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THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[July 1, 1917. 



3,500 AIRPLANES FOR 1917. 



AIRCRAFT production and the training of aviators is to be 

 one of America's chief early contributions to the war. 

 Announcement has been made that the Aircraft Production 

 Board, under the direction of Howard E. Coffin, is to construct 

 3,500 war airplanes and train 6,000 aviators this year, and that 

 the output will be at least doubled next year. 



British and French authorities regard .\mcrican aero service 

 as the greatest assistance that can be rendered quickly, and the 

 recent success at Messines, indicating indisputably the decisive 

 part played by airplanes in modern warfare, seems to forecast 

 the passage, in part, at least, of the Shepard-Hulburt bill creating 

 a separate aviation department of the government and calling 

 for $500,000,000 to $1,000,000,000 for a great air fleet. 



The unjustifiable German air raids over London recently are 

 regarded as a trap to draw British machines from the western 

 front and to break Field Marshal Haig's present aerial supremacy. 



The Aircraft Production Board is working in conjunction 

 with the Aero Club of America in advocating that the United 

 States must strike Germany through the air. Military authorities 

 agree that, in addition to airplane reconnaissance and mapping by 

 photography, air raids on a large scale will blind German bat- 

 teries, destroy supplies and prevent German airplane operations 

 over the Allies' lines. The task of the ."Kero Club, therefore, 

 according to present plans, is to recruit and train 10,000 or more 

 aviators to fly the tens of thousands of airplanes which the Air- 

 craft Production Board contemplates constructing. These air- 

 planes will be of several different types for training, bomb 

 dropping, artillery spotting, sighting and submarine destroying. 



This first instalment alone represents a considerable quan- 

 tity of rubber manufactures. Rubberized fabrics of flax or 

 linen and sometimes of cotton or ramie are used for covering 

 the sustaining surfaces ; the supporting wheels are pneumatic 

 tired; springs or shock absorbers of molded rubber, sometimes 

 in the form of rings, protect machine and aviator from too 

 violent shocks when leaving and returning to earth ; the deli- 

 ■ cate mechanism of navigating instruments is protected from 

 excessive vibration and sudden shock by soft, elastic rubber 

 attachments which hold them in place ; and the upholstering 

 of the aviator's seat is often of rubberized fabric inflated with 



men are not agreed as to design and requirements. The Ameri- 

 can Rubber Co., Boston, Massachusetts, which not only manu- 

 factures balloon fabrics, but also an extensive line of coated 



Courtesy of Titc Aerial Age 



The New Curtiss Tripl.\ne. 



L.\TEST Development of the Army Airplane, 



air. Repairs and replacements, particularly tires, must be pro- 

 vided for as well as the initial equipment. The outfitting of 

 6,000 aviators is in itself no> small matter, including elastic safety 

 belts, hard rubber helmets, rubberized suits and gloves as a pro- 

 tection from cold and rain. 

 There is at present no standard uniform for aviators. Air- 



Aviator's Uniform, Designed by the .'\merican Rubber Co. 



fabrics and rubberized clothing, has been working out the air- 

 man's problem. The requirements for flying over water are dif- 

 ferent from those over land. The outfit designed for the former 

 comprises three uniforms. The first is a two-piece suit of drab 

 wool khaki, much like the regulation army uniform, but double- 

 breasted to give greater warmth. The second is a one-piece 

 garment — really an overgarment covering the other suit, and 

 lacing below the knee. This is made of double texture fabric, 

 making a windproof and waterproof covering. Over this may 

 be worn the safety jacket, the outside of 

 which is also of double texture fabric. 

 There is an inner collar with draw string, 

 and outside collar of corduroy, and the 

 sleeves are provided with wind cufifs. This 

 is fastened to an inner jacket, lined or 

 filled with kapok, which, because of its 

 buoyancy, will act as a life preserver if the 

 airman falls into the water. The illustra- 

 tion shows an aviator thus appareled. Al- 

 though the outfit is bulky, it gives the wear- 

 er full use of his arms and legs without 

 restraint. 



A new suit for overland flying is made 

 of single texture cravenette. It is of the 

 one-piece model, with a lined underwaist. 

 The suit has slashed pockets at breast and 

 sides, and is belted. A novel feature is the 

 fastening, which does away with all but- 

 tons, buckles or lacings. It is a patented 

 fastening, a lattice of little wires on either 

 edge of the opening. When a sliding key 

 is pulled up, the lattice interlocks ; when pulled down it is un- 

 locked. The operation is practically instantaneous, a point of 

 value when time is precious. 



These suits are the result of careful study of all the peculiar 

 requirements, and have received the approval of a large number 

 of veteran airmen. 



