FELL IN CHANNEL.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 565, 21 July 1909, Page 7

FELL IN CHANNEL.

—o —; — LATHAM'S MONOPLANE. 1 : . TO FLY FROM FRANCE TO ENCLAND. COLLAPSED AND FLOATED. (By Telegraph.—Press Association.—Copjrlfhi.) . Paris, July 19. Aftor waiting for suitable weather. at Calais for a week, Mr. Hubert Latham started to-day to cross the English Channel in his aeroplane—a feat for which the "Daily Mail" offers a prize of £1000. The machine—a monoplane—rose to a great height; Then the motor slowly stopped, and the machine descended, aftor going ten miles from the, coast. . . i .... A French torpedo-boat destroyer found Mr.> Latham sitting on the floating monoplane, calmly smoking a cigarette. Mr. Latham- and his monoplane were put on board tho vessel, and . taken, back to Calais,'. , ■ ' > LATHAM'S PERFORMANCES. v OVER 28 MILES AT RECORD SPEED. In its narrowest part the Channel is about 20 miles wide. In this case the. aeroplanirt oovered ten miles, and then tho motor stopped —whether from break-down or from ;lacfc of! fuel is not clear. Mr. Latham had justification in hoping to span the divide between the Continent and England, and thus win the "Daily Mail's" £1000, for, on. May 22, at-. Chalons, France, he flew 281 miles, and, did it in the fast time of 37$ minutes, or over ii miles an hour. . If he could have preserved a similar rate across the Channel tho trip would have been a mere half-hour performance, rewarded by the "Daily: Mail" at the rata of, pay, JC33 a minute. It-.was worth trying for, and the 1 prize will almost tainly be. w'on before the arrival of the timelimit, jtho. end of 1900. , Forty-Four. M lids' an Hour, Mr. Latham flies in a monoplane, the type identified with the name of the French aeronaut, M. Bleriot. His speed of 41 miles an hour on May '22 is very much faster than the best, achieved by the .Wrights or any of the bi-planists. During hisiflignts at Chalons, Mr. Latham took up a passenger !on several occasions, and made short flights. "He is now far ahead of all. the other- monoplanists (remarks one writer), and, indeed, comes next to l the Wright brothers as regards, tho ..duratioA of time he has flown. Mr. Latham is unother. of the men - who only took up aeroplaning, this year, and, selecting - tho : most difficult type of machine; has now forged ahead in marvellous fashion. His latest i achievement puts- the r monoplane on quite a new ]basis." : ; ' ■ 'y-'' ' ; In notioing. the Chanlons flights,' "The Times" writes:—"A reniarkablo' flight was made at Chalons on Saturday by Mr. Hubert: Latham, who, on a Bleriot, monoplane, has set up a new tccord which places .this machine nextito the Alright ,in order of merit. Earlier, in the week ' Mr. Latham won the 500 metre' prisso of the Aero Club de : Fratjce, when' he succeeded in taking up.a passenger on 'his machine, and making several' flights -.of-over 600 metres, thus being the first* aviator to oarry a passenger successfully on a. nlonoplane. . Early on Saturday morning, May 22, he .asoended and remained in the air for 37min. 365e«., the distanoe travelled being estimated at over 28 miles, and the average speed H miles'an hour. ' Farman and Delaflrange Beaten. ■ Mr. Latham has . now eioeeded tho time and. distance records of both M. Farmanand M, Delagrange, -made on bi-planes, and his . perr formanco ranks next to that of M. Tissanaior, whose, flight of G2min. :on a Wright machine last week 'is how only inferior to those! of the Brothers. Wright themselves. J: The speed of .the Wright machine when'driven by M. Tissandier was 35 miles an hour, and it will' be .noted .that the 'Bleriot monoplane flew over .nine miles an hour faster. Mr. ,Latham has only been;in training for a few months, and his performance? with'-the-vßleriot monoplanfi jis further remarkable, Jjecausoithe Wiichine is 'far more, difficult than a bi-plano to manage successfully."'-■.y I '-i.fi.' u-i"' -sf* 'x).y