Aero Service Corporation Its History and Development: Wm. H. Meyer, JR

AERO SERVICE CORPORATION
ITS HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT

Wm. H. Meyer, Jr.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This article is the first in a series which will outline, briefly, the history and de-
velopment of organizations who are helping to support our Society.
T HE careers of many business men have been completely changed by cir-

cumstances. Similarly the Aero Service Corporation (started in June, 1919,
as the Pennsylvania Aero Service Corporation but changed in 1920 in order to
avoid confusion with another company known as the Philadelphia Aero Service)
had as its primary business interest that of promoting air transportation.
In an old scrap book, filled with clippings relating to the trials and tribula-
tions of the earlier days of the company, are found many accounts that are
most interesting. One account tells of an exhibition race between a Chevrolet
automobile and a Curtiss JN 4 Airplane. This race, which attracted thousands
of people, was held on October 23,1919, at the Belmont Race Track. The articles
go on to relate at length how the airplane barely managed to beat the automobile
in 5 laps around the one mile track, making the astonishing time of 5 minutes
and 3 seconds for the total distance. I t is interesting to read that the automobile
was only a short way behind at the finish of the race and that the pilot, Neil S.
Johnston, had to show great ingenuity and skiII in order to come in as a winner.
A lawsuit brought against the company for carrying passengers on Sunday
is another interesting side light on the problems of twenty years ago. According
to the blue laws if flying in an airplane could be classified as a sport then such
activity would be prohibited. If it were classified as a means of transportation
then this would be permissible on the Sabbath. The Company finalIy managed
to convince a judge that an airplane could be classified correctly as a means of
transportation and cited the fact that they had flown passengers from Phila-
delphia to Wilmington, Delaware, on matters of life and death as a means of
saving valuable time. A regular airline was proposed to carry passengers from
Philadelphia to Atlantic City and New York, this being considered quite an
extensive circuit to be covered.
As time passed the company's interests became more diversified. An ad-
vertisement in a newspaper, dated May, 1920, showed that the company was
interested in giving flying instructions and doing aerial photography in addition
to air transportation. Most of the aerial photography which was undertaken at
first was in the nature of obliques. Views were made at an angle by pointing the
camera over the side of the airplane. Attempts were made to sell such views by
advertising.
Mr. Virgil Kauffman joined the organization in 1924 because of his experi-
ence in photography and in aviation. Due to his foresight and confidence in the
future of aerial photography alI activities not related to aerial photography were
discontinued at this same time. His sales efforts and ingenuity soon increased
the oblique business. In addition he flew the airplane on the majority of the
photographic undertakings and soon found it unnecessary to have a photog-
rapher along. With a specialIy mounted camera, and a means of tripping the
shutter by remote control, he was able to secure satisfactory oblique photographs
doing the entire operation alone.
In 1927 Mr. Kauffman became President of the Corporation and about this
time the engineering uses of vertical aerial photographs became more wide-
spread. The Corporation devoted more and more of its efforts to the making of
117
118 PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING
such vertica photographs and mosaic maps. The mosaic made for the Phila-
delphia Regional Plan, covering approximately 4000 square miles of area, was
perhaps one of the largest mosaic undertakings to have been completed in ~ 928.
It was successfully used in the extensive plan prepared by the commission. Many
other projects were completed such as transmission lines, city areas, and water
front surveys.
In 1932 when all of the State of New Jersey was photographed as a single
project it marked another turning point in the history of aerial photography as
it was the first complete State to be mapped by this means. The work was under-
taken without a specific contract, making the negatives corporation property
and free from restrictions. Later mosaics were made of the entire state, copies
of which were nominally priced, and made available to the public.
In 1934, when the Tennessee Valley Authority was organized and the prob-
lem of mapping the large area rapidly was taxing the ingenuity of various map-
ping organizations, it was our privilege to cooperate with the Authority in
securing 5 lens aerial photographs of the entire area. At a later date we again
accomplished something new by assembling these 5 lens pictures into a recon-
naissance type of mosaic map which gave the T. V. A. an opportunity to de-
termine, in a general way, the nature of the terrain and the location of various
natural and man-made developments. "
Aero Service Corporation pioneered many of the improvements in aerial
photographic equipment and operations largely due to Mr. Kauffman's interest
in field operations. The first aerial cameras to expose a 9/1 X 9/1 film were made
and developed in our own shop. This size negative, because of its advantages
for greater coverage and better radial line figures, was adopted by many others.
Later in 1938, in cooperation with Bausch and Lomb Optical Company, a 5.2/1
focal length lens covering a 9/1X9/1 negative was perfected. When, in 1939,
Dr. Lovelace was perfecting his oxygen mask and control equipment for use by
pilots, we were privileged to cooperate on the early experiments. We were the
first to adopt the equipment for use for our photographic crews. Since that time
it has been adopted by many organizations and military fields of aviation.
During the development of the Aero Service Corporation another mapping
Company was developing, in Philadelphia, under the guidance of Mr. Arthur
Brock and associates. They accomplished, well in advance of all others, research
and experimentation in the preparation of topographic maps from aerial photo-
graphs. As early as 1914 aerial photographs were taken of Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
It is interesting to note that during the First World War most of the aerial
cameras made for use by our forces in 1917 and 1918 were Brock aerial cameras.
Thereafter an engineering firm, Brock and Weyp:1outh, was formed to specialize
in problems of hydraulics. As a means of preparing accurate maps, needed for
planning reservoirs and hydro electric projects, the topographic mapping from
aerial photographs was very completely studied. This resulted in the first topo-
graphical map made by this method-the Media Triangle completed in 1922.
Later on this same organization completed topographic mapping in France,
Italy, and Canada. In this country such important projects as the Boulder Dam
site, Saluda River Hydraulic Project area, Conowingo Dam and Reservoir area
were completed to a high degree of accuracy and precision. A small project
showing one foot contours was made of an estate as a means of conclusively
proving that such a small contour interval map could be made with the aid of
aerial photographs. All of the assets, patents, drawings and equipment of the
Brock and Weymouth Company were acquired by us in 1938. It is still the only
completely American method for the making of accurate topographic maps from
aerial photographs.
AERO SERVICE CORPORATION 119
Up to this time the laboratory and office had been located at 1612 Chancellor
Street in Philadelphia. These quarters were ample at first but in later years even
the use of an adjacent building was very inadequate for the amount of produc-
tion going through the laboratory. When we moved to our present location in
1939, increasing our floor space to 25,000 square feet separated on three floors,
all the Brock Equipment was permanently installed. Some changes in the nature
of refinements were made and, in the course of operating the equipment, methods
and procedures were revised in accordance with improvements in technique and
equipment that had taken place since the Brock equipment was previously
OXYGEN CONTROL EQUIPMENT IN USE BY OUR PILOTS AND

