CHAPTER IV FUTURE PROBLEMS OF AVIATIONIn a consideration of the final structure of the Coming Aeroplane, we pass into the realm of pure prophecy, for the aerial liners and dreadnaughts of the future are still snug in the brains of men like Rudyard Kipling or H. G. Wells. My part in the consideration of what is coming is here confined to the consideration of the immediate, or at least the not far distant, future.Biplanes will always be the standard machines in my opinion, because you can get more supporting surface for the same weight.Surfaces may be set one far out in front of the other, as Farman has done, but with three surfaces the third requires a full set of struts and wires and just as much weight as for two ordinary surfaces, and adds only one half more surface, and the head resistance is also increased once again. Surfaces no doubt will be made larger and machines much bigger in every way will be built.Telescoping wings may be a feature of the future machines, so that a graduated area of wing surface can be readily obtained and changed for slow or high speed.The limousine, or enclosed-cabin body, will be a familiar sight in the future machines built for passenger-carrying. These cabins will be provided with comfortable seats.AUTOMATIC STABILITYIn regard to the question of automatic stability, or some device to balance the machine automatically, there seems to be no doubt that this problem will be solved; in fact it is already solved both for balancing laterally and keeping the machine from tipping sideways and also to govern its fore and aft pitching.These devices may be of value in learning to fly. But in the practical use of the aeroplane you may see conditions arising which you wish to counteract before they occur and for which you wish to prepare. Automatic stabilisers will no doubt prove very good auxiliary devices, and some aeroplanes will have automatic stabilisers on them before this is printed, but the aviator will no doubt have to regulate the regulators in the future as he operates the levers personally in the present.AVIATION LAWS TO COMEThe making of good laws is not to be overlooked when considering the future development of the aeroplane, for aviators must be protected from themselves, and the public must be protected from the rashness or inexperience of airmen. Almost all nations have already begun to exercise control over their new territory, the air, and are realising that it may become one of their most valued possessions and of an importance equal to their domain over water. For a nation without any seacoast may no longer be cut off from direct intercourse with the world through the aerial craft which can enter and leave at will, as vessels now do on the sea, with no chance of a neighbouring nation restricting this very freedom.Laws are rapidly being passed by states regulating and licensing aviators and requiring lights to be carried, but it seems that the federal government should be the power that should control the air just as it does the sea and navigable rivers. For fliers flit about so that the whole country seems but a mere playground for men of the air.Already the California legislature has made several laws to protect the aeroplane and the aviator, as well as to safeguard the larger public that stays on the ground. Some of these laws may seem a little premature, but everything about aeroplanes goes so fast, that there is no wonder the laws instead of lagging behind conditions as they usually do, should speed up a little ahead of them, for the progress of flight is such that by the time the law gets on the statute books the conditions may be calling for it. For instance, bills have been introduced at Sacramento to regulate the licensing of aeroplanes, which are to be classed as "motor vehicles," and to carry numbers and lights, the same as automobiles. The idea of providing for lights seems a little far-fetched at this time, as it will be a long time before there will be much flying at night. Besides, such lights as the proposed law provides would be unnecessary, for the reason that the aeroplane would not be confined to an arbitrary path, but could choose its own course. Therefore, a single light in front and another behind would be all that would be required, instead of one pair in front, one behind and one on each plane, as the bill suggests.FUTURE COST OF THE AEROPLANEThe cost of the machine is high at the present time because there are but few made. No doubt when the great numbers of people who are now deeply interested in the subject get to the point of practical flight and desire to take flights, they will want to own machines, and learn to operate them. Then aeroplanes will be made in quantities and the price will be reduced in accord with the number that are built and some day we will be able to buy a good aeroplane for about the price we have to pay now for a small automobile.Cortlandt Field Bishop is credited with having said when some one asked him if the manufacture of a cheap aeroplane, to cost $150, including the motor, would not be a great business undertaking, "Well, a great undertaking business should certainly come of it."LANDING PLACESThe most serious problem of flying to-day is to find a good course to fly over and suitable landing places. The day will soon come when every city and town will have public landing and starting grounds. As a matter of fact the park commissioners of New York City have already been discussing the setting apart of landing places or isles of safety in the public parks of the city, although some authorities declare that it would not be well to encourage fliers to risk themselves and the people below by flying over the houses. There should be routes of travel established between cities over which an aviator will have a right to fly, just as there are highways on the surface of the earth.GOVERNMENT ENCOURAGEMENTPerhaps the greatest factor which is needed to further the development of the aeroplane today is the thorough appreciation by the National Government of the benefits which the aeroplane may bring to its various departments besides the military and postal service.When railroads first became practical the government gave millions of dollars besides large grants of land to enable them to extend and develop to a successful state. Steamship building was helped in the same way both by government aid and by the building of warships and transports.The French Government continues to lead the world in its encouragement of aviation. During the month of December, 1911, according to most reliable statistics, the War Department ordered no less than four hundred new aeroplanes, divided between a dozen or more types, and asked the government to appropriate the sum of $4,400,000 for aeronautics. Italy, next to France, is the most active European government in aviation, the Italian War Department having ordered fifty French machines of various types, as well as twelve aeroplanes of a new type produced in Austria. The Turkish government has decided to establish schools for the "fourth arm" immediately, while Russia will also increase its aviation programme. The latest government to take up aviation is that of Australia, where an aviation school is about to open for the instruction of army