oping a sporting machine realized that, for the present, the big cargo-carrying machines are equally important, that on the practical cargo-carrying plane depends the extent to which the Government, excepting the military, will be able to utilize the airplane.

It was with considerable faith, therefore, that the L. W. F. Company accepted a contract to build commercial land tractor biplanes, to be used by the aerial mail service on long hauls, such as the one-stop mail flight between New York and Omaha. The machines are characterized as among the first aerial freighters and are designed to carry mail, express or light cargoes.

These L. W. F. aerial freighters will carry from 3,000 to 6,000 pounds cargo. At the time of their construction at the plant of the L. W. F. Company they were the largest all-American land airplanes, and their development marked a new step in aerial transportation.

On the long distance flights, such as the New York-Omaha route, with the one stop at Chicago, they carry 3,000 pounds of mail each. On shorter flights, such as from New York to Buffalo, when the quantity of necessary fuel is considerably reduced, the big ships carry their maximum load.

The actual design of this type of machine removes it finally from the war model. First of all, it is a three-motored tractor biplane. Two great fuselages, each 53 feet, 911⁄2 inches long and constructed of laminated wood, by the L. W. F. patented process, carry part of the fuel supply and 1,000 pounds or more of mail.

The crew of four, including two pilots, a radio operator and mechanic are located in the nacelle, or tail-less body, which constitutes the central carriage of the machine.

A twelve-cylinder high compression 400 horse-power Liberty motor is set in the nose of each of the two fuselages and also in the nacelle, supplying in all 1,200 horse-power.

Both wings span 105 feet from tip to tip, furnishing a total main wing area of 2,200 square feet. They are separated by an 11-foot gap. The nacelle, in which comfortable resting and relief quarters for the crew have been installed, is used for cargo and fuel when shorter hauls permit less than four in the crew. The big machine stands 172 feet high. It weighs, fully loaded, 20,000 pounds; empty, 12,000. The actual useful load is 7,500 pounds.

With its maximum load these machines will travel on high speed at 109 miles an hour, and throttled down to low speed, at 56 miles.

an hour. They will climb about 10,000 feet in 18 minutes, while their ceiling is 17,500 feet. The endurance, or flying radius is 10 hours.

These machines are equipped with the radio plant which enables the pilot to make his way through rain, storm or fog, and to determine the exact location of the landing field when he desires to descend, though the earth is obliterated by fog.

During the last year the L. W. F. Company has redesigned several DeHaviland planes, installing two motors instead of one. Cargo capacity was increased from 400 to 800 pounds, landing gear changed to bear the additional weight and three rudders instead of

one.

Captain Jack Foot, chief test pilot for the L. W. F. Company, was mest successful in Washington when he demonstrated the first of these rebuilt twin Hall-Scott motored machines in November, 1919. So satisfactory were the tests and exhibition flights that the machine was at once accepted by the Aerial Mail Service.

The immediate success of this twin-motored DeHaviland is shown by the following despatch from the Washington correspondent of the New York Times:

WASHINGTON, DECEMBER 2.- What is regarded as a record was established today by a twin-motored De Haviland-4 airplane, devised and manufactured for the Post Office Department, and which today covered the distance between the air mail field at Washington and that at Belmont Park, New York, in one hour and thirty-four minutes with a mail load of nearly 30,000 letters weighing 630 pounds. The distance covered was 218 miles and the rate of speed was 138 miles an hour. Postal officials asserted their belief that this achievement broke all loadcarrying airplane records.

The best previous record in the air mail service was on September 19th, when a single motor De Haviland carried 300 pounds of mail from Washington to New York at a speed of 123 miles an hour, and the third best record was established on October 1st when a Curtiss plane carried 348 pounds from New York to Washington at a speed of 118 miles an hour.

The twin-motored De Haviland used to-day was piloted by Samuel Eaton, Jr., of Philadelphia, and left College Park, on the edge of Washington, at 12 o'clock. It arrived at Belmont Park at 1:34 o'clock this afternoon. The time of flight included two circles around the field for altitude before setting out on the course, and it was the first trip made by the plane in a regular mail-carrying flight. This plane is believed to be the only twin-motored plane built in the United States which not only maintains the altitude under full load with one engine but actually climbs on one engine. Post authorities gave it as their opinion that it is "the greatest forward step made in the development of a small weight-carrying plane."

"It eliminates the fire hazard," said Otto Praeger, the Second Assistant Postmaster General, "by having the engine in the wings and away from the gasoline supplies, and also minimizes danger to the pilot for the same reason."

With its record for turning out airplanes of new and practical design, or remodeling other machines according to the demands of the service, the L. W. F. Company is prepared to fill all orders in the quickest possible period of time. Improved facilities at its factory and exhaustive study on the part of the L. W. F. engineers have made possible the rapid development of aerial freighters, the machines on which officials of the company are depending to fill the transportation needs of the future when the saving of time becomes the chief essential in American trade and commerce.

THE signing of the Armistice November 11th, 1918, signified to the Glenn L. Martin Company the beginning of an era of prosperity as well as an era of peace, for the twelve months following the cessation of hostilities have brought this company wonderful

success.

Mr. Martin and his organization had been successful designers and builders of aircraft for eight years previous to our entrance into the great war and the two years of experience in the building of military aircraft, culminating in the 800 horse-power, twin-engined Martin Bomber simply served to ripen their experience and emphasize their ability to produce airplanes of the highest quality.

Not in any sense an organization born of the war, the signing of the armistice gave them an opportunity of entering once more the field of commercial aviation and their success is demonstrated by the fact that a year of peace finds the Glenn L. Martin Company stronger than ever, employing more men and women than at any previous time in its history.

Just as November 11th, 1918, found the Martin Bomber in the limelight by reason of its remarkable performance in official tests, so November of 1919 found the plane still in the forefront by reason of its outstanding success in actual performance. One year of active usage, carrying heavy loads over long distances brought out and emphasized the qualities in the design and workmanship on the plane and it stood at the end of a year of service the one type of airplane used by the Government which had not been superseded by some other model. Cross country work of hazardous nature was undertaken by the bombers and the many long successful journeys between large cities brought out plainly the commercial possibilities of the big twin-engined ship.

When the cessation of hostilities put an end to the army program, part of which called for a large order of Martin Bombers, the Air Service then awarded the Glenn L. Martin Company a contract for four of the ships to be delivered on completion of the six which were then well under way. The completion of this order of ten planes for the Army found the Cleveland company well started on an order of six mail planes for the Aerial Mail Service and at the termination of the post office order the preliminary assembly of the first of ten big twin-engined planes for the United States Navy was completed. The actual government contracts of the Glenn L. Martin Company since the signing of the armistice are considerably in excess of a million dollars.

The highest tribute that has been paid to the 800 horse-power product of the Glenn L. Martin Company is found in the fact that the basic design of the plane has remained unchanged despite the variety of uses to which it has been put. With only slight changes in the fuselage, Martin twin-engined airplanes have been used for long distance reconnaissance work, day bombing, night bombing, experimental long distance flying, cannon work, use as a 12-passenger army transport and mail and express carrying. The new navy order calls for an airplane of the same general type to fly over hundreds of miles of ocean carrying the customary men, guns and a full sized navy torpedo weighing more than a ton. No one general type of airplane has ever been put to such a variety of uses.

The first four twin-engined airplanes built by the Glenn L. Martin Company were of the long distance reconnaissance type intended for trips across the lines. This scheme called for a plane capable of fast climbing, high ceiling, great speed, good maneuverability,