March 1, 1917.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



351 



FIRST PAN-AMERICAN AERONAUTICAL 

 EXPOSITION. 



AERONAUTIC MANUFACTURERS' ASSOCIATION. 



/^F peculiarly timely interest, considering the present inter- 

 ^^ national situation, was the Pan-American Aeronautic 

 Exposition at the Grand Central Palace, New York City, Feb- 

 ruary 8 to 15, under the auspices of the Aero Club of America, 

 the Pan-American Aeronautic Federation, and the American 

 Society of Aeronautic Engineers. 



Owing to the enterprise of the managers and of these asso- 

 ciations, 25,000 or 30,000 tickets were sold in advance, and 

 throughout the entire session the building was crowded with 

 interested spectators. There were huge dirigibles, kite balloons, 

 biplanes, monoplanes and other varieties of aircraft, accessories 

 and war equipment. Special exhibits of remarkable interest were 

 contributed by the United States Army and the United States 

 Navy Aviation sections. Signal Corps, Weather Bureau and 

 Bureau of Standards. Tliere were more than 100 exhibitors. 



Each day was devoted to some particular phase of the science 

 of aeronautics and many men prominently interested in this line 

 gave instructive addresses, .\mong those connected with the 

 rubber industry who thus contributed were E. R. Preston, of the 

 Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., Akron, Ohio, whose address was 

 "Cooperation with the Preparedness Movement" ; Raymond B. 

 Price, of the United States Rubber Co., New York City, spoke on 

 "The Rubber Industry for Preparedness," and C. F. Smythe, of 

 the Connecticut Air-Craft Co., New Haven, Connecticut, de- 

 livered an address on "Developing the Dirigible for Commercial 

 Purposes." 



Not many of the e.xhibits were directly connected with the 

 rubber industry, but what they lacked in number they gained 

 in prominence. Of course there were a number of rubber tires 

 and shock absorbers for airplanes, but particularly interesting 

 were the following exhibits; 



The Connecticut Air-Craft Co. showed dirigibles and their 

 housings. One of the company's dirigibles was suspended from 

 the ceiling at the entrance of the Palace, and some types of the 

 non-rigid Vedette for scouting and sporting purposes were also 

 shown. The bags for these were made of a special fabric de- 

 veloped at the American factory of the United States Rubber 

 Co., Cambridge, Massachusetts. The United States Rubber Co. 

 also exhibited a line of balloon fabrics, a line of clothing and 

 shoes for aviators, and a collection of mechanical sundries for 

 airplanes, flying boats, etc., shock absorbers and rubber matting. 



The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. exhibited a huge kite balloon 

 such as was shown in the July, 1916, issue of The India Rubber 

 WoRi-D. This was suspended from the ceiling in the center of the 

 exhibition hall and created great interest on behalf of the visitors. 



One effect of the exhibit is. the plan to purchase this kite bal- 

 loon and present it to the government. The idea originated with 

 Mrs. Charles A. Van Rensselaer, one of New York's most in- 

 fluential and public-spirited women. So strong was her desire 

 to see the extension of the aeronautic defense arm of the govern- 

 ment that she started a fund for the purchase of this balloon and 

 the establishment of a training school for kite balloon operators, 

 the plan being to locate this school at Governor's Island in New 

 York Harbor. 



THE ROYAL DUTCH CO. IN AMERICA. 



The sale to Kuhn, Loeb & Co., New York City, of a block of 

 shares of the Royal Dutch Co., principal competitor of the Stand- 

 ard Oil Co. in the world's markets, and owner of two petroleum 

 producing companies in Oklahoma and California, seems to 

 presage increased activity of this firm in the United States. It is 

 known that the output of their wells is being greatly increased. 

 In the absence of any authorized statement as to the intentions 

 of the company, interested observers express the belief that in 

 any event the new move will have a marked influence on the 

 American gasolene and solvent naphtha situation. 