officers. Germany is not as active in aviation as the other principal European governments, although it is difficult to say exactly what is being done by the Germans, as they purchase machines made in their own country only.A most interesting programme was arranged by the British military authorities for the trial of machines in competition in the summer of 1912, at Salisbury Plain, in order to determine the best types of military aeroplane. The winning types in this contest will receive large orders from the British government to supply the Army and Navy with aerial equipment.FIRST AVIATION REGIMENT(Newspaper Despatch)PARIS, Jan. 25, 1912. The first aviation regiment, 327 strong, was organised here to-day. A flag will be presented to the battalion later on.Having already organised an aviation regiment, French army officers are now agitating the question upon the basis of having no less than a thousand aeroplanes ready at a moment's notice under the command of superior officers and under perfect control of army pilots trained to handle them. This training of officers is the most important part, for it takes time to make good fliers. Machines may be turned out very rapidly, but fliers become skilled to the point where they may be of use in army work only by long practice and practical experience. Our government has given an appropriation, small in comparison with what France, Germany and England appropriated, and we have a few aeroplanes in the signal corps of the Army now and three machines in the Navy, but these are only the first steps in this important branch of our military and naval development. We all hope for at least adequate equipment, an equipment that will equal, if not surpass, that of the European powers.After the development of the aeroplane for sport and commercial purposes, its greatest field of growth is for purposes of war and here we find that the aeroplane can be at once the most deadly weapon of offensive warfare as yet developed by man, and an even more serviceable agent for defensive measures, or for all those most important duties related to scouting and obtaining and carrying information.WHAT THE AEROPLANE CAN DO IN WARI feel confident that an aeroplane can be even now built which will be able to lift a ton of dynamite or other high explosive, and that it can be so constructed that it will be an aerial torpedo or winged projectile, the engine charged with compressed air and set to run any required distance, from one mile to ten miles. Such a machine can be steered by wireless controlling apparatus just as submarine boats and small airships are directed.A hydroaeroplane can be made to fly at just a certain height over the water by attaching it to a drag or a float which would prevent its exceeding the desired limit of altitude. The machine so equipped might be started in a circle and flown around in a circular course gradually widening and widening, like a bird dog hunting a scent, until the object aimed at is hit.One of the most important uses of an aeroplane adapted to the uses of the Navy will be its valuable assistance in enabling the manner of formation of the enemy's ships in line of battle to be made known to the commanding officer and the angle of approach to be estimated, in order that our own ships may be so formed in line of battle as to meet the brunt of the attack effectually.An aeroplane launched from the deck of a battleship and ascending to the height of a mile will give the observers on board a range of vision of ninety-six miles in every direction and powerful glasses will reveal many details that can be seen more clearly from above than when observed from the same level. Submarines can be located with great ease when far below the surface of the water. Even the bottom appears clearly in some of the tropic seas, and fogs, which obscure all things to the enveloped mariner bound to the surface of the sea, usually hang comparatively low down and even a moderate altitude will enable an aerial observer or pilot to see clearly above the banks of mist which shut down like a pall upon the water.The military aeroplane will be able to muffle its motor and for night operations will be equipped with search-lights and able to approach an enemy unseen and unheard from a high altitude, a direction in which there are no pickets.In the school machines of one of the Chicago schools the motors have already been muffled to permit the teacher more readily giving his instructions to his pupils. U. S. Army officers have also experimented with mufflers on their motors.Aeroplanes have been recently used by the Italian Army near Tripoli and bombs were dropped which not only frightened the enemy but stampeded their horses and caused panic among the soldiers. They were also of great service in directing the fire of the guns from the ships which were quite out of sight of their targets, a captive balloon and an aeroplane signalling the effect of the shots and the angles at which to train the guns. The aviators took steel bomb-shells with them and filled them while flying, holding the caps in their teeth, and steering with their knees while performing this operation. They did not dare to carry the bombs loaded for fear of being blown to pieces themselves in case of an accident when landing.In the fall of 1911, extensive tests were made by the French military authorities which showed how reliable aeroplanes can be. The aviators flew at the command of officers and under the strictest orders; the machines were required to land in ploughed fields and to start away again with their full complement of passengers and extra weight of fuel. All the machines were required to carry a weight of about five hundred pounds and to rise to a certain height in a specified time with their complete load. The machines were also dismounted and assembled in the field and packed and transported from one place to another, to test the ease with which this could be done.These military tests were won by Charles Weymann, who was also the winner of the Gordon Bennett International Aviation Cup for America last year.Mr. Weymann drove a special Nieuport machine, which was the most speedy type of aeroplane built at that time, and was successful in landing and starting from a ploughed field, which many thought impossible for a very fast type of machine. It took the greatest skill to land such a speedy machine on rough ground, for he had to glide down with absolute accuracy, to land without a smash.Among Army officers the keenest competition is developed, and it is only by a spirit of rivalry and a desire to excel that the best qualities in officers and men are brought out in times of peace. Of course in time of war there is a need which calls for the best there is in a man.The needs of the Army and Navy aviators have developed some special features in machines built for their purposes. They want to be as far out in front of the machine as possible so they can have an unobstructed view, and so that if they should be so unfortunate as to be pitched out, they will be quite clear of everything. This is especially true of naval machines built to fly over the water. Military aeroplanes also should have a standard method of control, so that any Army or Navy aviator can operate any Army or Navy machine.
