NAVIGATING THE AIR

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 158, 29 July 1909, Page 2

NAVIGATING THE AIR

CHANNEL AGAIN CROSSED. - LATHAJI'S SUCCESS. liy Cable.—Press Association.—Copyright iteccived July 28, 11.55 p.m. London, July 28. uuiiaui aeroplaned from Calais to .a m.i.uiiii, style and with good speed. .... .....Jiiue gradual!;. In. ill tile water oi. tile Admiralty I'm, uover, and Lallan., iiad to tiu,,..„ ..gicai treatment lor cuts mid -,. o Ills lace.

11. RLERIOT'S SCOOP. London, july :,. 11. Louis Rleriot has won i'4HU dur ing the past fortnight.

The distance between tlw coast Inos of Calais and Dover, covered by .U. Bleriot—and now by Mr. Ernest Latham —is between 25 and 20 miles, aud the feat of the French scientist is little short of wluit he confide itly expected to achieve—GO miles,an hour. Two camps—biplanists und morphinists — have been formed in France, ,v.id great rivalry has come into existence between them, it should here be explained that the distinction between the two kinds of machines, biplanes and monoplanes, is apparent from their names n:id th? practical consequences are very important. A Hying machine, with two or mor e superimposed planes is bound to have

greater steadying and supporting aur-1 face, but, on the other hand, its weight is seriously increased and the- speed diminished, twjo plan *s ottering more resistance. The monopl <u'& t as may consequently be inferrH, are lighter and can travel with gu.iler speed. TTne monoplanists look to .\f. JSleriot as their leader, die has eonsii-irted and inan J aged any number of m».- 'lines, and executed many short flight:- up to ten,and fifteen minutes in duration, and has had some hairbreadth escapes. The biplane partisans have been taunting him with wasting Ins time over an impossible problem, but 'he was spurred on by the I success of Mr. Hubert Latham, a young I Englishman who recently took to avia-

tion, and whose (light of lhr. 7min. 37 sec. on June sth, in his Antoinette monoplane No. 4, was witnessed and attested by more than 100 French officers at Mourmclon-le-Urand, near Chalons-sur-Marne. The other day Mr. Latham at--1 tempted a flight over the Channel; but ' something went wrong with the minor, ' and, after going ten miles, his machine ' slowly descended and' Settled in the sea. A French destroyer came to his rescue, and found the young English inventor calmly smoking a cigarette and sitting on tlic floating monoplane. Mr. Latham's French rival has been more sue-1

cessful, anil the former will doubtless be soon hoard of again. 11l practice M. lilcriot has shown that, when Sir. ■ t Wright with his bipfane could make at most forty miles an hour, lie with his 9 monoplane could go at the rote of sixty. ! The only difficulty hitherto has been >. in maintaining the monoplanes under !„ control. Tney are more likely to lose e their balance, and the least gust of wind or wrong steering may upset them. Mr. Hubert Latham proved, however, that they can keep up a (light indefinitely when" properly made and carefully handled, He had a machine constructed in for him by the Antoinette firm at the beginning of this year, which was an improvement in many points upon the lilcriot patterns. He told bin friends that he was ready to risk his 'neck to prove that it could be made to fly well, and tiiat on the first opportunity no would sail over the sheds Of the Chalons f. military camp and the trees that border il. He was as good as his word. At iit twenty minutes to seven he started in a wind of about seven miles an hour, d- and after describing a few circles he x- rose steadily in tile air uutil lie was li- about 12") feet from the ground, ilo of sailed high over tiic tops of the trees, ko sailed round and round gracefully in >v- the light of the setting aun above the ,y. small crowd of spectators and photo lit graphers, and finally started on long Uiglits across the country, keeping al ways at a great height, returning to the practice ground, and disappearing again over the fields, lie kept this up for more than lin hour, in spite of tile )r rain which began to fall towards the ■r- end, and landed at 7.47, stiff and cold in with the rain, which had drenched him :k and his machine. He was carried in triumph to his sued, and all the officers many of whom had come on horseback, signed the record as witnesses to his [ e . successful flight. AXOTHER MYSTERIOUS AIRSHIP. iJy Telegraph.—Press Association. Dunedin, Wednesday. Ail Opoho resident claims to have seen an airship at Opoho, in the, Northliast Valley, at 2 o'clock this morning. He says he was awakened by a greac il noise.