Plymacoupe

Director Eugene Vidal of the Bureau of Air Commerce has long had a pet idea: let aircraft manufacturers produce a plane cheap enough for the average man, power it with an automobile engine. Last week his idea neared realization when Nicholas-Beazley Airplane Co. of Marshall, Mo. announced the Plymacoupe--a graceful high-wing cabin monoplane with a standard 6-cyl. Plymouth engine. Expected price: $2,000.

Plymacoupe seats two side-by-side, cruises 100 m.p.h., has a topspeed of 120 m.p.h., lands at 42. Its engine is geared 2-to-1, uses 4 gal. of fuel per hour. It has a standard Plymouth instrument board adapted for airplane use. Following successful test-flights last week, the Department of Commerce promptly ordered a Plymacoupe through Chrysler Motors' Amplex Division, planned more tests.

Prime advantage of an automobile engine in private aircraft is its low cost--due to mass production--and the low cost of maintenance and replacements./- No less important is the psychological factor; many an amateur mechanic distrusts aircraft engines, has plenty of faith in the motor under his hood. Whether automobile engines are actually more dependable in flight remains to be shown.

/-Plymouth engines cost about $150--one-tenth the price of an aircraft engine of similar power. The weight is about double. Several manufacturers, notably Wiley Post Aircraft Co. of Oklahoma, have experimented with the Ford 4-cyl. engine for airplane use. Others have tried motorcycle engines. Month ago a midget plane called Drone, powered with a 16-h. p. motorcycle engine, caused a mild sensation in London (TIME, May 6). Last week Austrian Pilot Robert Kronfeld flew from London to Paris, at a fuel cost of $1.47, in a glider with a 5-h. p. motorcycle engine.

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