CHAPTER IV FUTURE PROBLEMS OF AVIATIONIn a consideration of the final structure of the Coming Aeroplane, we pass into the realm of pure prophecy, for the aerial liners and dreadnaughts of the future are still snug in the brains of men like Rudyard Kipling or H. G. Wells. My part in the consideration of what is coming is here confined to the consideration of the immediate, or at least the not far distant, future.Biplanes will always be the standard machines in my opinion, because you can get more supporting surface for the same weight.Surfaces may be set one far out in front of the other, as Farman has done, but with three surfaces the third requires a full set of struts and wires and just as much weight as for two ordinary surfaces, and adds only one half more surface, and the head resistance is also increased once again. Surfaces no doubt will be made larger and machines much bigger in every way will be built.Telescoping wings may be a feature of the future machines, so that a graduated area of wing surface can be readily obtained and changed for slow or high speed.The limousine, or enclosed-cabin body, will be a familiar sight in the future machines built for passenger-carrying. These cabins will be provided with comfortable seats.AUTOMATIC STABILITYIn regard to the question of automatic stability, or some device to balance the machine automatically, there seems to be no doubt that this problem will be solved; in fact it is already solved both for balancing laterally and keeping the machine from tipping sideways and also to govern its fore and aft pitching.These devices may be of value in learning to fly. But in the practical use of the aeroplane you may see conditions arising which you wish to counteract before they occur and for which you wish to prepare. Automatic stabilisers will no doubt prove very good auxiliary devices, and some aeroplanes will have automatic stabilisers on them before this is printed, but the aviator will no doubt have to regulate the regulators in the future as he operates the levers personally in the present.AVIATION LAWS TO COMEThe making of good laws is not to be overlooked when considering the future development of the aeroplane, for aviators must be protected from themselves, and the public must be protected from the rashness or inexperience of airmen. Almost all nations have already begun to exercise control over their new territory, the air, and are realising that it may become one of their most valued possessions and of an importance equal to their domain over water. For a nation without any seacoast may no longer be cut off from direct intercourse with the world through the aerial craft which can enter and leave at will, as vessels now do on the sea, with no chance of a neighbouring nation restricting this very freedom.Laws are rapidly being passed by states regulating and licensing aviators and requiring lights to be carried, but it seems that the federal government should be the power that should control the air just as it does the sea and navigable rivers. For fliers flit about so that the whole country seems but a mere playground for men of the air.Already the California legislature has made several laws to protect the aeroplane and the aviator, as well as to safeguard the larger public that stays on the ground. Some of these laws may seem a little premature, but everything about aeroplanes goes so fast, that there is no wonder the laws instead of lagging behind conditions as they usually do, should speed up a little ahead of them, for the progress of flight is such that by the time the law gets on the statute books the conditions may be calling for it. For instance, bills have been introduced at Sacramento to regulate the licensing of aeroplanes, which are to be classed as "motor vehicles," and to carry numbers and lights, the same as automobiles. The idea of providing for lights seems a little far-fetched at this time, as it will be a long time before there will be much flying at night. Besides, such lights as the proposed law provides would be unnecessary, for the reason that the aeroplane would not be confined to an arbitrary path, but could choose its own course. Therefore, a single light in front and another behind would be all that would be required, instead of one pair in front, one behind and one on each plane, as the bill suggests.FUTURE COST OF THE AEROPLANEThe cost of the machine is high at the present time because there are but few made. No doubt when the great numbers of people who are now deeply interested in the subject get to the point of practical flight and desire to take flights, they will want to own machines, and learn to operate them. Then aeroplanes will be made in quantities and the price will be reduced in accord with the number that are built and some day we will be able to buy a good aeroplane for about the price we have to pay now for a small automobile.Cortlandt Field Bishop is credited with having said when some one asked him if the manufacture of a cheap aeroplane, to cost $150, including the motor, would not be a great business undertaking, "Well, a great undertaking business should certainly come of it."LANDING PLACESThe most serious problem of flying to-day is to find a good course to fly over and suitable landing places. The day will soon come when every city and town will have public landing and starting grounds. As a matter of fact the park commissioners of New York City have already been discussing the setting apart of landing places or isles of safety in the public parks of the city, although some authorities declare that it would not be well to encourage fliers to risk themselves and the people below by flying over the houses. There should be routes of travel established between cities over which an aviator will have a right to fly, just as there are highways on the surface of the earth.GOVERNMENT ENCOURAGEMENTPerhaps the greatest factor which is needed to further the development of the aeroplane today is the thorough appreciation by the National Government of the benefits which the aeroplane may bring to its various departments besides the military and postal service.When railroads first became practical the government gave millions of dollars besides large grants of land to enable them to extend and develop to a successful state. Steamship building was helped in the same way both by government aid and by the building of warships and transports.The French Government continues to lead the world in its encouragement of aviation. During the month of December, 1911, according to most reliable statistics, the War Department ordered no less than four hundred new aeroplanes, divided between a dozen or more types, and asked the government to appropriate the sum of $4,400,000 for aeronautics. Italy, next to France, is the most active European government in aviation, the Italian War Department having ordered fifty French machines of various types, as well as twelve aeroplanes of a new type produced in Austria. The Turkish government has decided to establish schools for the "fourth arm" immediately, while Russia will also increase its aviation programme. The latest government to take up aviation is that of Australia, where an aviation school is about to open for the instruction of army