TO SUBSTITUTE NEW FUEL IN AIRPLANES

Experiments which may result in the elimination of the fire hazard from aviation are to be carried on this year in the mechanical engineering laboratory of the Engineering School. Professor L. S. Marks, who is in charge of the experiments, stated to a CRIMSON reporter that the substitution of a less inflammable, a cheaper, and a more abundant fuel for gasoline would be the object of the investigations.

The fuel to be used is diesel oil, a heavy substitute for gasoline. This oil is already used for almost every type of engine work. Ocean liners of the newest type are being equipped with diesel engines. In Germany, where the supply of gasoline is limited, diesel oil is rapidly taking the place of the lighter fuel. When the gasoline sources in this country are depleted, diesel oil will be the next resource, according to Professor Marks. Another advantage of diesel oil over gasoline is the comparatively small volume it occupies. This is of especial importance in long distance flying.

Engine is Built

A special engine, the first of its kind every built in this country, has been purchased, and will be used for the experiment projected by the Engineering School. This engine, remarkable or its high potential speed, is of German invention. The problem facing engineers at present is to get higher speed and less weight, and the achievement of this end would make diesel airplane engines practical.

D. H. Alexander of Belfast, Ireland, and Dr. T. W. F. Brown of Ayr, Scotland, holders of the two Blair Fellowships for this year, will carry on the experiments. There are only two Blair Fellowships providing for a year of graduate research in Engineering in an American university, the holders of which are chosen from the whole British Empire. Alexander, a graduate of Cambridge University, and Brown, who graduated from the University of Glasgow, are both specializing in the same field, and have both been working on the same problem, that of perfecting diesel engines for airplane use. They will combine forces this year in an effort to solve the problem.