AMERICA'S LIBERTY AIR MOTORS

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 277, 12 August 1918, Page 4

AMERICA'S LIBERTY AIR MOTORS

PRODUCTION REPORTS. New York, Juno 25. The manufacture of aircraft for war uses is daily gniuing momentum in iha United States as more firms pass tho stage of preparation and enter the stugo of production. It requires many months to get a factory ready to produce .£. aeroplane engine in quantities or to prod net the 'plane in which the engine will ba used in quantities'. Months have been spent in tho preparatory stages. Theso stages embrace tho designing and production of factory machinery, necessary for (he quick manufacture of many parts of the aeroplane engine. An equally long period, has been necessary to make'tho jigs which enable the quick manufacture of any part. Ono jig may make it possible to drill a score or more of bolt holes in a casting at one timo. Such a device is a great economiser of time, but months aro needed to get a complete equipment of such apparatus. Since last fall tho factories have been busy on this work, and it,is now practically completed, and '.ho production of the next few months should bear good testimony to tho efforts of the last few months. '

Pour concerns aro now manufacturing Liberty engines in production quantities'. and threo others should be in production by July. Over 1500 of these engines have .boon produced, although it is onlv oleven months since the first incomplete sample engines were assembled. In n recent report from Europo on I lie length of time required from the designing of an aircraft engine until production <m it was started, it was slated that twelve, months aro needed. Our programme on Liberty engines is greatly in advance of this, in that over 1500 engines have, been produced within a year from the time, the first plans and designs were decided upon. The production, of 'planes for the engine will soon bo keeping step with engines as tho delays that havo 'occurred iu the equipment needed for the 'planes aro overcome. T'lis has held progress back very materially. One large concern has been in production of 'planes lor fighting purposes for many months, but shipment of these lias been held up, due to delays in connection with the fitting of equipment. One other very large factory is getting into production, so that the presont output should soon bo doubled or quadrupled. The manufacture of training 'planes has been well centralised, and production has been up to requirements for some time.