officers. Germany is not as active in aviation as the other principal European governments, although it is difficult to say exactly what is being done by the Germans, as they purchase machines made in their own country only.A most interesting programme was arranged by the British military authorities for the trial of machines in competition in the summer of 1912, at Salisbury Plain, in order to determine the best types of military aeroplane. The winning types in this contest will receive large orders from the British government to supply the Army and Navy with aerial equipment.FIRST AVIATION REGIMENT(Newspaper Despatch)PARIS, Jan. 25, 1912. The first aviation regiment, 327 strong, was organised here to-day. A flag will be presented to the battalion later on.Having already organised an aviation regiment, French army officers are now agitating the question upon the basis of having no less than a thousand aeroplanes ready at a moment's notice under the command of superior officers and under perfect control of army pilots trained to handle them. This training of officers is the most important part, for it takes time to make good fliers. Machines may be turned out very rapidly, but fliers become skilled to the point where they may be of use in army work only by long practice and practical experience. Our government has given an appropriation, small in comparison with what France, Germany and England appropriated, and we have a few aeroplanes in the signal corps of the Army now and three machines in the Navy, but these are only the first steps in this important branch of our military and naval development. We all hope for at least adequate equipment, an equipment that will equal, if not surpass, that of the European powers.After the development of the aeroplane for sport and commercial purposes, its greatest field of growth is for purposes of war and here we find that the aeroplane can be at once the most deadly weapon of offensive warfare as yet developed by man, and an even more serviceable agent for defensive measures, or for all those most important duties related to scouting and obtaining and carrying information.WHAT THE AEROPLANE CAN DO IN WARI feel confident that an aeroplane can be even now built which will be able to lift a ton of dynamite or other high explosive, and that it can be so constructed that it will be an aerial torpedo or winged projectile, the engine charged with compressed air and set to run any required distance, from one mile to ten miles. Such a machine can be steered by wireless controlling apparatus just as submarine boats and small airships are directed.A hydroaeroplane can be made to fly at just a certain height over the water by attaching it to a drag or a float which would prevent its exceeding the desired limit of altitude. The machine so equipped might be started in a circle and flown around in a circular course gradually widening and widening, like a bird dog hunting a scent, until the object aimed at is hit.One of the most important uses of an aeroplane adapted to the uses of the Navy will be its valuable assistance in enabling the manner of formation of the enemy's ships in line of battle to be made known to the commanding officer and the angle of approach to be estimated, in order that our own ships may be so formed in line of battle as to meet the brunt of the attack effectually.An aeroplane launched from the deck of a battleship and ascending to the height of a mile will give the observers on board a range of vision of ninety-six miles in every direction and powerful glasses will reveal many details that can be seen more clearly from above than when observed from the same level. Submarines can be located with great ease when far below the surface of the water. Even the bottom appears clearly in some of the tropic seas, and fogs, which obscure all things to the enveloped mariner bound to the surface of the sea, usually hang comparatively low down and even a moderate altitude will enable an aerial observer or pilot to see clearly above the banks of mist which shut down like a pall upon the water.The military aeroplane will be able to muffle its motor and for night operations will be equipped with search-lights and able to approach an enemy unseen and unheard from a high altitude, a direction in which there are no pickets.In the school machines of one of the Chicago schools the motors have already been muffled to permit the teacher more readily giving his instructions to his pupils. U. S. Army officers have also experimented with mufflers on their motors.Aeroplanes have been recently used by the Italian Army near Tripoli and bombs were dropped which not only frightened the enemy but stampeded their horses and caused panic among the soldiers. They were also of great service in directing the fire of the guns from the ships which were quite out of sight of their targets, a captive balloon and an aeroplane signalling the effect of the shots and the angles at which to train the guns. The aviators took steel bomb-shells with them and filled them while flying, holding the caps in their teeth, and steering with their knees while performing this operation. They did not dare to carry the bombs loaded for fear of being blown to pieces themselves in case of an accident when landing.In the fall of 1911, extensive tests were made by the French military authorities which showed how reliable aeroplanes can be. The aviators flew at the command of officers and under the strictest orders; the machines were required to land in ploughed fields and to start away again with their full complement of passengers and extra weight of fuel. All the machines were required to carry a weight of about five hundred pounds and to rise to a certain height in a specified time with their complete load. The machines were also dismounted and assembled in the field and packed and transported from one place to another, to test the ease with which this could be done.These military tests were won by Charles Weymann, who was also the winner of the Gordon Bennett International Aviation Cup for America last year.Mr. Weymann drove a special Nieuport machine, which was the most speedy type of aeroplane built at that time, and was successful in landing and starting from a ploughed field, which many thought impossible for a very fast type of machine. It took the greatest skill to land such a speedy machine on rough ground, for he had to glide down with absolute accuracy, to land without a smash.Among Army officers the keenest competition is developed, and it is only by a spirit of rivalry and a desire to excel that the best qualities in officers and men are brought out in times of peace. Of course in time of war there is a need which calls for the best there is in a man.The needs of the Army and Navy aviators have developed some special features in machines built for their purposes. They want to be as far out in front of the machine as possible so they can have an unobstructed view, and so that if they should be so unfortunate as to be pitched out, they will be quite clear of everything. This is especially true of naval machines built to fly over the water. Military aeroplanes also should have a standard method of control, so that any Army or Navy aviator can operate any Army or Navy machine.
