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Show LIBERTY MOTOR HAS GREAT SPEED Henry Ford Now Turning Out the Machines at Most Rapid Rate. WASHINGTON, Fob. 13. Tho new Liberty motor will fly circles around anything now on tho firing line. Tho fastest of tho fighting planes at front now make not much more thun 130 mflos an hour with engines of loss than half the horsepower of the United Unit-ed States twelves. For tho first, tirao definite figures of what the United States twelves do was learned this afternoon from officials offi-cials of the aircraft production board when it was stated that the latest tests of tho new Liberty had shown' horsepower up to 450. Theso motors, especially desired by tho allies because of their simplicity and lightness, If installed In ono of the light scouting or fighting planes, would glvo a Bpeed characterized by ono of tho officials as "spectacular" and "terrific." It would bo necessary, he said, to throttle it down for manuevcrlng. It would be Hko a racing automobile, too fast at top speed for any quick turnings, turn-ings, but Invincible on a straightaway for pursuit of bombers or for escape with scouting Information. The fa3t fighting planes on the front now aro making around 130 miles an hour with rotaries of 150 horsepower and less and with Hispan-os Hispan-os of 220. Such planes, with rotary motors concentrating weight, aro able to mnnuevcr flexibly about their high center of gravity as about a pivot. The twelve-cylinder Liberty, however, how-ever, although lacking In that flexibility flexi-bility in a light plane because of tho elongated distribution of weight, would havo an incomparable advantage advan-tage in speed, faster than any piano now flying. Only two types of Liberty are being made, both twelvo cylinders. Ono is for the navy, designed for maximum speed at low pressure to enable seaplanes sea-planes to rise from tho water and perform well at low altitudes; the other for the army, for high compression compres-sion at high altitudes to get a maxl-j mum at 15,000 feet American flyers for tho pianos these motors will drive no longor aro going ,to France for their final training. Thoy are getting advanced training here. At the beginning of tho training train-ing program, tho French military officials of-ficials urged that America send all tho student aviators she could to tho n.L.nnnn (roininir anhnnln nf t V o French, and America swamped them so they had to cry a halt temporarily. Those who havo finished their advance ad-vance training now are getting their final polish m actual war work as units with allied squadrons beforo America launches her own Individual war drive, probably early this summer. sum-mer. Henry Ford has turned his automobile automo-bile factories into a vast airplane engine en-gine production factory. Ho is making mak-ing the bulk of the now Liberty motors, mo-tors, and already his quantity of cylinders cyl-inders has cut cost estimates almost 10 percent Somo idea of the magnitude mag-nitude of production was indicated in the statement that theso motors would constitute the greater par of America's conribution to the alied air program. Tho aircraft production board form of contract which is being considered for adoption generally by other war agencies of tho nation takes 75 per cent of cost savings. Instead of tho usual cost plus basis, tho aircraft contract provides that if production exceeds the estimated cost tho profit remains tho samo; if the manufacturer decreases cost, his profit prof-it does not change, but ho gets, in addition, ad-dition, 25 per cent of tho savings. oo |