THE AEROPLANE.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 416, 27 January 1909, Page 9

THE AEROPLANE.

4 WONDERFUL DEVELOPMENTS TAKINC - PLACE, •- VIEWS WITH AERONAUTS. . A. recent;humber of;. -'-Motor.'-- 'contains' interviews with Wilbur "Wrightv-l)elagrange, Henry Farman, I'emarkablo statements' ments in'aerial navigation! wbieh-thoy^.expect in a few years. AN ENGINE OF WAR Mr. Wilbur Wright said thoy aeroplano would develop along military, lines. It would only become a ,sporting'proposition te s cer-tain-extent. "A certain men will bo drawn to itj-V.-'he remarked, I do not think their number | will be-great. It may, of course, develop.:iil.'difebtioiis'ihat wojio not think of now. Frequently course is mapped out iW';'a''<great ''invention, and it takes quite a different'one. 'But tho future of. the flying machino is with-armies. Every army will have hot ono"but" hundreds of. these machines carrying thrdo: or four men and ammunition, and capable of keeping;, the enemy continually harassed. Naturally. tliesO machines will take the .place of arid will be inuch mor? effective than that branch of military;service. - : - : ' With; regard to the-aeroplane influencing the motor-car industry, .Mr..Wright. . was emphatic. /'No,"...he .replied, ."I do; not think it will. Sportsmen ..Will,-' of;' courso; be attracted to the .machiiiej but-, in all ■cases they, will be men' who caii car and aeroplane. ' ■ .r.. - "With regard to tho aeroplane,"; said tho American, ".people seem,tO.; imagiilo;;-that its advent was dependable on the petrol engine, Well,; tho petrol eilgine, iii. my. opinion,.; Wai not necessary at all. Steam wasjiWays quite'as efficient-. Moreover, .are; wrong jn searching for, specially- light engines. -'.Cer.taily it ; would bo. carry dead weight, but reliability is much more important than. lightness.- : Thero is !■ really no need for a special typo of engine. There aro plenty of automobile engines that I cotild use .oil my .flying machine, and use .successfully, without any .change, whatever.- ' The'.future aeroplano will be probably limited; to .six or eight-passengers, With;my machine,l;can fly just as \Vell alono us witiv a very heavy weight giving a load equal to three.or four ordinary people. . There is really no,danger jby.'reason of a .passenger movitig :abqut diiiing a,fljght. If he had to 'shift his .' position .several; feeti it would make -no -real' diiference i v.to '-itbe machine's equilibrium.. -,A's a .'matter, of fact I .could fly.,oil tho.':tip of . tho wing'-Witliout. upsetting of . the' machine" . Asked as to What ■ form - the flying. machino of tho future would take, .Wright said, , It will probably maintain the; same .proportions as at present. It. all depends on.-what (fill bp/required; Big planes - will give' a greater : lifting capacity, . but ...will • sloWer. -.. r ' The ': flying maiihme .of -the. ifutiirei'will: hay.6;. a capacity; of .two Or ,ijhre.e ; passengers., [and;, a. rango of action- of miles.-,;\Vhether fitted with olio or' two propellers' will not make any difference." . . : ; .As. to the possibility: of the crossOhannol .flight -just now, thß : .American .said he could do.',it- any. day. he'liked,;:butj : With a smile, asked of what' uso would, it . bo. ; FLYING MACHINE FOR ~ £150. ; Leon Dolagrarige, 6no>of .Fralice's'premier aeronauts, 'who ' has. been Working..hard on his models,' and, who ha~s; made - some'- Wonderful .flights, - was" more' hopeful of ..the - futuro than .' Wilbur Wright. : . said,: "the -.flying .machine? will'-bet "used'; 'in' such largo numbers that 'it' will' 'have' becil' brought within " the'' ircach of :■ practically everybody..-The initial costwill be not more than £150, which: will be one of, the .cheapest .means of locomotion knowiV ;lThe aeroplane -will undoubtedly be .used 've£y -extensively in the army. Every... regiment will ;, have a certain number to bo used, for .scouting and con.tiiiually "harassing; the: ieneniyi-' jiAs ,a sport -.flying Will bp ufiique,-while for long- of' Snort. distance .touring; it -.willibe, .