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 $75 weekly. Write
CALIFORNIA BEAUTY SCHOOL
Omaha, Nebraska
see
NOTE: Mrs. Spears has prepared an
actual-size pattern for all the curved flec
tions of this chair. Complete dimensions
and directions for the chair construction
and for making the tufted cushion, with
list of materials Included. This is pat
tern 265 and will be sent postpaid for 15
cents. Write direct to:
MRS. RUTH WYETH SPEARS
Bedford Hills New York
Drawer 10
Enclose 15 cents for Pattern No. 265.
Name .
Address .
Just 2 drops Penetro
Nose Drops In each
nostril help you
i breathe freer almost
1 Instantly-, so your
I head cold gets air.
' Only 25c—2H times as
much for 60c. Caution:
Use only as directed.
Penetro Nose Drops
1,000-Year-Old Rose Bush
Unless it has been crushed un
der the Nazi heel, a rose bush
planted 1,000 years ago is still
growing in Germany. Set by an
emperor in a garden near Hilde
sheim, the bush was known to be
blooming up to the time of the
war.
■d*nLef<iseJ^
FIEISCHMANNS
PRY
YEAST
aUOUSEHOLD
111 HT$
Thin old blankets are useful as
an interlining for a child’s coat or
a baby’s bunting, as an ironing
board pad, or as silencer cloths
for dining-room table.
• • •
To dry a sheet, fold it hem to
hem, place the fold over the line
to a depth of about 12 inches, and
attach the clothespins at three or
: four places.
* * *
Perhaps you can make that felt
hat look new and smart by blanket
stitching around the edge of the
brim with crochet thread in a con
trasting color. Or a narrow cro
cheted edging might do the trick.
• • •
Tour sewing thread isn’t so apt
to knot if you use the correct
length, say about 18 inches or the
distance from the middle finger to
the elbow.
• • •
Don’t hang feather pillows in the
sun as sunlight draws out the nat
ural oil from the feathers and
makes them less pliable.
* * *
A large sofa can be scaled to
fit into an average room by having
it made up with two cushions in
stead of the usual three. You’ll
be surprised at the difference this
will make in the appearance of
the room, which will no longer look
crowded.
• • •
A wornout umbrella can be
stripped and its frame put to use
as a rack for drying smaller items
of clothing. Wind strips of cloth
around the ribs to prevent rust.
• • •
For attractive drawers that are
easy to keep clean, such as draw
ers for knives and forks, use
bright-colored paper (paper nap
kins will do) to line them and
cover with waxed paper. The
bright color shows through the
waxed paper and makes the
drawer look cleaner.
In Spite of Precautions
Habit Will Assert Itself
The bus conductor had been told
off several times by his good wife
for the noise he made when com
ing home after late duty.
"I wish you would try to be
more careful when you come home,
Jim,” she told him. "You wake
the baby every time you come in.
You’re so noisy!”
Jim promised to do his best.
After the next spell of late duty
he opened the front door with
out a single creak, and reached the
top landing safely.
There and then his old habit
overcame him. In a stentorian
voice he bellowed: "Have your
fares ready, please!”
Overseas Phone Rates
Most overseas telephone rates
vary with distance, but several
exceptions still exist because of the
difficulty of changing them in war
time. For instance, while the cost
of a three-minute daytime call
from New York to London, 3,500
airline miles, is $21, and to Mos
cow, 4,700 miles, also $21, a call
to Sydney, 10,000 miles, is only
$19.50.
Mohammedan’s Handle
The lone lock of hair on the back
of a Mohammedan’s head is left
there when he shaves his pate aa
a handle by which he can be
pulled to heaven.
T SNAPPY FACTS T
ABOUT
RUBBER
-1 >
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