CHAPTER IV FUTURE PROBLEMS OF AVIATIONIn a consideration of the final structure of the Coming Aeroplane, we pass into the realm of pure prophecy, for the aerial liners and dreadnaughts of the future are still snug in the brains of men like Rudyard Kipling or H. G. Wells. My part in the consideration of what is coming is here confined to the consideration of the immediate, or at least the not far distant, future.Biplanes will always be the standard machines in my opinion, because you can get more supporting surface for the same weight.Surfaces may be set one far out in front of the other, as Farman has done, but with three surfaces the third requires a full set of struts and wires and just as much weight as for two ordinary surfaces, and adds only one half more surface, and the head resistance is also increased once again. Surfaces no doubt will be made larger and machines much bigger in every way will be built.Telescoping wings may be a feature of the future machines, so that a graduated area of wing surface can be readily obtained and changed for slow or high speed.The limousine, or enclosed-cabin body, will be a familiar sight in the future machines built for passenger-carrying. These cabins will be provided with comfortable seats.AUTOMATIC STABILITYIn regard to the question of automatic stability, or some device to balance the machine automatically, there seems to be no doubt that this problem will be solved; in fact it is already solved both for balancing laterally and keeping the machine from tipping sideways and also to govern its fore and aft pitching.These devices may be of value in learning to fly. But in the practical use of the aeroplane you may see conditions arising which you wish to counteract before they occur and for which you wish to prepare. Automatic stabilisers will no doubt prove very good auxiliary devices, and some aeroplanes will have automatic stabilisers on them before this is printed, but the aviator will no doubt have to regulate the regulators in the future as he operates the levers personally in the present.AVIATION LAWS TO COMEThe making of good laws is not to be overlooked when considering the future development of the aeroplane, for aviators must be protected from themselves, and the public must be protected from the rashness or inexperience of airmen. Almost all nations have already begun to exercise control over their new territory, the air, and are realising that it may become one of their most valued possessions and of an importance equal to their domain over water. For a nation without any seacoast may no longer be cut off from direct intercourse with the world through the aerial craft which can enter and leave at will, as vessels now do on the sea, with no chance of a neighbouring nation restricting this very freedom.Laws are rapidly being passed by states regulating and licensing aviators and requiring lights to be carried, but it seems that the federal government should be the power that should control the air just as it does the sea and navigable rivers. For fliers flit about so that the whole country seems but a mere playground for men of the air.Already the California legislature has made several laws to protect the aeroplane and the aviator, as well as to safeguard the larger public that stays on the ground. Some of these laws may seem a little premature, but everything about aeroplanes goes so fast, that there is no wonder the laws instead of lagging behind conditions as they usually do, should speed up a little ahead of them, for the progress of flight is such that by the time the law gets on the statute books the conditions may be calling for it. For instance, bills have been introduced at Sacramento to regulate the licensing of aeroplanes, which are to be classed as "motor vehicles," and to carry numbers and lights, the same as automobiles. The idea of providing for lights seems a little far-fetched at this time, as it will be a long time before there will be much flying at night. Besides, such lights as the proposed law provides would be unnecessary, for the reason that the aeroplane would not be confined to an arbitrary path, but could choose its own course. Therefore, a single light in front and another behind would be all that would be required, instead of one pair in front, one behind and one on each plane, as the bill suggests.FUTURE COST OF THE AEROPLANEThe cost of the machine is high at the present time because there are but few made. No doubt when the great numbers of people who are now deeply interested in the subject get to the point of practical flight and desire to take flights, they will want to own machines, and learn to operate them. Then aeroplanes will be made in quantities and the price will be reduced in accord with the number that are built and some day we will be able to buy a good aeroplane for about the price we have to pay now for a small automobile.Cortlandt Field Bishop is credited with having said when some one asked him if the manufacture of a cheap aeroplane, to cost $150, including the motor, would not be a great business undertaking, "Well, a great undertaking business should certainly come of it."LANDING PLACESThe most serious problem of flying to-day is to find a good course to fly over and suitable landing places. The day will soon come when every city and town will have public landing and starting grounds. As a matter of fact the park commissioners of New York City have already been discussing the setting apart of landing places or isles of safety in the public parks of the city, although some authorities declare that it would not be well to encourage fliers to risk themselves and the people below by flying over the houses. There should be routes of travel established between cities over which an aviator will have a right to fly, just as there are highways on the surface of the earth.GOVERNMENT ENCOURAGEMENTPerhaps the greatest factor which is needed to further the development of the aeroplane today is the thorough appreciation by the National Government of the benefits which the aeroplane may bring to its various departments besides the military and postal service.When railroads first became practical the government gave millions of dollars besides large grants of land to enable them to extend and develop to a successful state. Steamship building was helped in the same way both by government aid and by the building of warships and transports.The French Government continues to lead the world in its encouragement of aviation. During the month of December, 1911, according to most reliable statistics, the War Department ordered no less than four hundred new aeroplanes, divided between a dozen or more types, and asked the government to appropriate the sum of $4,400,000 for aeronautics. Italy, next to France, is the most active European government in aviation, the Italian War Department having ordered fifty French machines of various types, as well as twelve aeroplanes of a new type produced in Austria. The Turkish government has decided to establish schools for the "fourth arm" immediately, while Russia will also increase its aviation programme. The latest government to take up aviation is that of Australia, where an aviation school is about to open for the instruction of army