Performance of U. S. Fighting Planes Best in World, Thanks to Advisory Committee for Aeronautics -• «- ! Tests and Research Keep America Ahead In Grim Competition By BARROW LYONS WNU Washington Correspondent American facilities for de veloping new models of mili tary airplanes are being en larged, and new personnel is being added to avoid a tragic thing that has happened on several occasions. New mod els of planes have been sent into battle before they were thoroughly tested in the lab oratories of the national ad k visory committee for aero m nautics, one of the govern 2 ment agencies least known because most of its work has been secret, but one which has made as great a contribution toward winning the war as any civilian agency. In a determined effort to gain mastery of the air and save thou sands of lives by hastening victory, by further improving the perform ance of American aircraft the NACA soon will increase its present staff of about 5,000 technicians by 1,500 additional men and women. The ^ staff at Langley Field, Va., which has the largest staff, will be in creased by about 750. The Cleve land laboratory will get about 550 new employees, and the research staff at Moffett Field, Calif., near Palo Alto, will be increased by about 250 more technicians. The nation depends upon the men and women who staff these labora tories more than any others to keep ahead of the Nazi scientists in de signing aircraft that will take and hold control of the skies. If the Germans were to design aircraft that could outfly and outshoot our own— and those responsible for American aircraft design declare that possibil ity exists—the war in the air over Europe might come to a stalemate. The army and navy have recog nized the supreme importance of these laboratories by giving their employees special draft considera tion. They are inducted into the army, and then transferred as in k active reservists. They are always on call for active duty; but they do not wear uniforms and they receive civilian pay and United States Civil Service status. Junior Engineers Needed. At present there are needed aero nautical, mechanical and electrical engineers of junior grade. They re ceive $2,400 a year. Physicists, mathematicians and naval archi tects of the same grade are needed. Craftsmen, such as instrument mak ers, tool makers, electricians, met alsmiths, pattern makers and air plane mechanics are needed. They receive prevailing rates of govern ment pay on an annual basis. Women may qualify for a variety of positions. Those with skill in mathematics and physics are as signed to research projects, while those with training as stenographers, typists and clerks are also needed. But the committee is not looking today for just ordinary help. The projects which these people are working on are among the most vital to war success, and the committee is looking only for unusual young men and women, who can be ad vanced as vacancies occur—people whose loyalty and intelligence and ability can be depended upon. The committee was born in the last war from the necessity of our armed services for airplanes that could compete with those of the ene my. When war broke out in Europe in 1914, leadership in aircraft devel opment had passed from American hands. In March, 1915, congress au >tborized an advisory body to be ap pointed by the President and to serve without compensation. Membership, increased from 12 to 15 in 1929, included heads of mili tary, naval and civil aeronautical organizations of the government, of the bureau of standards, the weather bureau, and the Smithsonian insti tution, and specially qualified mem bers from civil life. The chairman is elected annually. The paid staff is headed by Dr. George W. Lewis, director of aeronautical research, and by John F. Victory, secretary of the committee, who directs its administrative work. The first appropriation was $5,000 a year for five years. With that meager start the committee set about regaining for America a posi tion of leadership in military flying. The NACA emerged from World War I with a research laboratory build ing at Langley Field, and with its first wind tunnel under construction. With appropriations of about $200, 000 a year in the era of disarma ment and peace treaties, this lab oratory laid the foundation for the new science of aeronautics, which again brought leadership to Amer ica. Nasi Research Expanded. But when Hitler came to power in 1933, he recognized that he must have the strongest air force in the world if he was to subdue the world. With foresight and intelligence, Ger many began by concentrating upon scientific research. German labora tories were expanded and multiplied, until at the time of the Pact of Mu nich the German aeronautical re A FIGHTER PLANE, the