via Iowa City, Des Moines, Omaha, North Platte, Cheyenne, Rock Springs, Salt Lake City, Elko, Reno, Sacramento, Concord, San Francisco (22h40m)
8:00 p.m. New York via Cleveland (9h15m, inc. 75m in Cleveland)
*not flown on weekends or national holidays
By the late 20s, newish transports cruise about 110 mph. The average airplane (including parts and equipment) costs $13,000; figure $10,000-$15,000 per engine for new aircraft with radial Pratt & Whitney or Wright engines.
Older engines (esp. WWI designs) need overhaul every 50 flight hours, and engine maintenance takes up over half of the operating costs. Early versions (starting in 1926) of the Pratt & Whitney 'Wasp' 9 cylinder radial (400 HP) and Wright 'Whirlwind' radials (available with 5, 7 or 9 cylinders, at 140, 220, or 300 HP) only need overhaul every 150 hours, and by 1929, the Pratt & Whitney 'Wasp' or new Wright R-1820 'Cyclone' (9 cylinder radial, 450 HP) only require overhaul every 300 hours. Lindbergh's Atlantic flight was powered by a 7 cylinder Wright Whirlwind.
Other notable engines include the Bristol Jupiter, a 9 cylinder radial giving over 400 HP; the de Havilland Gipsy Major, a 4 cylinder aircooled light plane engine of 130 HP; the Siddeley Jaguar, a two row 14 cylinder radial of 400-450 HP; the Napier Lion, a 12 cylinder water cooled 'W' form engine, providing 450 HP in early versions, and up to 900 HP in the latest highly developed versions; the Rolls Royce Condor, a V-12 producing 660 HP; the new Rolls Royce Kestrel, a liquid cooled V-12 producing about 500 HP; the Lycoming R-680, a 9 cylinder radial in the 200 HP class; the old Curtiss OX-5 water cooled V-8 used in the 'Jenny,' giving 90 HP; the Curtiss Conqueror, a water cooled V-12 producing 650 HP, and the old Packard Liberty 12, another water cooled V-12 of simple & rugged design producing 400 HP originally, up to 800 HP in some final (late 20's) versions.
The first gyroscopic autopilot was built in 1912 by Sperry for a Curtiss Model F hydro-aeroplane; still, very few aircraft have such equipment (mostly military patrol planes). In 1929 the Link company has introduced the first training simulator - but their only steady customers are amusement parks.
Notable aircraft in service include:
Aeronca C-2: single-seat monoplane, 29 HP engine, introduced 1929, cost $1,495 - about the cheapest new airplane anyone can buy
American Eagle: single engine biplane, pilot + 2 passengers in open cockpit, cruise speed about 80 mph, engine about 100 HP, landing speed 35 mph, cost $2,000 to $2,500.
Armstrong-Whitworth Argosy II: biplane trimotor transport, engines Armstrong Siddely Jaguar IVa (420 HP @), 2 pilots + 20 passengers; cruise 90 mph, max 110 mph, stall 54 mph, range 525 miles; span 90', length 67', weight 12,000# empty, 19,000# loaded; used by Imperial Airways; cost $109,000.
Avro Ten: high wing monoplane trimotor transport, 2 crew + 10-20 passengers
Bellanca W.B.2: high wing monoplane, engine Wright Whirlwind J-5 (220 HP), 2 pilots + 4 passengers; cruise 105 mph, ceiling 13,000'; span 46', length 27', weight 5400#; a modified W.B.2 flew about 4,000 miles in 1927 (with extra fuel tanks replacing the passengers), from New York to Eisleben (near Berlin)
Boeing Model 40A: single engine biplane, P&W Wasp engine, pilot (in open cockpit) + 2 or 4 passengers (in 'cabin'), max 1,200# of 'non-pilot, non-fuel' cargo, cruise 105 mph, range 650 miles, ceiling 14,500', span 44', length 33', weight 3 tons
Boeing Model 80: trimotor biplane, three P&W Wasp engines, 2 or 3 crew + 12 passengers; otherwise much same as:
Boeing Model 80A: trimotor biplane, three P&W Wasp engines, 2 or 3 crew + 18 passengers, cruise 125 mph, range 460 miles, ceiling 14,000'; span 80', length 57', weight 8 tons; introduced August 1928. Cost probably over $50,000. As a bomber, could carry 1800 pound payload.
Boeing Model 200 Monomail: an all-metal, low wing monoplane with semi-retractable landing gear, P&W Hornet engine, cruise speed 135 mph, semi-enclosed cockpit, initially for mail and cargo only, introduced May 1930 (later Model 221 version carries 6 passengers, introduced August 1930). As a bomber could carry 750 pound payload.
Cierva PCA-2: single engine autogyro, 300 HP Wright R-975 engine, pilot + 2 passengers, top speed 123 mph, climb rate 1,000 feet per minute, ceiling 18,000 feet; first exhibited in America in August, 1929 at the Cleveland Air Races. Cost (est.) $8,000, produced in America as "Pitcairn-Cierva."
Consolidated Commodore: monoplane flying boat, two P&W Hornet engines; 3 crew (pilots in open cockpit) + 20 to 32 passengers; cruise 108 mph, ceiling 10,000', range 1,000 miles; span 100', length 62', weight 9 tons -- the latest thing in long-range flying boats. Also in use by the US Navy as the PY-1 patrol bomber. Cost probably under $100,000.
Consolidated Model 17 Fleetster: parasol wing monoplane, P&W Hornet engine, 1 crew + 5 passengers, cruise 148 mph, range 700 miles, ceiling 17,500'; span 45', length 32', weight 3 tons; prototype first flown in 1929, introduced 1930. "The first was an order for a private owner in [early] 1930, designated 17-2C and had a different engine." Cost probably $20,000 or more.
Couzinet 70: low-wing monoplane trimotor, three Hispano-Suiza 12Nb engines (liquid cooled, 650 HP @), 4 crew as mailplane; max 174 mph, cruise 147 mph, range 4,225 miles; span 98', length 53', weight 18.5 tons including 1322# cargo; will be used by France to establish long-range mail services in 1933 (as Arc-en-ciel ), cost $40,000
Curtiss JN-4: biplane, 2 pilots in open cockpits; engine Curtiss OX-5 or Hispano-Suiza A; max 75 mph (OX-5 engine) or 80 mph (Hispano-Suiza engine), climb or glide speed 55 mph, cruise speed 63 mph, stall speed 40-45 mph, ceiling 8,000' (OX-5) to 11,000' (H-S), climb rate 300' per minute, range 250 miles; span 44', length 27', weight 2150 #; carries 21 gallons gasoline, 4 gallons oil; instruments are: tachometer, oil gauge, gas gauge, radiator thermometer, airspeed indicator, compass; built 1916-1918, surplus Jennys in flyable condition are getting rare, and go for about $600; also, in 1928 new safety regulations made their operation illegal without extensive modifications and improvements (such as more instruments, etc.). This plane can take off or land in about 200'. For barnstorming, sturdier landing gear, and a two place front cockpit, are often fitted.
Curtiss C-1 Robin: high-wing monoplane, engine Lycoming R-680 9-cylinder radial, 225 HP; pilot + 2 passengers in enclosed cabin; climb 1,000' per minute at 60 mph, cruise at 85 mph, max speed 105 mph, ceiling 20,000', takeoff in about 300', range 510 miles (at 7,500' altitude); span 41', length 26', empty weight 1,576#, max gross weight 2,440#, and 400# cargo with pilot + 50 gallons gas; cost $8,000; introduced about 1927. A very popular rum-running aircraft.
DH-4B: typical (older) mail-carrying biplane, ex-military bomber, 2 pilots (some civil versions have 1 pilot + 2 passengers); engine Packard Liberty 12; speed 125 mph, ceiling 19,500', range 400 miles or so; span 42', length 31', weight 4300# including 1000# of cargo; cost (used, approximately) $2,000 to $5,000, depending on wear and tear -- last production was in about 1924.
de Havilland DH-66 Hercules: biplane trimotor, 3 crew + 8 passengers; three Bristol Jupiter engines, cruise speed 110 mph, ceiling 13,000', range 400 miles; span 80', length 56', weight 8 tons; introduced 1926.
Dornier Delphin III: German flying boat, introduced 1927.
Dornier Do-X: monoplane flying boat, twelve 1200 HP supercharged Rolls-Royce 'Buzzard' engines burn 600 gallons of gas per hour; 10 crew + 70 passengers (will carry 169 in record test flight), interior divided into three decks, with bar, smoking room, writing room, lounge, baths, kitchen & dining room, and 'Pullman' style berths for most passengers; cruise 120 mph, max 140 mph, ceiling 15,000', range 1060 miles; span 158', weight 61 tons gross; first built spring 1929; cost estimated $250,000 to $500,000 (very rough guess), depending on engines fitted. The world's largest aircraft; Alexi Vishnaveshki takes delivery of one in the fall of 1930, and has it flown to America (with much press attention).
Dornier Do J 'Wal': German monoplane flying boat, two Rolls Royce Eagle IX engines, 360 HP each; 2 pilots + 8-10 passengers, cruise 90 mph, ceiling 11,500', range 1350 miles; span 74', length 57', weight 6 tons; introduced 1922; two of these aircraft were used in 1925 by Roald Amundsen during his attempt to reach the North Pole; later models (8 tons, and 12 tons) have flown the first crossing of the South Atlantic (3,900 miles) in 1926 (equipped with 450 HP Napier Lion engines), and flew from Europe to Chicago non-stop in August 1930 (the first east-west crossing of the Atlantic by a flying boat).
Fairchild FC-2: high-wing monoplane, P&W Wasp or Wright J-4 engine, pilot + 4 passengers in cabin, cruise speed 115 mph, range 1,000 miles, ceiling 15,500'; span 50', length 31', weight 4,600#; cost about $12,000, floats or skis available for extra charge. Wings can be easily folded for ground transport in 2 minutes by 2 men. An FC-2 flew the first NY-Miami nonstop in January 1928.
Fokker C-2 America: high-wing monoplane trimotor, 3 Wright Whirlwind engines; 2-4 crew, radio equipment; cruise speed 95 mph, range about 4000 miles (with 1295 gallons gasoline, mass 7770#), ceiling over 10,000'; span 71', max weight 7.5 tons loaded, empty weight 3 tons; introduced 1927
Fokker F.VIIb-3m: high-wing monoplane trimotor, 3 Armstrong Siddeley Lynx engines (sometimes fitted with Wright J-5 Whirlwinds of 237 HP each), 2 pilots + 8 to 10 passengers, cruise 93 mph (111 mph with Wright engines), ceiling 14,000', range about 600 miles (745 miles with Wright engines), weight 5 tons, span 71', length 48'. Introduced 1927, cost about $60,000. As a bomber, payload is 800 pounds.
Fokker F-32: high-wing monoplane, four P&W Hornet engines in two nacelles, 2 pilots + 32 passengers, cruise 123 mph, range 530 miles, ceiling 18,000'; span 99', length 70', mass 11 tons; introduced summer of 1929. Cost very high.
Ford 5-AT: high-wing monoplane trimotor, 3 P&W Wasp engines, 2 pilots + 10 to 12 passengers, cruise 100 (later models a bit more), climb rate 700' per minute, ceiling 18,000', range 560 miles, takeoff distance 600'; weight 6 tons, span 78', length 50'. Introduced 1926 (1928 for the 5-AT version), cost about $55,000. As a bomber, payload is 1,000 pounds.
Gee Bee Model Z: low-wing monoplane racer, engine P&W R-985 Wasp Junior (modified for racing), pilot only, cruise speed over 230 mph, can reach 280 mph, range 1,000 miles; span 23.5', length 15', weight 2,280# loaded. Introduced August 1931, cost about $10,000. See a picture here
Lockheed 9 Orion: low-wing monoplane, engine Wright Cyclone of 575 HP, retractable landing gear, 1 pilot + 6 passengers; cruise speed 200+ mph, top speed 254 mph, ceiling 22,000', range 720 miles (2,000 miles with no passengers and fuselage tanks); weight 5800#, span 42', length 28'. First flew April 1931, operated by Varney Airlines between Los Angeles and San Francisco (schedule required 254 mph speed!). Billed as the "fastest airliner in the world", and Lockheed's last design with a wooden fuselage; cost $25,000.
Lockheed Sirius: low-wing monoplane, engine Wright Cyclone 680 HP, 1-2 pilots + space for 2 passengers (depending on configuration), cruise speed 140 mph (est.), ceiling 20,000' (est.), range 2,100 miles, weight 2000#, loaded 3500#, span 43', length 30'. Designed 1929, first produced 1930.