/^N February 9, during the First Pan-American Aeronautic 

 ^-^ Exposition in New York City, fifteen airplane manufac- 

 turers with a combined capital of $30,000,000 and a total ca- 

 pacity of 175 machines a week, organized the Aeronautic Manu- 

 facturers' Association, pledged their full support and placed all 

 tlicir resources at the command of the government. 



The organization will provide for the interchange of ideas 

 concerning aeronautics of every kind and will arrange for the 

 standardization of airplane manufacture. 



The firms represented are : International Aircraft Co., Chi- 

 cago, Illinois; The Burgess Co., Marblehead, Massachusetts; 

 Curtiss Aeroplane & Motor Corporation, Buffalo, New York; 

 Thomas-Morse Aircraft Corporation, Ithaca, New York; L. W. 

 Flint Engineering Co., College Point, New York; United East- 

 ern Aeroplane Co., Brooklyn, New York ; Gallaudet Aircraft 

 Corp., New York City; Brook Aircraft Co., Saginaw, Michigan; 

 General Aeroplane Co., Detroit, Michigan ; John D. Cooper 

 Aeroplane Co., Bridgeport, Connecticut; Heinrich Aeroplane 

 Co., Inc., New York City; Standard Aero Corp., Plainfield, 

 New Jersey; S. S. Pierce Aeroplane Corp., Southampton, New 

 York; The Benoist Corp., Sandusky, Ohio., and the American 

 Motorplane Co. 



AN AMERICAN AIRCRAFT FLEET. 



The prospects are that henceforth rubberized fabrics for mili- 

 tary purposes will be in greater demand than ever before. In 

 accordance with its present policy of preparedness the United 

 States Government contemplates the building of a formidable 

 aircraft fleet and the work is already well under way. Early 

 last month the government placed with The Burgess Co., 

 Marblehead, Massachusetts, the largest order for airplanes and 

 seaplanes ever given to one firm in this country. The number 

 is not known, but as 200 men are already in the employ of the 

 company and a new factory is in course of erection it is prob- 

 ably large, with the prospect of further orders. It is said that 

 the new plant will be surpassed by only one other in the world. 



.\n important conference was held in Washington the middle 

 of the month, when the representatives of the United States 

 Kul)ber/Co., The B. F. Goodrich Co., the Goodyear Tire & Rub- 

 ber Co., the Connecticut Aircraft Co. and the Curtiss Aero- 

 plane & Motor Corp. met Rear Admiral David W. Taylor, chief 

 constructor of the navy and head of the joint army-navy board of 

 investigation of aerial problems. The conference resulted in an 

 agreement whereby these firms will work together to furnish 

 dirigibles for the use of the government. 



The aeronautical department of the Goodyear Tire & Rubber 

 Co.. Akron, Ohio, is already at work on government contracts 

 to construct war, kite and observation balloons, as well as to 

 supply rubberized material for parachutes, ponchos, coats and 

 blankets. 



PROJECTED CASCADE TUNNEL WOULD BENEFIT THE RUBBER 

 INDUSTRY. 



Seattle, Washington, has latterly become an important port of 

 entry for plantation rubber from the Far East. Manufacturers 

 of rubber goods in the Middle West will therefore be glad to 

 lend their hearty support to the project of General Henry M. 

 Chittenden, chairman of the Seattle Port Commission, to build a 

 30-milc railway tunnel, the longest in the world, under the main 

 range of the Cascade Mountains from Skykomish to Leaven- 

 worth, Washington. This would shorten the route 48 miles, 

 lower the summit elevation 2,166 feet and reduce the running 

 time of freight trains S'/i hours at a saving in maintenance to 

 the Great Northern Railway which, together with the resulting 

 traffic increase, would not render the estimated cost of $50,000,- 

 000 unreasonable. It is to be hoped that the next decade may 

 witness the realization of this gigantic scheme. 