-without- a 'rival, for it makes possible "a journey, say; from' Paris ; to Marseilles;; orSjlionddn to .;Monte ■Carlo,, in an hour ;or; soVs) timeJ - As, the .result, ; of the, development' of. the, aeroplane, lorig-distarioO raotpr-oar touring On hjgh-S]jeod machines, ruirious ; iti;Aipkeep,; .'will fall' off More.economical,'••■'as .wdl , ' v iij''fc'66 i ing, that /nobody, wilr'^e 1 -"fouhd ;; 'to"trave'l.long distances' by road. 1 ,'.ln ; my opimqii;" rhe concluded, "a not be', developed'as has .been; done; with'' i.nt bicycle, foi 1 instance. ; Tliefe will dpubtless' :be several -different, types,;,all .of .which: -.Will be placed iri- two' main plahe . types—monoplane ; different. and . have ..sucjif diffefejit; action: that iti,is impossible';^!)'Prefer tlip. other. TliS.v progress Vof',^lneaferbplaiioi ■ in; fact, will be teh- tiffles.'MOrt;'rapid 'thaii that, of v ; the motor-car Its :pfogress,', h'owr. ever, is likely to be arrested by' accidents, which'.' will; ;in6yitabij vhappen, to . reckless sportsmen, to; men' who. will take- a .'pleasure in,risking;their/lives by;'flying-SVer' towiis- 1 : athing that is, absoltttiely^Use]&sl"';jtt.-.'tiine' of p6ace. : ' 'In',-the,' will be possible' for '„repeir<i' its - motive poWer frPm" 1 ' 'felectriis Stations " v,-!!! be flyiiig." - 'I"]vr.v.-. v NEW FIELD FOR' SPORT. • Henry - Fai;man,, .seen . before;. the / a'copmf plishment of the. first' aeroplane, flight; stated' that; in five years 'the buildiiig of flying machines would,havo boComo an important industry. .. :. "I believe that it will bo/uscd- rery generally as a;, sportj and that : jaurWeys f/oiiv point to'-point frill vct-y generally'he.-undertaken during tlie next few years,;' ;I)urmg. the;next fivo years - there, will not'-be; any attempt to Cross'mountain ranges'^lrV^i'flyij^er : but joutileys along the* seaaho're ' froiii ;;.one: wat-ering-placo 'to another ..or from one .Holiday resort to another will'jbe very common; Trips, of one' hundr.ed mile's oiit. hud, home, always avoiding towns, and: attembtcd' under favourable conditions, will, : bs' exceedingly common in the near future. . By reason of its ; development as a: sport •tho aeroplane, is., certain to havie. an adverse influence ori th©'motor-cari Thoagh it'will never drive ' out motoring, it will, doubtless bring about ;,a certain neglect'of the highpowered car."/:,; , /■/;'•■/ /'ies, a special motor ib : fifecessary. 'Ic' inust, bo rather lighter than the present'car engine', - and it; must at ;tlie same time bo absolutely reliable. ; It'is incorrect to say that the .Wright engine .is ;an o'rdihar-y typp; It haS a lot. of; special -points ajid -' is 'muchlighter thaii tho oi'dlnafy;; car'motor." V A COJIBINATION MACHINE. ■ "How will the aeroplane. develop in the immediate future?" was asked Mr. Charles Voisin, ono of the partners in tho firm of Voisin Freres, builders of the Farman, Delagrange, and, other successful machines. . "Not ;at ail pn -.tho lines;.tliat a'ro beijig/fAllowed now. Tho flyiiig machine of tho' fu'ture. will not bo more than 6ft. from tip I ,to tip;; instead bf merely;" two superimposed planes, it will havo twenty or.thirty;.-it will run on wheels like a, motor-car, but Will be driven by an aerial propGller.. ..Wlicn . iifod in towns or any crowded, district;-.:it will keep to tho road, and will be used in exactly the same, way as a 'niotor-car, with the difference that. its four, wheels will lie free,' drive bfeihg through t-lio propeller. When conditions / are satisfactory for . high speed the elevation piano, will bo' raised, the' machino' will - rise from tile'.'ground,;: and: 'skim; Along at a'very piucli ; inches from the surface of tW ioad.'' For instance, on a journey frbin Paris', t-d; : Marseilles, this,, flying motor-car :;vvould ' follow the'- road ...as, far . Fohtainebleau,; 1 travelling just the samo as a lnotor-cnr. From i'ontainobleau it would still follow tho road, at times ' skimming . ;over . the."Surface of tho ground, at times running on its four wheels. Further south, whero absolutely flat, open country is rcaehed, there would be no necessity to stick' to the TOad,. but t-lio machine would never, riso' high' iii'.'.tho air. '"'MiChy/an angle on the road would be. cut off, and many of the dips on our long/straightaways woulu bo avoided. . . :.. - .... - "For instance, in tho Sartho and other districts there aro level . and switchback roads' stretching foi- liiiles wliicK aro so safo that evory'/m'o'torist.has. wished he could travel; at. 200- milds: all. hour.. -With, this typo of aeroplano it would bo possible to l&ave tho road, attain a speed of 200 miles an