Brewster XF2A—I, Is shown mounted on struts in the full scale wind tunnel, ready for testing. The struts are con* nected to instruments in the room below the platform, which record the various stresses which the plane undergoes in this largest wind tunnel in the world. (All pictures are official photographs released by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics.) search establishment had become five times the size of that of the United States. But not until Ger many was convinced that it could make aircraft superior to that of any other nation did it go into mass production. The NACA recognized the men ace, and in 1937 started a study of the relation of its organization to national defense in time of war. The result was a doubling of the research facilities at Langley Field, and the authorization by congress of two ad ditional major research centers— the Ames Aeronautical laboratory at Moffett Field in 1939 and the Aircraft Engine Research laboratory at Cleveland in 1940. These are operated in close team work with the military services and the aircraft industry. It works like this: Suppose the army air forces want a certain aircraft manufactur er to produce a new type of pur suit plane. The design engineers at the factory confer with experts of the materiel command of the air forces at Dayton, Ohio, and agree tentatively upon general design and specifications. Both groups then con fer with NACA experts at Langley Field to incorporate the latest knowl edge gained through research. NACA Checks New Models. The program calls for the factory to go into production by a certain date. The manufacturer assembles tools and material and makes con tracts for sub-assemblies. The army materiel command plans and pro vides the military equipment, in cluding instruments, armor and ar mament. The NACA responsibility involves, first, making of dynami cally balanced small flying models for experimentation in its free-spin ning wind tunnel and in the free flight wind tunnel. The free spinning wind tunnel is a vertical tube 20 feet wide with a propeller mounted on the top and IN THE SMALL wind tunnel, tests are made on new models, many of them highly secret. drawing air upward. Into the mid dle of this ascending column of air the airplane model is tossed with its controls set to continue to spin. The controls operated by remote electro magnetic force, are moved just as a pilot would move them to bring the plane out of the spin. If the controls are effective, the airplane recovers by going into a dive and is caught in a net. If the controls are not effective, the model continues spinning. Adjustments are made in the control surfaces until satisfactory control is attained. In formation to revise the design of the controls is relayed at once to the HIGHLY trained specialists read Un complicated dials that indicate re sults of the various tests. army and to the manufacturer, and is used to correct the design. A second model is prepared with similar care and is tested in the free-flight tunnel. That is a wind tunnel 12 feet in diameter inclined at an angle which will permit the model to glide forward through a moving stream of air. The model is equipped with delicate electrical mechanisms which operate the con trols, and which enable the research staff to determine what changes are necessary to assure, in advance of production, that the new design will be easily maneuvered and controlled and will have stability. When these tests have been made, and the necessary information ob tained, the NACA makes larger and sturdier models with solid steel cores to be firmly mounted on re cording balances in wind tunnels op erating at air speeds up to 600 miles an hour. These tunnels measure the lift and drag, as well as the pitch ing, rolling and yawing movements of the plane at various angles of attack. Add 20 Miles Per Hour. When the first full-sized plane is produced, it is placed on the NACA full-scale wind tunnel to determine how to increase further its speed by reducing the drag through better streamlining, or removing, or re shaping protuberances. In such full scale tunnel tests, the NACA has never failed to add at least 20 addi tional miles per hour to the speed of a plane about to go into produc tion. Special tests are provided for par ticular types of planes. For high speed fighters, aerodynamic experi ments are conducted in low air pres sures, such as are encountered at high altitudes. In a huge domed structure, pressures are created to simulate air conditions at altitudes up to 12,000 feet. Taking off and landing abilities of j seaplanes are tried out in a basin 600 feet long, containing seawater. A large scale model of a seaplane, or of the floats only, is towed be- I hind an electrically powered crane, at