FUTURE OF FLIGHT

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 18, 15 July 1911, Page 1 (Supplement)

FUTURE OF FLIGHT

M. Louis Paulhan tells a story of a rash man who, not very long ago, offered to make a bet of a million pounds that the journey from London to Manchester would never be made by aeroplane. In; the course of a little more than twelve months the feat that seemed impossible had been accomplished—by Paulhan himself—and has been almost forgotten, so many greater feats have succeeded it. The science of flight has made such I rapid progress during the last two years that the direction in which its development is likely to go has becomo more interesting than ever; and the light that is thrown upon this by a number of the most expert practical "airmen" is one of the most valuable features of an important volume in the preparation of which Mr. Claude tira-hame-White and Air. Harry Harper have collaborated—"The Aeroplane: Past, Present and Future."

The two points on which, above all others, the future of the aeroplane depends, are the diminution of risk and the increase of efficiency; and as the second of these can hardly fail to come in the ordinary course of progress, the first is the more important for the moment. Even at present, though, the dangers of flying are —in the view, at least, of the men who should be most disturbed by .them —much exaggerated. In the opinion of the expert there is hardly any accident which is not preventible; and the careful tables and records that the volumes contain support this view. During the eighteen months to which these records apply more than a thousand people learnt the use of the aeroplane. During the same period there were thirty-five accidents, in which thirty-eight people lost their lives. As a curious, rather than as a valuable, basis of comparison, it may be pointed out that ninety people were killed and eighty injured while mountaineering last year—and the army of mountain-climb-ers is not numerous—and that the construction of the first hundred miles of railway in England cost fifteen lives. What is more useful, however, is the analysis that is made of these accidents. Eleven of them were the result of breakages; eight of loss of control; three of some failure of the controlling mechanism; and four of them occurred when the aeroplane was not in the air at all. When Orville Wright fell with Lieutenant Selfridge, for instance, a broken propeller was the cause. Captain Ferber was crushed by his engine, that broke ioose from its bed in a tumble while he was running along the ground. Delagrange subjected a light machine to too great a strain, and one ow his wings "buckled-up." The accident to Charles Rolls, in its first causes, was somewhat similar; and so was that to Wachter, which made a dive without cutting off his engine. In all these cases great structural strength might have removed all danger. Chavez, of course, when he fell after crossing the Alps, failed to manipulate his "control" at all—probably because he was numbed with cold —and Cecil Grace lost his way over the Channel; in these cases the human factor alone can be held responsible. Increased strength in the aeroplane is a thing that the builder can easily provide; and there are other improvements suggested which 9hould not be much; more difficult. Mr. Charles G. Grey, for instance, suggests the necessity of "a properly designed body" with something for the pilot to "hang on to"—for it is when he is thrown from his seat in falling that he is in the greatest danger—for an engine placed in front'6f-the pilot, where it cannot crush him in a fall; and for "plenty of Woodwork to crumple up" between a falling mail and the ground. An> altered position, similar to that of the Bleriot pilot; long'highcurved skids for landing, and elastic belts to secure the pilots in their places are, therefore, likely to be among the earliest innovations; and the advantages of using the screw as a propeller rather than as-a'tractor may, in some cases, lead to the more general adoption of a shaft connection between ert;gine and propeller, and the variation of speeds to which this arrangements lends itself.

With regard to future development generally, Mr. Grahamc-White and his collaborator have given us the views of the most distinguished experte. ti. Bleriot, for instancp, expects many improvements in the provision of propulsive power, and is one of the many advocates of very high speeds, which, will overcome wind trouble. He prophesies the advent—not immediately, of course, but by a development at least ak rapid ai that of the motor-car. hap been—of big passenger-carrying aeroplanes of far greater solidity than that of the machines of to-day. ' As the increase of speed will make starting and alighting less gentle, however, he thinks that planes will be made capable of alteration in the extent of their surface or in the angle they present in the air, by way of regulating the speed, since a perfectly level lawn for a "takeoff" or a landing place cannot always ho available; and he foresees the time when we shall, have properly buoyed "airways" everywhere. Then, he says, "the air, once completely conquered, will be an extremely safe element to move about in.

Mr. Henry Farman's view is that improvement will take the direction of a general simplification in the construction and control of aeroplanes. He too, is an advocate of higher speeds, though he thinks that an experienced pilot does not need them to enable him to overcome the wind; and he expects that a speed of ninety-five miles per hour will be attained before tbe end of the year. "The present method of building," he predicts, "will be abandoned as further progress is made." Wood will give place to metal, and greater strength and solidity will be obtained thereby. The manipulation of the control, too, will be simplified; and before many months have passed he expects to find aeroplanes carrying greater weights than they have done hitherto, proving themselves safer and more reliable, and travelling much faster, though he does not expect the big pas-senger-carrier to make its apeparance for some time to come.

M. Paulhan, an airman who has never shown any ]ack of confidence in hie engines, places increased engine-re-liability in the forefront of his list of predictions, and expects that aeroplane* with duplicate engines will be in use before long. He insists on the necessity of high speeds, differing from his old colleague, Farman, and thinks that at the ninety-five miles-an-hour Farman predicts it would be possible to fly in any ordinary high wind—not in a gale, of course, but "practically on any day of the year." Aeroplanes, he thinks, will be made more comfortable, and will become, more or less, "pleasure cars," as they begin to appeal to a different public. They will have closed and carefully suspended bodies, some .protection for pilot and passenger against the rush of wind, a safeguard against shock and vibration in starting and in alighting, and, perhaps, even a system for warming the air in the car. Before the end of 1915, he prophesies, the aeroplane will be a perfectly safe machine for ordinary use; and even before then it will have become thoroughly practical and of commercial value. For some time yet, he agrees with Famnan, it will continue to

be of moderate size—to carry "not more than a dozen traveller*." he explains this to mean—and, after the rapid progress of the last two years, development may be slow in the immediate future; but when the real advance is made we may see aeroplanes, with • boat-shaped car bodies, travelling with one man at the helm and another in charge of the engine, having automatic stability, costing about as much as a motor-car of similar carrying capacity, and costing less than a motor-car to run.

It was less than eight years ago that Wilbur Wright "staggered humanity" by making a flight—a real /light—of 59sec. duration!