Canadian Forcslrii Journal, Juiti'/. hUS 



1479 



Aeroplane Fleets From B. C. Spruce 



Only 15 Per Cent, of a Log Can 

 Be Used For Flying Machine. 



Canada's forestry battalions rather 

 than her forest materials have thus 

 far contributed the greatest service 

 in the Nvinning of the war. This has 

 been due, of course, to the inability 

 of the Imperial authorities to spare 

 ships for the bulky cargoes of timber, 

 l)referring to make a slaughter of the 

 Old Country woodlands and a heavy 

 inroad upon the forests of France at 

 the hands of practical Canadian 

 woodsmen. 



Recently, the resources of the 

 Canadian forest itself have had to be 

 drawn upon to facilitate the building 

 of aeroplanes. Under the arrange- 

 ments of the Imperial Munitions 

 Board, which has extended its field 

 from shell making to shipbuilding and 

 finally to aeroplane factories, an 

 effort is being made to secure a 

 minimum of 150,000,000 feet of spruce 

 from British Columbia in order to 

 supply a fleet of aircraft adequate for 

 the battles of the coming spring. 



Eastern Spruce Little Used 



Not all spruce is aeroplane spruce, 

 as the "Pacific Lumberman" points 

 out. Neither is every spruce log a 

 recruit for the aeroplane army nor 

 much of any log suitable for the work. 

 In Canada aeroplane manufacturers 

 have depended to a slight extent 

 upon spruce from the east for meeting 

 the demands, but this supply is ex- 

 tremely limited and meets the de- 

 mands only as to the shorter lengths. 



Sitka spruce, which grows on the 

 Pacific coast from Oregon to Alaska, 

 is the type of spruce that best meets 

 the demands for aeroplane construc- 

 tion. It has all the requisites for that 

 purpose and to a much greater degree 

 than spruce, as it grows in any other 

 part of the world. Hence the force 

 of the appeal of the Imperial Muni- 

 tions authorities to British Columbia 

 interests to get busy and get out the 

 required spruce. 



For the Wing Beam 



One of the most important parts of 

 an aeroplane is the wing beam, for 

 which, as now constructed, long spruce 

 is required. It is here that the Sitka 

 spruce just meets the demands and it 

 is claimed that on this coast there is 

 an ample abundance of trees which 

 will turn out spruce suitable for 

 aeroplane manufacture, giving the 

 required length of 18 feet demanded 

 for the wing beam. 



The actual amount of spruce, 

 worked down, required for an aero- 

 plane such as is used for training 

 purposes, is about 125 feet. For the 

 larger aeroplanes, such as are used at 

 the front, the demands for each are 

 from five to six times that amount. 



When the Imperial Munitions 

 Board first began to secure spruce 

 from British Columbia it was pur- 

 chased on G list specifications. As 

 the difficulties of transportation and 

 tonnage have multiplied, the Board 

 has been forced to demand clear 

 spruce only. The reason for this 

 course is shown when it is stated that 

 from 2500 feet it is possible to obtain 

 only 360 feet of clear. As the cost of 

 transport from the coast is $125 per 

 M, the Boaitl was forced to establish 

 the policy of purchasing only clears, 

 coming strictly up to the required 

 specification as ascertained by its 

 official, inspector. 



Only 15% of a Log 



It is stated that the percentage of a 

 spruce log suitable for aeroplane use, 

 averages about 15 per cent, of the log, 

 although it may run in some cases 

 as high as 20 per cent. This means, of 

 course, the production of a large 

 amount of ordinary spruce and many 

 millmen claim that there is not a 

 sufficient demand for this to warrant 

 them in utilizing their forces and 

 equipment in turning out the pro- 



