"Meet me at St. Louis, Louis, Meet me at the Fair."
This was back in 1904, when St. Louis celebrated her world's fair, and many a dusty buggy creaked into town laden with wide-eyed human freight. Full many fairs and expositions has St. Louis seen in the quarter century that has passed. Last week with proud fervor St. Louis opened the only U. S. air show of major importance for 1930. And instead of dusty buggies, St. Louis greeted ponderous trimotored transports bringing their loads of laconic salesmen of airplanes, sporty little open ships with private owners or students, conservative cabin jobs with business men, all curious to see what their industry offered for the critical year of 1930.
Resounding was the backslapping, vociferous the conviviality in the Hotel Jefferson, headquarters of the show. The jovial spirits of the air made St. Louis their crossroad. At the new Arena, World's largest exposition building, was spread out before their dazzled eyes and before the much greater numbers of mere lookers-on, $2,500,000 worth of aeronautical merchandise. In this mass of 87 planes, many engines, instruments, lighting systems, radio devices, novelties, etc., centred the hopes and fears of those who have invested in the aircraft industry's future.
Sponsor of the show, the Aeronautical Chamber of Commerce realized the importance of their exhibition, planned much coöperation with the Aeronautics branch of the Department of Commerce: to increase private ownership of planes, patronage of air transport routes, use of air mail, to encourage technical development. The vivid spectacle of such groups of clean-limbed, powerful craft bespoke shrewd design and craftsmanship. Under the smooth, suave lacquered surfaces were cunning contrivances to increase safety. Interiors of mighty air yachts in mohair, intricate inlaid woods, carefully wrought metalwork attested the increasing interest of the luxury-loving class.
The show included many more land planes with pontoons available at increased cost, many more amphibians than ever before. Nearly a dozen new planes were unveiled last week, among them a new Waco, Model I10, a smaller, cheaper open biplane with usual rugged Waco construction; a new Ryan Foursome, Wright powered, with adjustable reclining seats. The already famed Lockheed Sirius, proven airworthy by Charles Augustus Lindbergh recently, the Stearman Junior Speedmail, a 156 m. p. h. biplane, are important new planes to employ N. A. C. A. radial motor cowling, which both smooths out the looks of the plane and increases the speed as much as 12%.