speeds up to 80 miles per hour. Experimental planes are flight tested under carefully controlled conditions, and a record is made of its performance on movie film. The test pilot is given orders by radio telephone from the ground, and he performs the turns, loops, dives, climbs, and other maneuvers. One of the recent outstanding con tributions of the Ames laboratory has been the use of exhaust heat from airplane engines to heat the leading edges, wings, tail surfaces, and windshields of airplanes to pre vent the formation of ice. This has permitted safe flight under condi tions that otherwise would have grounded planes. The ice hazard has been eliminated. But the list of advances which have been made applies to virtually every component of the airplane. More than once the NACA labora tories have saved the commercial life of some aircraft company by giving it the necessary scientific in formation to bring into practical use advances in design the company had made, but which fell short of mili tary requirements. The success of the Flying Fortress design was made possible by scientific knowl edge developed in NACA labora tories. After the war, when America en ters an era of great commercial aviation expansion, the NACA lab oratories expect to continue to pro vide the basic scientific research upon which American air suprema cy is based. It new has a plant worth some $70,000,000, which at least equals the research facilities of the Germans. It probably will continue to be in competition with German scientists and facilities, but our armed forces hope congress nev er again will let it fall behind in staff and equipment. AN EXPERT metal worker carefully m a - chines a metal air foil to exact spe cifications Sprouted Grain Is Source of Vitamin A Wheat or Oat Shoots Will Supply Poultry If you are having a hard time buying enough feeding oils, alfalfa meal and yellow corn for your poul try laying flock. Dr. M. W. Taylor, associate biochemist in nutrition at Rutgers university, suggests you try sprouted grains to supply that es sential vitamin A. Through his research Dr. Taylor has found that sprouted wheat or oats grown in flat trays for about two weeks, with exposure to sun light to promote greenness, is a fair ly good source of carotene or pro vitamin A. “At least, it is a good source to use when natural grass range or silage is not available,” he says. “A potency of 5,000 U.S.P. units per pound of fresh seedlings may easily be obtained and, as many poultry men already know, this material is readily consumed by hens. Fed at the rate of 5 pounds per 100 hens per day, the seedlings will furnish about one-third the recommended amount of vitamin A which is enough to prevent a serious deficiency.” Spread Grain in Trays. For poultrymen who have never sprouted grains before, Dr. Taylor outlines the procedure: “Oats or wheat are your best choice, since they sprout easily, grow fairly quick and are usually available. Soak them overnight to promote rapid sprouting. Next, spread them out in one-fourth inch layers in flat trays with two or three sheets of newspapers in the bottom so the trays hold moisture around the roots. The thickness is impor tant. If too thick, the seedlings will not develop sufficient green color. If too thin, the roots will be ex posed to too much air and light. “Keep the tray moist by sprin kling once or twice daily with wa ter containing chloride of lime at the rate of a heaping teaspoonful to a pail (three gallons) of water. The chloride of lime will keep down mold growth. “For the first two or three days, or until sprouting is definitely no ticed, keep the tray in subdued light. After this, place if near a sunny window so it will receive as much light as possible. The stronger the light the higher the vitamin A con tent. Slow growth in a cool room is better than rapid growth at high temperatures.” The one drawback of sprouted grains is the space required to grow them. However, Dr. Taylor esti mates that a total of 10 square feet of sprouting area, divided in three parts and used in rotation, will pro duce from 1 to 2xh pounds of seed lings daily, or enough for 20 to 50 hens. —* "Tbit realnd* ae. Use, we ought to order our insecticide aarly thia year.