AERONAUTICS: All Wing

In the arid Mojave Desert, a queer, experimental bird tried its wings last week. It is the product of the Northrup Aircraft Corp., designed by John Northrup, one-time Lockheed Vega engineer and W. K. Jay, pilot. Their queer bird is all wing—with a 60-h. p. motor and pusher propeller, retractable three-wheel landing gear, a skinny polelike arrangement for flippers and rudders, seats within the wing itself. Indicated performance characteristics of this trial plane are: low landing speed, high speed of over 100 m. p. h., large gliding angle, and little probability of spinning.