Lockheed Vega: high-wing monoplane, molded & stressed plywood construction (until later models), Wright Whirlwind engine (P&W Wasp engine on some models), 1 pilot + 4 passengers, cruise speed 135 mph (later models, with NACA cowling, cruised at 155 mph), span 41', length 28', weight 2,900#; introduced July 1927, several hundred have been built. A similar freight-only model, the Lockheed Air Express, is available.
Loening Amphibian: biplane amphibian, single Liberty 12 engine; 1 pilot (in open cockpit) + 2 crew/passengers (in enclosed cabin with a 'cockpit' seat for observing, gunnery, and emergency piloting); max 122 mph, stall 50 mph, ceiling 13,500', range about 400 miles; span 45', length 34', weight empty 3400#, 140 gallons fuel & oil 800#, crew 360#, misc./cargo 1000#, max total weight 5560#; pilot's cockpit fitted with most all available instruments, basic flight controls only in rear seat; electrically powered retractable landing gear; wireless set; first versions built 1925, cost $5000 - $10,000; very sturdy, used in a variety of polar expeditions and ocean surveys, and as Navy patrol craft; later versions (from 1930) with Pratt & Whitney Wasp engine, will have 650 mile range.
LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin: dirigible, five 530 HP Maybach engines, 45 crew + 20 passengers + 12 tons cargo, cruise 72 mph, endurance 118 hours; length 774', diameter 100', weight (empty) 74 tons; launched 1928; visits America (including a stop in Los Angeles) during 1929 round the world trip.
N.4 Italia: Italian semi-rigid dirigible, three Maybach engines, 10 crew + 10 passengers, cruise 70 mph, range 3,100 miles, length 341', diameter 61'; launched 1927 - crashed during Arctic exploration May 1928. The Italian armed forces are (because of the crash) taking all of their similar dirigibles out of service (these dirigibles may be available for surplus sale, probably for less than $40,000).
Northop Alpha: single engine monoplane, 1 pilot and 4 passengers; cruise 120 mph, range 2,500 miles; introduced early 1930, can fly coast-to-coast in 23 hours.
Oemichen Helicopter: 12 rotor helicopter, 1 pilot only, 120 HP engine, longest flight so far < 20 minutes; French experimental craft
Pitcairn PA-5 Super-Mailwing: biplane, single Wright Whirlwind J-5C engine; open cockpit for single pilot (some civil versions add a 2 person cabin); max 136 mph; designed especially for the shorter mail routes in the eastern U.S.; very reliable; span 33', length 22', weight 1600# empty, 2500# loaded. Cost about $10,000.
R-100: British dirigible; engines six Rolls Royce Condor IIIA, 650 HP each; 30 to 45 crew + 100 passengers, carried in 3 decks (cabins are two or four berths each, and accomodations include a 56 person dining room); max 131 mph, range about 8,000 miles; length 720', diameter 136', hull weight 59 tons empty, fuel and oil 32 tons, water ballast 21 tons, gross lift 175 tons (mass of airship, cargo, fuel, crew, ballast, etc.); cost $900,000. First flight was on December 16, 1929.
RAK-1: first successful rocket-powered aircraft, flown September 30, 1929 by Fritz von Opel; remained airborne 10 minutes, top speed 95 mph.
Rohrbach Roland: German high-wing monoplane trimotor, 3 BMW engines, 2 crew + 10 passengers, cruise speed 110 mph, range 807 miles, ceiling 18,000'; span 86', length 54', weight 8 tons; introduced 1928.
Short S-8 Calcutta: biplane three engined flying boat, three Bristol Jupiter engines, 3 passengers + 12 crew, cruise 97 mph, range 650 miles, ceiling 13,500'; span 93', length 66', weight 10 tons; introduced 1928.
Sikorsky S-38A: amphibian (wheels and boat hull), two P&W Wasp engines, 2 crew + 10 passengers, cruise 103 mph, range 500 miles, ceiling 16,000'; span 72', length 40', weight 5 tons; introduced 1928. Cost well over $20,000. As a bomber, payload is 1,000 pounds.
