Growth of Aviation at Dartmouth
With a firm decision to limit their sky adventures toterra firma, the members of the Dartmouth AeronauticalSociety are building up a school of aeronautics in Hanover.Lectures by prominent aviators, discussions of articles onflying, talks by members on new phases of the flying game,aliform part of the program. Men interested in flying arethus introduced to the preliminary training in the samefashion that a football squad gets "skull practice" at thebeginning of a season. After graduation the members canattend flying schools if they wish.
SEVERAL students at Dartmouth who were deeply interested in the aviation industry from both the technical and commercial aspects were drawn together last spring by the announcement in The DailyDartmouth of the names of men who had entered in a contest sponsored by a manufacturer of airplanes. For the first time a group realized that there were others in Hanover concerned with this same enthusiasm.
These men perceived at once the necessity of organization if anything was to come of their aspirations and ideas. The formation of a club was immediately proposed. There was no slackening of interest or energy when difficulties began to present themselves in the road that had at first glance seemed so smooth. Owing, however, to the nearness of Commencement and the ensuing summer vacation it was decided to wait until the fall for the actual promotion of an aeronautical society.
This idea of the organization of students interested in aviation was not entirely new at Dartmouth. Undergraduates at Hanover first formed an aero club on November 28, 1910. Their purpose was "to arouse an interest in flying craft as well as to afford an opportunity for all members to become familiar with the construction and actual handling of flying machines." The Dartmouth Aero Club was therefore a "flying" club. The members of that group were very active in building and flying gliders and in a competition they won the Witteman glider, which was considered the best of its type in America at that time.
In the Fall of 1929 seven men met at dinner in the D. O. C. House at Occom Pond to take up again the matter of promoting an aviation society at Dartmouth. During the summer months these men had not neglected this new phase of activity that they were to establish on Campus. It was found that many valuable contacts had been made which were later to materially help in the founding of this organization.
Present at that dinner at the D. O. C. House were those men to whom goes the credit of founding this Society. At that table also was Sid Hayward, assistant to the President, who is now our administrative advisor. Without Sid's interest and advice we would not be functioning so smoothly at this time. The policy of the Society was then determined to be one of quiet efficiency rather than one marked by noisy publicity and ballyhoo. Many factors led to the decision that the Dartmouth Aeronautical Society was not to begin as a flying club. Maintenance of a privately owned airplane by a flying club is expensive, especially for the average student member. Not only that but also the fact that active membership in the flying group would necessarily be small, but the remainder of the body should be as large as possible. Their support would be mostly financial, while only the limited section would enjoy actual participation. Last, and by far the most important, the nature of the surrounding mountainous country and the lack of proper facilities discourage flying. The society has been commended many times for not attempting to fly, at least for the present.
Professor Charles A. Proctor of the department of Physics was asked to be the technical advisor of the society, and we all feel very fortunate that he is so interested in aviation and can give us some of his time.
AIMS TO INTEREST STUDENTS
The Dartmouth Aeronautical Society aims to provide an opportunity for students interested in aviation as a career or as a hobby to make contacts with leaders in the industry and to acquire some knowledge of the terminology of aviation and the rudiments of plane construction and operation. Toward this end the society was the sponsor of the first aviation week-end, held November 22-24. That Saturday was the only one in the fall when there was not scheduled a football game, so aviation held the lime-light while the gridiron men rested.
The feature of this week-end came when a Ford trimotored transport plane brought six men from the Wright Aeronautical Corporation of New York to Hanover, landing them at the Twin-State Airport, White River Junction. Included in the party was Captain Lewis A. Yancey, Trans-Atlantic flyer, who, with Roger Q. Williams, piloted the Whirlwind-Bellanca "Pathfinder" to Rome last summer. Accompanying him were Lt. Commander George Chapline, director of service for the Wright Corporation; Burnham Adams, Wright performance and design engineer; Morris Markey, manager of public relations for the company; Randolph Cantley, manager of exports; and Richard C. White, mechanic and co-pilot of the plane.
This, the first public demonstration of the Dartmouth Aeronautical Society, proved to be very successful. On Friday evening, in the public lecture room of Dartmouth Hall, Lt.-Commander Chapline gave a brief history of the development of transportation through old-world civilization up to the present time, when planes carry freight and passengers 70,000 miles a day on regularly scheduled routes. He was followed by Captain Yancey who spoke on "Trans-Atlantic Flight." His account of the preparations for the ocean hop was illustrated with numerous bits of humor, as he told how Williams and he managed to persuade the Bellanca Company to supply them with parts and assistance for a complete overhauling of their plane, and how they arranged with the Wright Corporation to check and repair the engine. This meeting was open to the public and was well attended, the lecture hall being almost filled.
