AEROPLANING.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 575, 2 August 1909, Page 5

AEROPLANING.

THE COMMONWEALTH'S OFFER.; V (Dy Tclcßrapb.—Preaa A«Boc|atlpn.-OoDTriit>itJ '".'.'■■ Molbourne, Jnly 31..'•• The Minister for Defonco will shortly;issue the conditions for thp.natipnal prizo of £5000 for \tho inventron of amilitary aeroplane. Since the Gofernment's intention to;,offer a- prize has been made pub'lio, the Ministerlias been inundated with plans of aerial inventions.. , . ... ..' '■;. .. i

AN 'intrepid aviator.- u ■'■- "With regard :to the .recent' • cross-Channel, . efforts qf Mr* Hubert Latham,-it appears that the mo'noplanist had "• made a number pi\. wagers that he would fly aorosatho Channel m •,, ■Jnly,-'and his'two' failures' after' splendid performances undoubtedly call for sympathy. Aβ- : hi 9 monoplane had previously covered 67 miles in-ft , single'flight, and had-shown great speed, '■'>..;.• ho was well justified in hoping for eucooss. i ' "I believe;" lie said last June, "that I can, • whip up my monoplane , to fifty-fivo miles aa ' • hour.- I could do. forty-eight miles an. hour with the present 50-h.p. motor, and wo shall probably, replace that with a JOO-h.p. engine, giving a possible speed of ninety-three lnilca - , , an-hour." As a-matter of fact, his last flight shows that he averaged over a mile a . minute.' The motor again failed through some ..;■•,'■,: unexplained cause. ■';.'.■,■ . ' :.',*. BMoyan'py in. Water. .' '. - . Provided the weathor ie not rough, a descent • in the seo> wopld seem to be, in the caseof Mr. Latham's maohine, an easier.thing than a .-■. . descent,on land. is generally liable ■; ~ • to hit mother earth too quickly,', as was stanced by tho triumphant light of M. Blenot, which ended iu some damage when descending | at Dover. But when Mr. Latham eubsidos to ' . the sea surface) ho rests 'thei-e oonfident in.the /-- buoyancy of bis monoplano.- : This.phase^.vrns ■-;.' explained recently by a press'correspondent, who wroto:—" What Mr.iLatham considors the. most important feqhire of, his, mucliine ls-ithat ; ; . ' the planes are really.'air cliamberß,.'having* a .; masimum thickness of about a foot in the ;, centre ■■ and tapering off. at . the,. edges. : Thesa planes would, he Iwlieves, support' the wholo wiight'should tho liiachino fall into the Chan-. n'ol during his attempt to win the 'Daily Mail ■,'.-' iSIOOO' prize." '.-J.'ho cabled-facts support -the ■ , ,: aviator's'conteution. ■.'..•*• ' ,■■'".-, \ ■ Planing to.the Ground. :' '.-. . ..V ".'••.■:

As regards laud descents, Mr. Lalhan omu-t lates Mr. Wilbur Wright's fent of stopping the motor ami "planing to .the ground." The correspondent referred to .writes;— "Despite /* strong wind,- blowjng at about eighteen miles an hour, ho niadd sovcral splendid flights. Subsequentlj-, ■ after soaring to a height, of'sixty foot, he suddenly stopped . tho motor and allowed tho machine to glide diagonally to the ground. When within six inches of tho earth he restarted the niotor and soared up again. This' daring . feat of descending,--without the motor working he accomplished repeatedly, re-lying-solely on the sustaining power of the, two planes,, whoso supporting" surface is consider- l ably less than that of the Wright machine. Mr. Wilbur Wright on several occasions made similar experiments,' but '.no aviator has before: attempted , ;the feat , .in, a monoplane. The supporting planes with which ouch remarkable , results have been achieved are rigid, but are provided with flexible fins at.tho : . rear extremities. These' fins aro worked' by wires from the pilot's scat, as in tho Wright machine, except that Mr. Latham uses'wheels where Mr. Wright employs; lovers."', ' w .'." A description of Mr. Latham's monoplane states that it is, from tip >to tip, about forefeet long. The'total supporting surface is forty square metres (430 sqtae feet). The machine is driven by an 50-h.p. Antoinette motor, designed and constructed by 11. Lcvasseur, who also built tho monoplane, > The propeller is of steel, with two blades, and is broader than that of tho Wright aeroplane. Mr. Latham is a director of Hie Antoinette . Company.. . , ',;,' < ...'•-',- Two-Men Flights. ■ As regards two-men flights, , introduced by the Wrights, Mr. Latl/am has several times carried a passenger, the' distances .ranging from . (MO yards to six miles. -One'of. his passongera. writes:— . . '■" '■"-. ■/■■-: '■'■'■ ■' ■ .-- ■- ■ -. : '. "So great was-tho confidenco inspired.in me■.■' by Mr. Latham's absolutely calm demeanour lhat I was able to take notes during tho greater part of (ho trip. The -motion of tho machine was delightfully, smooth; and although the flight. was made in gusty wind and the; aeroplane at times leaned over at a considerable, onglo when turning, there was never any • excuse for nervousness or fear.' , • ' '•' :• '■