Fokkerisms

Anthony H. G. Fokker, maker of airplanes, in his native Holland, and in the U. S.,* was prevailed upon last week to talk commercial flying. He said some revealing things. He said that France is the best equipped nation in the world, at this point, for turning out flying machinery, but that the U. S. will soon catch her up. He said that Germany, though restricted in plane manufacturing by the Treaty of Versailles, has established many a big factory outside her boundaries, and is "without equal" for training efficient civilian pilots at present. He said, after having brought up to date his firsthand knowledge of European airways, that the U. S. Post Office Transcontinental Air Mail service is "the most efficient and reliable of all the airplane transportation systems in the world." He admitted that he is building in Holland a gigantic, multimotored plane designed to do transcontinental passenger service between Manhattan and San Francisco, with Pullman-type berths for 35 to 40 sleepers. He accepted congratulations upon the performance of the Fokker Josephine Ford, first plane to circle the North Pole, bearing Lieutenant Commander Richard E. Byrd U.S. N. (TIME, May 17, SCIENCE).

*The U. S. Fokker factory is at Hasbrouck Heights, N. J.