officers. Germany is not as active in aviation as the other principal European governments, although it is difficult to say exactly what is being done by the Germans, as they purchase machines made in their own country only.A most interesting programme was arranged by the British military authorities for the trial of machines in competition in the summer of 1912, at Salisbury Plain, in order to determine the best types of military aeroplane. The winning types in this contest will receive large orders from the British government to supply the Army and Navy with aerial equipment.FIRST AVIATION REGIMENT(Newspaper Despatch)PARIS, Jan. 25, 1912. The first aviation regiment, 327 strong, was organised here to-day. A flag will be presented to the battalion later on.Having already organised an aviation regiment, French army officers are now agitating the question upon the basis of having no less than a thousand aeroplanes ready at a moment's notice under the command of superior officers and under perfect control of army pilots trained to handle them. This training of officers is the most important part, for it takes time to make good fliers. Machines may be turned out very rapidly, but fliers become skilled to the point where they may be of use in army work only by long practice and practical experience. Our government has given an appropriation, small in comparison with what France, Germany and England appropriated, and we have a few aeroplanes in the signal corps of the Army now and three machines in the Navy, but these are only the first steps in this important branch of our military and naval development. We all hope for at least adequate equipment, an equipment that will equal, if not surpass, that of the European powers.After the development of the aeroplane for sport and commercial purposes, its greatest field of growth is for purposes of war and here we find that the aeroplane can be at once the most deadly weapon of offensive warfare as yet developed by man, and an even more serviceable agent for defensive measures, or for all those most important duties related to scouting and obtaining and carrying information.WHAT THE AEROPLANE CAN DO IN WARI feel confident that an aeroplane can be even now built which will be able to lift a ton of dynamite or other high explosive, and that it can be so constructed that it will be an aerial torpedo or winged projectile, the engine charged with compressed air and set to run any required distance, from one mile to ten miles. Such a machine can be steered by wireless controlling apparatus just as submarine boats and small airships are directed.A hydroaeroplane can be made to fly at just a certain height over the water by attaching it to a drag or a float which would prevent its exceeding the desired limit of altitude. The machine so equipped might be started in a circle and flown around in a circular course gradually widening and widening, like a bird dog hunting a scent, until the object aimed at is hit.One of the most important uses of an aeroplane adapted to the uses of the Navy will be its valuable assistance in enabling the manner of formation of the enemy's ships in line of battle to be made known to the commanding officer and the angle of approach to be estimated, in order that our own ships may be so formed in line of battle as to meet the brunt of the attack effectually.An aeroplane launched from the deck of a battleship and ascending to the height of a mile will give the observers on board a range of vision of ninety-six miles in every direction and powerful glasses will reveal many details that can be seen more clearly from above than when observed from the same level. Submarines can be located with great ease when far below the surface of the water. Even the bottom appears clearly in some of the tropic seas, and fogs, which obscure all things to the enveloped mariner bound to the surface of the sea, usually hang comparatively low down and even a moderate altitude will enable an aerial observer or pilot to see clearly above the banks of mist which shut down like a pall upon the water.The military aeroplane will be able to muffle its motor and for night operations will be equipped with search-lights and able to approach an enemy unseen and unheard from a high altitude, a direction in which there are no pickets.In the school machines of one of the Chicago schools the motors have already been muffled to permit the teacher more readily giving his instructions to his pupils. U. S. Army officers have also experimented with mufflers on their motors.Aeroplanes have been recently used by the Italian Army near Tripoli and bombs were dropped which not only frightened the enemy but stampeded their horses and caused panic among the soldiers. They were also of great service in directing the fire of the guns from the ships which were quite out of sight of their targets, a captive balloon and an aeroplane signalling the effect of the shots and the angles at which to train the guns. The aviators took steel bomb-shells with them and filled them while flying, holding the caps in their teeth, and steering with their knees while performing this operation. They did not dare to carry the bombs loaded for fear of being blown to pieces themselves in case of an accident when landing.In the fall of 1911, extensive tests were made by the French military authorities which showed how reliable aeroplanes can be. The aviators flew at the command of officers and under the strictest orders; the machines were required to land in ploughed fields and to start away again with their full complement of passengers and extra weight of fuel. All the machines were required to carry a weight of about five hundred pounds and to rise to a certain height in a specified time with their complete load. The machines were also dismounted and assembled in the field and packed and transported from one place to another, to test the ease with which this could be done.These military tests were won by Charles Weymann, who was also the winner of the Gordon Bennett International Aviation Cup for America last year.Mr. Weymann drove a special Nieuport machine, which was the most speedy type of aeroplane built at that time, and was successful in landing and starting from a ploughed field, which many thought impossible for a very fast type of machine. It took the greatest skill to land such a speedy machine on rough ground, for he had to glide down with absolute accuracy, to land without a smash.Among Army officers the keenest competition is developed, and it is only by a spirit of rivalry and a desire to excel that the best qualities in officers and men are brought out in times of peace. Of course in time of war there is a need which calls for the best there is in a man.The needs of the Army and Navy aviators have developed some special features in machines built for their purposes. They want to be as far out in front of the machine as possible so they can have an unobstructed view, and so that if they should be so unfortunate as to be pitched out, they will be quite clear of everything. This is especially true of naval machines built to fly over the water. Military aeroplanes also should have a standard method of control, so that any Army or Navy aviator can operate any Army or Navy machine.