* U.S.D.A. Has 4.000 Strains Of Barley in Collection A collection of about 4,000 estab lished varieties and strains of bar leys from all over the world is main tained by the U. S. department of agriculture to facilitate the breed ing of better barleys for different parts of the country. The only larg er collection is reported in Russia. Typical of the work of government cereal specialists and barley breed ers is the experiment now going on to develop new varieties of barley resistant to the green bug or aphid, which in 1342 caused a loss of more than $3,000,000 in Texas and Okla homa barley fields. Phenothiazine Expels Many Intestinal Parasites Phenothiazine is today the most widely used of all drugs for the re moval of internal parasites of farm animals. In less than five years this synthetic coal-tar derivative has 1 proved the effectiveness of its an thelmintic action against most of the economically important stomach and intestinal roundworms. It is used for many kinds of livestock and is ex tremely effective. I WOOL BKINti OK Nil 11* IT TO CM, AM HUAXTITV VU buy outright the Iota running under 1000 lb*, null, nod inuke Immediate pay ment. lot* of over 1000 the. we bundle on 1 coiiNignnirnt In uncord with the govern ment rule*, ne obtain for you full cell ing vnlue, inuke liberal ad wince payment* now, and final payment promptly when the t'f't' make the Nettlement to na. LINCOLN HIDE & FUR CO. 728 Q St. Lincoln, Nebr. White Leghorn Cockerels m $1.65 No catch to this, we ship them PREPAID MODEL HATCHERY Creighton, Missouri —. 1 ■■ ■ ■■■■■ ■■ p 0 P 0 0 R N Huy our HOUTI1 AMICKICAN 1*0ITOBN SKlil). Contract 19*14 crop with ni. Yield* a* much a* HA Imi. per acre. MlimiXI romiHN CO. 629 N. SSffl St. j Oinuha, Nebr. Telephone ATIantlc 831A BEAUTY SCHOOL DON'T BE A SLACKER Be Indopeiidtmt wlnla thr men folk* are In the service Enroll In Nehraeka'e oldest beauty school Graduates now earning from $26 to $75 weekly. Write CALIFORNIA BEAUTY SCHOOL Omaha, Nebraska see NOTE: Mrs. Spears has prepared an actual-size pattern for all the curved flec tions of this chair. Complete dimensions and directions for the chair construction and for making the tufted cushion, with list of materials Included. This is pat tern 265 and will be sent postpaid for 15 cents. Write direct to: MRS. RUTH WYETH SPEARS Bedford Hills New York Drawer 10 Enclose 15 cents for Pattern No. 265. Name . Address . Just 2 drops Penetro Nose Drops In each nostril help you i breathe freer almost 1 Instantly-, so your I head cold gets air. ' Only 25c—2H times as much for 60c. Caution: Use only as directed. Penetro Nose Drops 1,000-Year-Old Rose Bush Unless it has been crushed un der the Nazi heel, a rose bush planted 1,000 years ago is still growing in Germany. Set by an emperor in a garden near Hilde sheim, the bush was known to be blooming up to the time of the war. ■d*nLef WM ' The importance of the tire conservation program, effect ed in 1942, will be appreci ated when it Is known that the number of passenger car tires rationed and those sold on new cars In 1942 onlyequalled 1.1 per cent of the passenger car tires shipped for all pur poses in 1941. Neglected small tire tread cuts and bruises can become serious rubber wasters. A small cut, even though It does not go entirely through the fabric, lets In dirt, water and foreign matter. Constant flexing Increases the size of the cut until the tire Is beyond repair. Prompt repair Is a patriotic duty these days. lJ Trigger Fish The trigger fish has a trick fin that can be locked into place to prevent dislodgment when the fl£| wedges itself in a rocky crevice. — ■ — ■ ■ ■ » Upset Stomach Rtltovcd In 5 mimitns or doubt* moony back When excma atomach acid eanaes painful, suffocat ing gas. sour atomach and heartburn, doctors usually prescribe the fastest-acting medicines known far. symptomatic relief—medicine# like those In Bell-aaa Tablets. No laxativ*. Bell-ana brings comfort In a Jiffy or double your money back on return of bottle to os. 26c at all druggist*. Housefathers Among the aborigines of Aus tralia it is common for fathers to look after the children while their wives work. KILLS'^ Many Inseett “1 egetablee Flowers k BROWN ACTS OLD TODAY HI—T soretone! Naturally a man looks old beyond , , ... I his years when he’s sore from lum« SOO/HGS TOSt With B bago or other muscle pains. The _ _ _ __ 8 famous McKesson laboratories An I A U L ■ T ^ B developed Soretone Liniment for ^ IB I II nFUl those cruel pains—due to exposure, ww™ " " B strain,fatigue or over-exercise.Get m ATB AM 8 the blessed relief of Soretonc's HR * ' s i ¥* cold heat action;- Mlf I IU ■■ M 1. Quickly Soretone acts to en» 0f 8 hence local circulation. 8 2. Cheek muscular cramps. MUSCULAR LUMBAGO I 3. Help reduce local spelling. OR BACKACHE 1 4. Dilate surface capillary blood duo to fotlpue or exposure 8 c retteh’ , | .. | MUSCULAR PAINS 1 Soretone contains methyl saliryl- due t# ■ ate, a most effective pain-relieving R agent. There’s only one Soretone— SORE MUSCLES I insist on it for Soretone results. duo to overwork ■ 50<. A big bottle, only $1. MINOR SPRAINS | ♦ Though applied cold, rub* faclent Ingredients In 8or#» tone act like heat to lncreat* the superficial supply of > ii wr w ■! blood to the area and Indue* 4 and McKesson makes it » *iowin* i.a*. u .innik