The Daily Alaska Empire

More Private Flying.
(New York Times.)

There are indications that 1931 will see stimuli applied to private flying from several directions. Individual use of airplanes is one style of aviation in which we in the United States have been surpassed by citizens of other countries, notably Great Britain, France and Canada. Despite remarkable example of long-distance flights like that of the Vicomte de Sibour and his wife in a light plane, and that of Baron Koenig von Warthausen in a still smaller machine, travel with one's individual wings has not been common in this country. The manufacturing section of the aircraft industry feels that this has been due in large part to the lack of airworthy and dependable light planes at reasonable prices. It has set about the task of altering this situation. Several light airplanes and powered gliders are now available in the $1,500 price class. Important manufacturing interests are reported to be at work on other models. One flying boat using an ordinary outboard motor has been test-flown with success. A light plane builder has sold to dealers two hundred of his little craft in a month and expects to make at least five hundred this year. Small aircraft motors, on which light plane progress depends, show marked improvement. There is as yet no indication in this country, however, of an interesting expedient to spread the growth of private flying which has developed in connection with the flying-club movement in England. This is the leasing of planes to flying clubs, so that more people can have an opportunity to learn the art of flight than if the capital outlay required for the purchase of a plane or two were necessary.

It is perhaps a good thing that private flying has not developed too rapidly in America. A mushroom growth might easily have brought so many crashes that the whole movement would have been retarded. But now that the autogiro is available, and inexpensive powered gliders and light planes have given satisfactory performances, coupled with very low landing and stalling speeds, the 15,000 licensed pilots may well be expanded to a much larger number. An interesting indication of the public state of mind was the showing in a Broadway motion picture theatre the other day of the first of a series of short releases which will give a complete course in flying through the medium of the screen.