In a consideration of the final structure of the Coming Aeroplane, we pass into the realm of pure prophecy, for the aerial liners and dreadnaughts of the future are still snug in the brains of men like Rudyard Kipling or H. G. Wells. My part in the consideration of what is coming is here confined to the consideration of the immediate, or at least the not far distant, future.
Biplanes will always be the standard machines in my opinion, because you can get more supporting surface for the same weight.
Surfaces may be set one far out in front of the other, as Farman has done, but with three surfaces the third requires a full set of struts and wires and just as much weight as for two ordinary surfaces, and adds only one half more surface, and the head resistance is also increased once again. Surfaces no doubt will be made larger and machines much bigger in every way will be built.
Telescoping wings may be a feature of the future machines, so that a graduated area of wing surface can be readily obtained and changed for slow or high speed.
The limousine, or enclosed-cabin body, will be a familiar sight in the future machines built for passenger-carrying. These cabins will be provided with comfortable seats.
AUTOMATIC STABILITY
In regard to the question of automatic stability, or some device to balance the machine automatically, there seems to be no doubt that this problem will be solved; in fact it is already solved both for balancing laterally and keeping the machine from tipping sideways and also to govern its fore and aft pitching.
These devices may be of value in learning to fly. But in the practical use of the aeroplane you may see conditions arising which you wish to counteract before they occur and for which you wish to prepare. Automatic stabilisers will no doubt prove very good auxiliary devices, and some aeroplanes will have automatic stabilisers on them before this is printed, but the aviator will no doubt have to regulate the regulators in the future as he operates the levers personally in the present.
AVIATION LAWS TO COME
The making of good laws is not to be overlooked when considering the future development of the aeroplane, for aviators must be protected from themselves, and the public must be protected from the rashness or inexperience of airmen. Almost all nations have already begun to exercise control over their new territory, the air, and are realising that it may become one of their most valued possessions and of an importance equal to their domain over water. For a nation without any seacoast may no longer be cut off from direct intercourse with the world through the aerial craft which can enter and leave at will, as vessels now do on the sea, with no chance of a neighbouring nation restricting this very freedom.
Laws are rapidly being passed by states regulating and licensing aviators and requiring lights to be carried, but it seems that the federal government should be the power that should control the air just as it does the sea and navigable rivers. For fliers flit about so that the whole country seems but a mere playground for men of the air.
Already the California legislature has made several laws to protect the aeroplane and the aviator, as well as to safeguard the larger public that stays on the ground. Some of these laws may seem a little premature, but everything about aeroplanes goes so fast, that there is no wonder the laws instead of lagging behind conditions as they usually do, should speed up a little ahead of them, for the progress of flight is such that by the time the law gets on the statute books the conditions may be calling for it. For instance, bills have been introduced at Sacramento to regulate the licensing of aeroplanes, which are to be classed as "motor vehicles," and to carry numbers and lights, the same as automobiles. The idea of providing for lights seems a little far-fetched at this time, as it will be a long time before there will be much flying at night. Besides, such lights as the proposed law provides would be unnecessary, for the reason that the aeroplane would not be confined to an arbitrary path, but could choose its own course. Therefore, a single light in front and another behind would be all that would be required, instead of one pair in front, one behind and one on each plane, as the bill suggests.
FUTURE COST OF THE AEROPLANE
The cost of the machine is high at the present time because there are but few made. No doubt when the great numbers of people who are now deeply interested in the subject get to the point of practical flight and desire to take flights, they will want to own machines, and learn to operate them. Then aeroplanes will be made in quantities and the price will be reduced in accord with the number that are built and some day we will be able to buy a good aeroplane for about the price we have to pay now for a small automobile.
Cortlandt Field Bishop is credited with having said when some one asked him if the manufacture of a cheap aeroplane, to cost $150, including the motor, would not be a great business undertaking, "Well, a great undertaking business should certainly come of it."
LANDING PLACES
The most serious problem of flying to-day is to find a good course to fly over and suitable landing places. The day will soon come when every city and town will have public landing and starting grounds. As a matter of fact the park commissioners of New York City have already been discussing the setting apart of landing places or isles of safety in the public parks of the city, although some authorities declare that it would not be well to encourage fliers to risk themselves and the people below by flying over the houses. There should be routes of travel established between cities over which an aviator will have a right to fly, just as there are highways on the surface of the earth.
GOVERNMENT ENCOURAGEMENT
Perhaps the greatest factor which is needed to further the development of the aeroplane today is the thorough appreciation by the National Government of the benefits which the aeroplane may bring to its various departments besides the military and postal service.
When railroads first became practical the government gave millions of dollars besides large grants of land to enable them to extend and develop to a successful state. Steamship building was helped in the same way both by government aid and by the building of warships and transports.
The French Government continues to lead the world in its encouragement of aviation. During the month of December, 1911, according to most reliable statistics, the War Department ordered no less than four hundred new aeroplanes, divided between a dozen or more types, and asked the government to appropriate the sum of $4,400,000 for aeronautics. Italy, next to France, is the most active European government in aviation, the Italian War Department having ordered fifty French machines of various types, as well as twelve aeroplanes of a new type produced in Austria. The Turkish government has decided to establish schools for the "fourth arm" immediately, while Russia will also increase its aviation programme. The latest government to take up aviation is that of Australia, where an aviation school is about to open for the instruction of army officers. Germany is not as active in aviation as the other principal European governments, although it is difficult to say exactly what is being done by the Germans, as they purchase machines made in their own country only.