PHOTOGRAPHERS
used. Now large munition area contracts have been completed showing 2 foot
contours in some instances, 5 foot contours in others and at scales ranging from
1 inch equals 40 feet to 1 inch equals 100 feet. These projects were completed
in a short space of time as this was essential because of the urgent need of the
maps for construction purposes. Al of the work was guaranteed that 90% of
checked points would not exceed one contour interval in error. In the course
of this work methods of training inexperienced personnel were developed so that
now it is possible to do this type of work on a production line basis for the first
time. In other words, various people are trained to do but a small integral part of
the entire procedure and by confining their efforts to such a segment of the total
work, the training period is greatly reduced and the efficiency of operations are
rapidly developed.
The early development of a precision aerial camera was undertaken and
120 PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING
accomplished in our laboratory. This American built camera makes it possible

for us to secure aerial negatives which are suitable for use with the multiplex
mapping equipment. The Geological Survey, in their Chattanooga office, pre-
pare contour maps with this equipment. Fortunately, this development of a
satisfactory camera, prior to the present war, has prevented any interruption of
a mapping program important in our defense program.
Our work in perfecting the use of the short focal length lens which covers a
9/1 X9/1 negative has made it possible to economically photograph large areas
in this country, as well as foreign countries, especially where weather conditions
are unfavorable. The wide angle of the lens permits wide separation between
flight line thus decreasing the amount of flying necessary to cover an area.
Research at present is concentrated to further the mapping projects which
are part of the National Defense Program. The methods and experience gained
in the preparation of precise mosaic work covering 11,000 square miles in Utah
are now being used on an Army project. We are at present making a precise
mosaic for the U. S. Army, specifications of which call for such a high degree of
accuracy that no points selected shall be at variance from their true position on
the mosaic by more than one fortieth of an inch.
In the preparation of a new type of reconnaissance map a further develop-
ment has been made possible by the use of an ultra short focal length lens in-
stalled in one of our precision cameras. It enables us to secure approximately
60 square miles of territory at a scale of 1 to 72,000 in an 8" circular picture. Final
mconnaissance maps can be made by enlarging a section of the center of this
negative to a scale of 1 to 20,000 corresponding to a 5 minute quadrangle. This
method was recently employed as a means of preparing most rapidly a recon-
naissance aerial photographic map of a large section of territory of which 5
minute quadrangle maps were reproduced.
At the present time our organization operates 15 specially equipped airplanes
for aerial photography and has approximately 90 employees. New problems, new
methods, and developments are proceeding more rapidly as time goes on. Many
of these are of material aid in furthering the present defense program.

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AERO SERVICE CORPORATION

ITS HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT

T HE careers of many business men have been completely changed by cir-

OXYGEN CONTROL EQUIPMENT IN USE BY OUR PILOTS AND

accomplished in our laboratory. This American built camera makes it possible

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