After these speeches a smaller group retired to the Arts Room in Robinson Hall where an open forum was held. Burnham Adams talked on motors, using the Wright Whirlwinds as the basis of his discussion. He made frequent reference to mechanical parts and blueprints which he brought with him. Captain Yancey then took up the subject of navigation.
As a courtesy to the Dartmouth Aeronautical Society, over a hundred persons, including President and Mrs. Hopkins, were given an aerial view of Hanover from the all-metal Ford plane. The well-timed and wellmanaged visit of the Wright representatives stimulated interest in the undergraduate student body and started the Society off with a bang.
AT PRESENT A GROUND SCHOOL
At present the weekly meetings of the Aeronautical Society are held strictly as a ground school. The men study a given chapter in the text book and a talk and discussion is conducted by a member assigned that subject. These technical points are taken up under the supervision of Professor Proctor. The text now in use is by Chatfield and Taylor, "The Airplane and its Engine." This volume was suggested to us by Jesse K. Ferno '16, manager of the Providence R. I. Airport, who flew to Hanover to confer with the society and to give the members the benefit of his experience both in the piloting and executive branches of the industry.
It was thought that the above plan of procedure in conducting meetings would be more beneficial to each man; for the leader of the meeting must be thoroughly informed about his topic in order to answer the various questions put to him. This system has proven very profitable since it was inaugurated at the second regular meeting held October 28. In order, however, not to have the ground school too theoretical, material has been sought that might give some practical experience. It was known that some aviation equipment unserviceable to the government was available to various aeronautical units. So that we should make no false move in applying for such parts as were available, the advice of Senator George H. Moses '90 was sought, and it was through his generosity and assistance that the Army and Navy Departments so promptly made obsolete equipment available to the society. In fact the Navy has already issued to us from the Boston Air Base at Squantum various instruments and engine parts, a rebuilt wing with control surfaces. This material, which is now in our possession in Hanover, is very serviceable to us; for through its use we are able to study actual design and construction. When the society receives a motor and accessories from the Government, its ground school equipment should be ample for students in a liberal arts college to gain some mechanical knowledge.
The impracticability of running a flying club and the actual operation of motor-driven airplanes under the direction of the Dartmouth Aeronautical Society has already been stated. This state of affairs, however, governed as it is by circumstances, cannot keep these enterprising aviation enthusiasts on the ground. For, although the nature of the country is not the best for airplane operations, it is not unfavorable for the handling of gliders. Consequently the members in the society are turning their efforts toward gliding. To further this end, work of canvassing the prominent glider clubs for helpful suggestions and a survey of past gliding experiments for new data was begun during the last Christmas Vacation.
The plan of acquiring a reliable glider for flight experiments is as yet undecided. An ideal procedure would be for the student members to build such a machine themselves, but the lack of facilities and equipment is immediately a determent. To purchase a dependable glider is perhaps a better plan for us to follow. Here the cost is the only obstacle; an obstacle since the society has no treasury as yet. This matter, however, could be cleared up nicely by the organization levying a self-imposed tax to cover the initial expense.
When the Dartmouth Aeronautical society obtains a glider in the near future it must be careful not to lose sight of the fact that flying at present is not its main objective, rather it is in the running of the instructive ground school that we are primarily interested.
SOME OF THE MEMBERS OF THE D.A.S. AT WHITE RIVER AIRPORT Left to right: F. W. Gilbert '32; C. W. Morris 'SO; G. A. Hersam, Jr. '29; J. C. Holme, Jr.' 30; M. Burden, Jr. '32; Sid C. Hay ward; E. P. Hokanson '32; H. L. Auten, Jr. '32; N. Rogers '3l; A. Harroun, Jr. '3O
SOME DISTINGUISHED GUESTS Men of the Wright Aeronautical Corporation who came to Hanover for aviation week-end. Left to right: Capt. Louis A. Yancey, trans- Atlantic flyer; Burnham Adams, performance and design engineer; Morris Markey, Manager public relations; Lieut-Commander George Chapline, director of service
INSPECTING AN ALL-METAL FORD PLANE