Stinson SM-1 F Detroiter: high-wing monoplane, Wright J6 radial engine, pilot + 5 passengers in cabin, cruise 113 mph, range 680 miles, ceiling 16,000'; span 47', length 33', weight 2 tons; cost $12,000, introduced 1929. Long range versions of this aircraft, carrying only two pilots and 2 tons (667 gallons) of fuel, have flown about 4000 miles.
Waco 9: biplane, pilot + 2 passengers in open cockpit, cruise speed about 80 mph, engine Curtiss OX-5 90 HP, landing speed 35 mph, span 31', length 24', weight 1300# empty, 2100# loaded; cost about $2,500 or less
Westland Wessex: high wing monoplane trimotor transport, similar to Ford or Fokker models; 2 crew + 10-20 passengers
Aeromarine-Klemm Corporation, Keyport NJ: produces the Aeromarine Model 40-B, which made the first non-stop flight from New York to Havana, and is currently being used in passenger service from Miami to Havana.
Berliner-Joyce Aircraft Corporation, Dundalk MD: founded February 4 of this year, producing various civil and military biplanes.
Boeing Airplane Company, Seattle WA: building fighters and passenger/mail transports, and (in 1995) the oldest surviving American aircraft company.
Chance Vought Corporation, Long Island City NY: this company builds most of the Navy's fighters.
Consolidated Aircraft Corporation, Buffalo NY: producer of flying boats and naval trainers; Lawrence Dale Bell is Sales Director; just this year Consolidated purchased the Thomas-Morse Aircraft Corporation.
Curtiss-Wright Corporation, Garden City and Newark NJ: formed June 29, 1929 by the merger of Curtiss Aeroplane & Motor Company (Glenn Curtiss (age 51) himself has recently retired from the day to day management of this company, one of the oldest aircraft manufacturers in the world) and the Wright Aeronautical Corporation. With factories in Buffalo, St. Louis, Bristol PA, and (for engines) Patterson NJ, this industrial giant produces aircraft of all types.
Douglas Aircraft Company, Los Angeles CA: building mostly military aircraft. James "Dutch" Kindelberger is chief engineer.
Edo Aircraft Corporation, College Point NY: building small amphibians and float equipment for other firms' designs.
Fairchild: producer of various excellent small aircraft.
Fokker Aircraft Corporation of America: building both original aircraft and versions of Anthony Fokker's designs. General Motors owns 40% of the stock.
Ford Motor Company, Detroit MI: best known for manufacturing motorcars, they also produce the Ford Trimotor.
Goodyear-Zeppelin Corporation, Akron OH: a firm owned by Goodyear and Zeppelin, building airships.
Lockheed Aircraft Company, Santa Barbara CA: this company produces various advanced civil aircraft. John Northrop worked for the company as a designer until 1928, and Gerard Vultee is currently a designer with this firm. The company was sold in 1929 to the Detroit Aircraft Corporation, which also owns the Stinson, Ryan and Eastman companies; Allan Lockheed left the company he founded when the sale went through.
Loening Engineering Corporation: an established manufacturer, building amphibians for the Navy, purchased in 1930 by the Keystone Aircraft Corporation; the managing director before the sale was Leroy Grumman, who resigned and started his own company in Baldwin NY on January 2, 1930, along with a former Loening engineer, William Schwendler.
North American Aviation Inc.: founded December 6, 1928 as a holding company, with stock in Curtiss-Wright, Travel-Air, North Aircraft, and Keystone Aircraft. Clement Keys, a former owner of the Wall Street Journal and major league financier, is the brains behind the scheme. During the months following the Crash this company acquired Sperry Gyroscope, Pitcairn Aviation (which starts Eastern Air Transport), Berliner-Joyce, Ford Instrument, TWA, Intercontinent Aviation (yet another aviation stock holding company), and much of Douglas.
Pitcairn Aviation, Willow Grove, Penn.: owned by Harold F. Pitcairn, a mail plane manufacturer, and the American representative of the Cierva Autogiro company.
Ryan Aeronautical Company, San Diego CA: runs airline services between Los Angeles and San Diego, and also constructs various excellent civil aircraft; purchased this year by the Detroit Aircraft Corporation.
Sikorsky Aviation: constructing large flying boats.