hour, then come back again to run as an : ordinary vehicle when passing through vil-. lages or over unsuitable country. . "It is true that Farman has just made » magnificent cross-country flight, but, suchtrips will not. becomo general. It is mad- : ness to attempt, to -fly . over trees, houses, . railroads, and other obstacles; for the whola time you are at the mercy of your Wherever there is movement there is wear, and where there is wear there will be break" age sooner or later.. It is understood that if your, motor fails you will not come down ", hko a stone; but you must come down, ncvcr« theless, and tho place you have to come dowtf on may be a roof: - It is needless to point' out that.a roof is not an ideal-landing place,V,

"Sdme years ago Panhard issued instruct tions.to users of their cars that on tho high gear a speed >of .25 kilometres an honr could be .attained,; but that, owing to the danger of such a'Speed they did not recommend its, ,usb.' In the same way this typo of aeroplane could.travel high in the air; in fact, high, in tho air there would be fewer difficulties tlian' near the - ground, the. atmosphere abova the, tree-tops being calm, or when there aro currents they are steady; '.Near tile ground, on' the other hand, there are eddies which make it difficult to handle a flying machine.'-. But because of the serious results which ! might 1 ensue from a high flight wo should not recommend the use of the machine for;such purposes." i

"JBttt;" he was asked, "would not your flying motor-car make the -crossing of the;: Ohantlel and other large bodies of .water att impossibility ?"■- to which came the ! answer;; "Aot at all.. The Channel will undoubtedly be crossed during: the next six months. But with the aeroplane, as I see: it, for. practical purposes'.in " the future there will be a hull, somewhat similar to that of a boat, with sustaining surfaces.- The machine could either fly- aboye .the water', or be sustained - on , ita; surface. Boats like the Cobra, a well-known .Continental speed launch, havo already sufli--1 cieht■; power to enable, them to fly if their hulls were lightened, and ; they -' were fitted with surfaces. Since all,' vessels of. this class are bad sea boats it 'would ba an advantage to..replace thein by flying boats .'aayigAting .oil, the'-water'or above it. 'v.'.'Will your-' typo of flying - machine ;be . within, the _ reach'; of. the' general. public; and what passenger- capacity .will they have?." was asked.. ' ■:V

-- "Doubtless aeroplanes of this type not more than 6ft. .in' width, ahd having a maximum capacity of foui' people, will be sold for £600 Etaph. Their maximum speed will be 200 miles an. lioiir,. but of course tb'eir average speed .will ; b6 ;mUeh liwei',' for, frequently..;they . will, operate''"under'-the-,same .conditions as;:a motor-car. - Undoubtedly such machines will, be a direct rival to the present type'of motor-' ear, for their upkeep, will bo very much less, and their speed much higher: They will bo invaluable for. military .purposes, for. even .'on the; road _ they will be. exceedingly fast, wliilo daring pilots wili always be found - willing :to' tike them aloft for special- journeys." : ; ■ NEED FOR PUPILS. M.- Levavasseur, one of France's leading aeronauts, said ./

"In fivo years' time .the. aeroplano will have reached its .maximum development. ,; "The future is with big machines. It is a; mistake to'suppose that the aeroplano must'; bo small and light,' V ;Most of . .our, present machines are far too small for practical ■Work;'- the,.butterfly and- other -insects, caai only remain on the wins in calm weather, •Whereas largo birds :■ of prey can coine ' put' in practically all weathers. The big machine, too,.is hot a thing of tlie distant futuro:,; Al-. ' ready ,we have under construction an eight-; , passenger aeroplane driven': by a 200-h;p.; en- • gme," •--. Tho monoplane, is ■ the only typo. of.flying, machine that will persist. It has been neglected at first because it; is mora difficult to construct than tho ■ biplane, but it is: tho only oho with high speed, ahd therefore the/oily one that will inevitably be 'adopted. "The greatest need of the moment is.tbo training.; ofWjJilS.:" 'There , is future for tho'. aeroplaiip':as;. a ■ sport,-, but pupils/.must'.bo. trailed. :to. it.i "To meet tliia deficiency ; a practical,. training ';should ,be : opehed,- - I ';ls:\i

"To encourage the sport there should be a - valuable prize- to every newcomer covering a .kilometrd .under.official;co'ntrol. ■Further, an 'aeroplane..is •heeded which .willbe; Under rhiihicipaV.. of.'Government open at. all times, to . aeronautical experiments and. various flying machine races and tastes. A private' grOund is. not: sufficient,:.for: it. would soon get into the hands. of; speculators, who Would 'ruin-the'sport. ' ' ■-;.

; ;'.:''The : aeroplano',will' havo a very serious effect ..on tho motor-car industry, for it will bo the fastest and iiiost reliable. mOaiis of ranid transport. .In a: tew years it-"Will be jwsSiblo. to fly 325 out of 'the 3C5, days, of-; the:-year,; for. raiii will have no - influence on the aeroplane.. and the only, thing, it' will fear will be very heavy storm's."./. :.. .vM:-v.: