ACROSS THE ATLANTIC.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1813, 28 July 1913, Page 5

ACROSS THE ATLANTIC.

IS THE FLIGHT POSSIBLE? WHAT MIGHT BE DONE. The remarkable flights of five and six ' hundred mile* which have been made recently in Europe by aeroplanes incline ono to adopt an attitude of simple faith that somehow the long-talked-of flight across } tho Atlantic trill be accomplished, and J that before long (writes Frank Foster in 1 the Manchester "Guardian"). Although c aeroplanes are far from being fully de« t veloped, it is interesting to consider tho t matter in the light of present conditions, < Practical aeroplanes as a rule require ono < horse-power for every 20lb. to 301b. of total i flying weight. Indeed, none of the planes' 1 in last year's military competition reached 301b., and the. army aeroplane ex- i hibited at Olympia in February only < carries about -21b. per effective horse- 1 power. Now the consumption of petrol is 1 probably not less than 0.6 per h.p. hour. . Assuming that half of the aeroplane weight is petrol, the limit of endurance < would be 18 hours. At tho speed of this aeroplane, 70 miles per hour, the range would then bo about 1260 miles, which would not suffice to cross tho Atlantic, which measures about 1700 miles between Ireland and Newfoundland. These figures do not dispose of the Atlantic ana night, but they Lead us to the conclusion that existing aeroplanes are not capableof it. Wo know from experience, experiment, and theory that the weight supported per horse-power depends on the speed of flight. According to particulars published in "Engineering," a- modern aeroplane re-, quired 70 h.p. at 75 miles peT hour, 30 h.p. at 55 miles, and 25 b.p. at 50 miles. On this basis the total weight .becomes about 601b. per h.p. at 50 miles -per hour, and if specially designed for a slow speed even this figure might be improwd upon. But we must not overlook the faot that nothing so good is yet available. Tho Maurice Farman biplane submitted at the military 'competitions last year weighed only 271b. per h.p. at its fastest speed of 55.2 miles per hour. • The Blenot monoplane at 60.8 miles an hour weighed only 221b. per h.p. Experiments by Mr. A. P. Thurston gave a maximum lifting power of 2601b. per netfo.p. at 35 miles per hour, but this included no allowance for the inefficiency of tho propeller or for the necessary losses of the non-plane portion of a. flying machine, the experiments in Question being on a simple curved wing. Malting due allowances, tho lifting power would drop to about 601b., and even this falls away at higher or lower 6peeds very rapidly. , . , The evidence dce3, however, point very strongly towards a machine specially designed for a speed of about 45 or 50 miles per hour having the longest range. Unfortunately a slow machine necessarily has, a large wing area, and is therefore. very heavy per li.p. Moreover, a flight across the Atlantic at 50 miles per 1 hour would occupy 31 hours, without any 1 margin for contingencies. Clearly the aeroplane must carry at least two men, and preferably three, and it is essential ! that they should possess a certain amount ' of freedom to move about and have ac- . cess to necessary conveniences. Freedom ' to move involves a shifting centre of gravity, and in order bo maintain stability it may be necessary to carry the airship body or car between fore and aft planes (preferably not in pure tan- • dem) set well apart. This, and indeed • tho niere fact of bigness wil _ tend r to send up the weight in proportion to i plane area. Present-day examples carry 5 from three to nine pounds per square 3 foot of wing area, the high values cor- - responding to high speeds, although some I which ran'fly as slowly as 50 miles per ; hour carry about five or six pounds per - square foot. The net weight (present 5 practice) is, then, about threo'to four - pounds per square foot, this including s the motor, but not fuel or "pilot. Makt ing an allowance for the lighter motor i of tho slower plane, the best difference 3 between the net and loaded weights does - not exceed three pounds per square fcot. 5 The position, then, is that f there npe pears a possibility of carrying sixty . pounds p?r horse power, and 'on, say; ) not less than ten square feet of wing ar£a. Of this weight thirty pounds per hor?2-power is available for the crew, stores, food, and fuel. Probably five Bounds will l>o required by the three • first, leaving 25 pounds per horse-power

for fuel. With such a machine the Atlantic should be crossed—from west to cost to secure favouring winds—iu about 3-1 hours without a stop.'