United Aircraft and Transport: In mid-1929, United Aircraft and Transport Corporation was formed as a conglomerate of airlines and manufacturers (including Boeing). After the Crash, this company became a financial grouping of several smaller companies threatened by Curtiss-Wright's industrial muscle: Chance Vought, Pratt & Whitney (engines), Boeing, Sikorsky, and Hamilton Standard (propellors). After the Air Mail Act of 1934, this combine will be broken up.
During generic airline or air mail flight activity (almost all during daylight hours) about 93% of the flights have no trouble, and arrive as scheduled. 5% of the flights are affected by weather, and 3% by mechanical trouble (some by both!). 'Affected' can mean delays (of up to several days) or forced landings or detours. By 1929, maybe 1 scheduled flight in 500 or less crashes, and only 20% of the crashes cause any injuries. For 'private' but routine adventurer flying, I suggest the following:
POWx5% = no troubleOf course, really dangerous or adventurous stuff will be much more difficult.
POWx10% = trouble due to weather or mechanical problem, make a piloting roll to avoid, otherwise flight is affected
96-99 = trouble no matter how good pilot is, flight is definitely affected
00 = possible crash
The first recorded incident of air piracy (hijacking while in flight) occured in 1930, and two more occured in 1931: all connected with the Peruvian revolution underway at that time. No further air piracy occurs until 1947 (although the disappearance of a Martin M-130 in 1938 may have been the act of Japanese agents).
The distance (by Great Circle) from Shannon Airport, Ireland to Gander, Newfoundland is 1,974 miles - the shortest direct ocean crossing. North Atlantic weather is notoriously bad, with frequent fog in the Newfoundland area, and very strong westerly prevailing winds adding considerably to the still-air distance for flyers headed west.
As is well known, Col. Lindbergh flew from Roosevelt Field to Le Bourget on May 20-21, 1927, covering 3,610 miles.
The famous French avaitor Charles Nungesser and his navigator, Francois Coli, disappeared in May 1927 while attempting a flight from Paris to New York. In June 1927 Richard Byrd and a 3 man crew tried to fly a Fokker C-2 trimotor from New York to Paris, but came down at sea just off the French coast, after flying 3,478 miles. Also in 1927, a Fokker monoplane owned by the Princess Lowenstein-Wertheim disappeared during a planned flight from London, England to London, Ontario; the Princess and her two pilots were never seen again.
A Bellanca monoplane, piloted by Chamberlin and Levine, flew from New York to Eisleben, in Saxony (Germany), in June of 1927.
Two Canadian aviators were lost in Sept. 1927 when their Stinson-Detroit monoplane disappeared, also attempting to fly from London to London - though this time the start was in Canada. This flight had been sponsored by the Carling brewery firm.
Another Stinson-Detroit monoplane successfully flew from Newfoundland to London in August of 1927, piloted by William Brock and Edward Schlee; this daring pair went on to fly to Munich, Belgrade, Constantinople, Baghdad, Bender Abbas (Persia), Karachi, Allahabad, Calcutta, Rangoon, Hanoi, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Nagasaki, and finally Kasaminguara (near Tokyo) in an attempt to fly around the world. Their progress was stopped by bad weather in the Pacific, and a report that an expected supply of fuel had not arrived at Midway.
The first flight to Hawaii from the mainland took place on June 28-29, 1927, when a U.S. Army Fokker C-2 trimotor flew from Oakland to Honolulu in nearly 26 hours. In July of that year, a small American monoplane with a crew of two flew from Oakland to the leper colony at Molokai, where the plane crashed after a 24 hour flight: fortunately the crew were not injured. In August of 1927, James Dole offered a prize of $35,000 for a race from Oakland to Wheeler Field at Honolulu; 10 persons died in 5 crashes during preparation for the race (5 other crashes, with no fatalities involved, also occured), the race itself, and the search flights after the race. Two planes, out of 15 applicants and 8 starters, finished the race.
Yet another Stinson-Detroit monoplane was lost in 1927, with Paul Redfern at the controls, while attempting to fly from Brunswick, Georgia to Rio de Janiero.
The first east to west crossing of the Atlantic by airplane was in April 1928: Baron von Hünefeld, Cmdt. J. Fitzmaurice, and Hermann Köhl flew from Ireland to Greenly Island (off the coast of Labrador) in a Junkers W-33, a flight of 2,173 miles.
From May 31 to June 9 of 1928, Charles Kingsford Smith and a crew of three flew a Fokker F.VIIb-3m (Southern Cross ) from Oakland, California to Brisbane, Australia, making stops at Honolulu and Fiji on the way. No solo flight from Hawaii to the mainland will be made until 1935, when Amelia Earhart does so.
In June of 1928, the first woman crosses the Atlantic in an airplane - Amelia Earhart, as a passenger aboard a Fokker F.VIIb-3m flown from Trespassy Bay, Newfoundland to Barry Port, England.
The first non-stop flight from England to India was made on April 24-26 of this year, by two RAF pilots flying a Fairey Long-range Monoplane; the flight took over 50 hours.
In June of 1929, three Frenchmen flew from Maine to Spain non-stop for the first time in a Bernard 191 G.R. monoplane - three Americans died attempting the same feat in September 1927 with a Fokker A-11 monoplane; and two Americans, Williams and Jancy, flew a Bellanca from New York to Rome in July of 1929.
The Graf Zeppelin in August of 1929 made the first flight across the Pacific by any aircraft of any type, as part of a round-the-world flight; the flight, starting in Germany, took a total of 21 days flying to the east, included several stops in the United States, and cost $9,000 per passenger for the whole trip. Dr. Hugo Eckener designed and commanded the airship.
In September of 1929 Lt. James Doolittle made the first completely 'blind' instrument flight, using a prototype of the 'artificial horizon'.
In November of 1929 the first airplane flight over the South Pole was made in a Ford Trimotor (the Floyd Bennett), piloted by Bernt Balchen, under the command of Richard Byrd. Their flight from Little America over the Pole and back took 19 hours. As a note, 10 aircraft were in Antarctica that summer with various expeditions.
The first flight from Dublin to New York was made in June 1930 by a four man crew in a Fokker F.VIIb-3m; that same month a New York to Bermuda flight was made in a Bellanca (piloted by Williams again); a Paris to New York flight was made in September 1930; and the first non-stop flight from Canada to Britain will not be made until 1934.
In 1931 Auguste Piccard has made the first flight into the stratosphere - in a balloon. The current altitude record for aircraft was set in 1929 when a German pilot, Willi Neuenhofen, flew a Junkers to 41,797' above sea level at Dessau, Germany.
As of the end of 1929, only 20 trans-Atlantic flights (including crossings of the South Atlantic) by airplane had ever been made, including Byrd's ditching in the sea in 1927 off the French coast; 54 persons had crossed by airplane, only 1 of which (Amelia Earhart) was a woman. Quite a few crossings have been made by dirigible: first in 1919 by the British R.34, then in 1924 by the LZ.126 (being delivered for use by the U.S. Navy as the Los Angeles ), and several more from 1926 onward.
Starting on the Labor Day weekend, and running for a week, this year's National Air Races, held at Cleveland's Hopkins Airport, have many components (including accurate landing contests, glider flights, airship demonstations, parachute jumps, etc.). Almost half of the $100,000 prize money is set aside for the various events open to women.
- the All-American Derby: 5500 miles in ten days (one segment per day), first place prize $15,000. Although part of the National Air Races, this Derby takes place July 21st to August 1st.
- the new Bendix Cup, a race of 2,041 miles from Los Angeles (Mines Field) to Cleveland, and the opening event of the races; takeoff is September 4th, 1931, at 2:30 am. Jimmy Doolittle is the man to beat here, for $15,000 of prize money. Six of the eight planes are Lockheed products (Orions, Altairs, and a Vega).
- the McCormick Trophy: unlimited women's free-for-all closed circuit race of 100 miles... typically 140 to 150 mph airplanes.
- five other (shorter) men's distance Derbys, and two women's distance Derbys.
- lots of "class" racing, with limits on horsepower, weight, etc. The Lockheed Orion definitely comes in the Unlimited class.
- the Thompson Trophy: unlimited (any number and power of engines could be used, any number of pilots, and any weight), free-for-all closed circuit 'pylon' race of 100 miles distance, held on the last day of the air races (Sept. 1st) ... generally the fastest racing planes around, about 200 mph +. Jimmie Wedell's plane is the one to beat this year; first prize is $7,500, plus many opportunities for commercial endorsements.
- lots of interesting pictures here and here
