Photo by Herald Studio
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| Packard diesel-powered Stinson "Detroiter", 1930 Photo by Herald Studio |
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Plane Equipped With Packard Built Diesel Engine Is At Municipal Airport Fuel oil as a substitute for gasoline was given a test from the viewpoint of economy and efficiency in the nonstop flight of a Stinson Detroiter land plane last Sunday from Detroit to Miami. The six-passenger airship, with registration number X-7654, left Detroit at 6:06 a.m. and arrived in Miami at 4:21 p.m., or in 10 hours and 15 minutes, using approximately one hundred gallons of fuel oil, costing $8.50, or about a third what the cost would have been with gasoline as the fuel. Capt. L. M. Woolson, former United States Army World war aviator, and Walter E. Lees were the pilots on the nonstop trip. The Stinson Detroiter plane has been in service two years. It is fireproof, as fuel oil will only burn under pressure, officials said. Each cylinder of the engine operates independently on a separate feed line, enabling each to function efficiently regardless of the other cylinders and thereby adding an important safety factor for nonstop or other flights. The Diesel 9-cylinder motor was built by the Packard Motor Car Company and has 225 horse power at 1,900 revolutions per minute. The weight is two and one-fourth pounds a horse power and the total weight is 500 pounds. It has no carburetor, ignition or spark plugs and nothing to interfere with radio attachments. The plane recently completed a 50-hour standard government test flight at Detroit. Packard automobiles are handled in Miami by Packard-Miami Motors, Incorporated, 1740 N E. Second Avenue. The pilots of the Stinson Detroiter plane, Captain Woolson and Mr. Lees are guests of the company while here. 
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