THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. THURSDAY, MAY 12, 1910. THE CONQUERING AEROPLANE.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10042, 12 May 1910, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. THURSDAY, MAY 12, 1910. THE CONQUERING AEROPLANE.

M. Paulhan's great feat in aeroplan- '. ing from London to Manchester, and beating the British competitor in the race for a prize of £IO,OOO, served incidentally to demonstiate some of the dangers which surround those who engage in aviation. The "air-pocket" which the French exI psrt encountered illustrates a peril which probably few persons were ! aware of, and which is of a kind that it will be difficult to guard against, for though ocean currents can be localised and defined, the air currents cannot possibly be fixed, and, therefore, every person who takes to the air ventures upon an uncharted sea. Doubtless many aeroplanes are destined to be engulfed in aeria vortices more deadly than Charybdis, and a wider experience of aviation will probably disclose further new dangers to be overcome by the

verve and resourcefulness of man. However the astonishing progress that has been made during the last 12 months augurs well for the com plete victory of the human race over the new element that it has subjugated. The record altitude for an aeropianist was a year ago 300 feet. Now it is no less than 4,100 feet. Experts declare that very soon the aviators will attain a height of a mile, 5280 feet. Here, then, is a development which, as a writer in The Times recently pointed out, must enormously increase the value of aeroplanes for war purposes. A detachment of flying scouts travelling at a height of a mile above the earth would be themselves practically invisible, and would be quite immune from gun fire, especially if they maintained a speed of a mile a minute, which has just been achieved, by Mr Cecil Grace, a well known member of the Royal Aero Club. Th e writer in The Times shows that engines are now being improved so as to work reliably in the high altitudes, where the air is so rarefied that imperfect combustion occurs in the ordinary mutor, and the trustworthiness and speed capacity of the engine are apparently the only factors necessary to enable an aviator to travel at a height of a mile above sea level. It would appear that the miiltary functions of the aeroplanist must be confined largely to scouting and observation, except in the case of actual conflict? with the aerial fleets of an enemy. The aeroplane aa it exists at present could neither carry sufficient ammunition for bombardding land or sea forces, nor could the aeroplanist hope to hit his mark from the height which it would be necessary for him to maintain in order to keep out of range. Although M. Paulhan has worthily upheld the honour of France, as far as the heavier-than-air machines are concerned, marked anxiety has been exhibited by French statesmen and politicians, owing to the great energy shown by Germany in constructing dirigibles, as well as aeroplanes, and in training officers and men in aerial work. During a recent debate in the French Senate, an eminent engineer, M. Emiie Reymond, informed the House that Germany had 12 military dirigibles in commission, and 11 more under construction, while in time of war she could command the use of 15 additional privatelyowned airships. As against that formidable aerial flotilla, France possesses only three airships, and M. Reymond was very pessimistic as to their serviceableness. General Langlois, addressing the Senate, remarked that France, with her diminishing birthra*?, could only hope to retain her position by an increased efficiency of equipment, an observation which appears to be incontuvertible. The lesson is one for Great Britain to heed a& well as France, and the British dependencies can no more afford to ignore it than the Mother country. And as soon as a satisfactory type of machine can be produced, it will become the duty of the Defence Department, noting the activity which other countries are displaying in aerial military equipment, to provide for the syetematised employment of aeroplanes or airships—or both —for purposes of defence. It should also be found possible to use aeroplanes to assist in the internal development of the country, especially in> the transportation of mails to outlying districts. For the aeroplane has already passed the experimental stage. Its practical usefulness is a fact to be reckoned with.