THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



The Aeronautical Exposition. 



THE Aeronautical Exposition was held in the 69th Regiment 

 ArnKjry and Madison Square Garden, New York City, 

 from March first to fifteenth, under the auspices 

 of the Manufacturers' Aircraft Association. This expo- 

 sition was a revelation of the remarkable development 

 effected in aircraft by American inventors and manufac- 

 turers under the stimulus of the war, and afforded an 



inspiring outlook on the commercial possibilities of aircraft 

 applied to passenger transportation. In balloon construction 

 particularly, much has depended on the resources of American 

 rubber companies, since the envelopes of dirigible, kite or ob- 

 servation, and spherical balloons are built entirely of rubberized 

 cloth. 



In the United States the manufacture of balloons has been 

 confined largely to The B. F. Goodrich Co., The Goodyear Tire 

 & Rubber Co.. and The Connecticut Aircraft Co. All of these 

 companies were represented at the show by exhibits of their 

 typical dirigibles, kite and spherical balloons, and various rubber 

 accessories. 



The prediction is freely expressed by those conversant with 

 the problem that the day is at hand when passenger travel by 

 air will be established on a commercial basis as a necessary 

 form of modern transportation. As a commercial factor the 

 dirigible is better adapted for aerial transportation in possessing 

 wider cruising radius and carrying" capacity than the airplane. 

 The dirigible by its gas content in the bag is able to stay aloft 

 at all times without the aid of its engines and these are chiefly 

 used as a means of propulsion. 



There was suspended in the Armory a navy coast patrol 

 dirigible of Goodrich manufacture of the following dimensions: 

 length, 167 feet; diameter, 33 feet: volume, 80,000 cubic feet. 

 Tliis dirigible had seen 17 months' service. Also in the Armory, 

 The B. F. Goodrich Co. exhibited an interesting collection illus- 

 trative of balloon manufacture, such as rubberized balloon cloth : 

 shock absorber cord, consisting of many square, pure rubber 

 threads bound together in cylindrical form by a cover of braided 

 cotton ; Gammeter car ' suspension patches and gas valves ; 

 samples of rope knots used in balloon rigging ; a model spherical 

 balloon, and airplane cord tires. 



In the field of aeronautical production The B. F. Goodrich 

 Co, is credited with 14 dirigibles, 362 observation balloons, over 

 1,500,000 feet of airplane bumper cord and many Silvertown 

 cord airplane tires, besides many improvements and inventions 

 in balloon manhole flanges, gaskets, glands, etc. 



An interesting feature of the Goodrich display was the 

 periodic exhibition of a series of moving pictures showing the 

 manufacture of balloons. 



The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. exhibit, located in the 



Garden, was similar in character and scope to that already de- 

 scribed. A Goodyear kite or observation balloon was exhibited 

 and a display made of riggers' knots; various metallic acces- 

 sories ; balloon cloth made from cotton raised on the Goodyear 

 cotton plantation in Arizona ; Goodyear balloon gas-valve ; the 

 illuminated inspecting table for examining rubberized fabrics ; 

 and a model compartment passenger car fitted with sleeping ac- 

 commodations designed in connection with passenger traffic by 

 dirigible balloon. 



The Connecticut Aircraft Co. showed a spherical balloon 

 and a model dirigible as planned for passenger service between 

 New York and Atlantic City, beginning in the autumn of this 

 year. 



Wellington, Sears & Co. exhibited a line of balloon fabrics and 

 non-tearing cotton airplane cloth designed for airplane wing 

 covering. Crowning triumphs in this line were the five-and-five 

 basket weave and three-ounce Warwick seamless aero-cord 

 i.ibrics. The latter is woven similar in design to automobile 

 cord-tire fabric, from chemically purified mercerized 3-ply warp 

 A-arns and single spun filling yarns. This fabric, weight for 

 weight, tests 38 per cent stronger than SlA-ounce grade A linen 

 made of uncleansed, single-spun yarns. Similar non-tearing 

 cloths of heavier weight were also shown, intended for balloon 

 making. These deserve investigation on the part of makers 



of mechanical rubber goods, as to their adaptability for hi.gh- 

 grade hose manufacture and other purposes. 



The Bristol Co. exhibited instruments for measuring the speed 

 of aircraft, simple recording thermometers for air, and wet 

 and dry bulb thermometers for recording the hydroscopic state 

 of the atmosphere. 



RUBBER MANUFACTURES IMPORTED INTO BOMBAY. 

 BRITISH INDIA. 

 Unofficial figures showing the general imports of Indian prod- 

 uce into Bombay during the year 1917, as given in the "Bombay 

 Government Gazette," include the following comparisons : 1916 — ■ 

 rubber manufactures, $1,487,250; 1917-$1.569,772. 