A most interesting programme was arranged by the British military authorities for the trial of machines in competition in the summer of 1912, at Salisbury Plain, in order to determine the best types of military aeroplane. The winning types in this contest will receive large orders from the British government to supply the Army and Navy with aerial equipment.
FIRST AVIATION REGIMENT
(Newspaper Despatch)
PARIS, Jan. 25, 1912. The first aviation regiment, 327 strong, was organised here to-day. A flag will be presented to the battalion later on.
Having already organised an aviation regiment, French army officers are now agitating the question upon the basis of having no less than a thousand aeroplanes ready at a moment's notice under the command of superior officers and under perfect control of army pilots trained to handle them. This training of officers is the most important part, for it takes time to make good fliers. Machines may be turned out very rapidly, but fliers become skilled to the point where they may be of use in army work only by long practice and practical experience. Our government has given an appropriation, small in comparison with what France, Germany and England appropriated, and we have a few aeroplanes in the signal corps of the Army now and three machines in the Navy, but these are only the first steps in this important branch of our military and naval development. We all hope for at least adequate equipment, an equipment that will equal, if not surpass, that of the European powers.
After the development of the aeroplane for sport and commercial purposes, its greatest field of growth is for purposes of war and here we find that the aeroplane can be at once the most deadly weapon of offensive warfare as yet developed by man, and an even more serviceable agent for defensive measures, or for all those most important duties related to scouting and obtaining and carrying information.
WHAT THE AEROPLANE CAN DO IN WAR
I feel confident that an aeroplane can be even now built which will be able to lift a ton of dynamite or other high explosive, and that it can be so constructed that it will be an aerial torpedo or winged projectile, the engine charged with compressed air and set to run any required distance, from one mile to ten miles. Such a machine can be steered by wireless controlling apparatus just as submarine boats and small airships are directed.
A hydroaeroplane can be made to fly at just a certain height over the water by attaching it to a drag or a float which would prevent its exceeding the desired limit of altitude. The machine so equipped might be started in a circle and flown around in a circular course gradually widening and widening, like a bird dog hunting a scent, until the object aimed at is hit.
One of the most important uses of an aeroplane adapted to the uses of the Navy will be its valuable assistance in enabling the manner of formation of the enemy's ships in line of battle to be made known to the commanding officer and the angle of approach to be estimated, in order that our own ships may be so formed in line of battle as to meet the brunt of the attack effectually.
An aeroplane launched from the deck of a battleship and ascending to the height of a mile will give the observers on board a range of vision of ninety-six miles in every direction and powerful glasses will reveal many details that can be seen more clearly from above than when observed from the same level. Submarines can be located with great ease when far below the surface of the water. Even the bottom appears clearly in some of the tropic seas, and fogs, which obscure all things to the enveloped mariner bound to the surface of the sea, usually hang comparatively low down and even a moderate altitude will enable an aerial observer or pilot to see clearly above the banks of mist which shut down like a pall upon the water.
The military aeroplane will be able to muffle its motor and for night operations will be equipped with search-lights and able to approach an enemy unseen and unheard from a high altitude, a direction in which there are no pickets.
In the school machines of one of the Chicago schools the motors have already been muffled to permit the teacher more readily giving his instructions to his pupils. U. S. Army officers have also experimented with mufflers on their motors.
Aeroplanes have been recently used by the Italian Army near Tripoli and bombs were dropped which not only frightened the enemy but stampeded their horses and caused panic among the soldiers. They were also of great service in directing the fire of the guns from the ships which were quite out of sight of their targets, a captive balloon and an aeroplane signalling the effect of the shots and the angles at which to train the guns. The aviators took steel bomb-shells with them and filled them while flying, holding the caps in their teeth, and steering with their knees while performing this operation. They did not dare to carry the bombs loaded for fear of being blown to pieces themselves in case of an accident when landing.
In the fall of 1911, extensive tests were made by the French military authorities which showed how reliable aeroplanes can be. The aviators flew at the command of officers and under the strictest orders; the machines were required to land in ploughed fields and to start away again with their full complement of passengers and extra weight of fuel. All the machines were required to carry a weight of about five hundred pounds and to rise to a certain height in a specified time with their complete load. The machines were also dismounted and assembled in the field and packed and transported from one place to another, to test the ease with which this could be done.
These military tests were won by Charles Weymann, who was also the winner of the Gordon Bennett International Aviation Cup for America last year.
Mr. Weymann drove a special Nieuport machine, which was the most speedy type of aeroplane built at that time, and was successful in landing and starting from a ploughed field, which many thought impossible for a very fast type of machine. It took the greatest skill to land such a speedy machine on rough ground, for he had to glide down with absolute accuracy, to land without a smash.
Among Army officers the keenest competition is developed, and it is only by a spirit of rivalry and a desire to excel that the best qualities in officers and men are brought out in times of peace. Of course in time of war there is a need which calls for the best there is in a man.
The needs of the Army and Navy aviators have developed some special features in machines built for their purposes. They want to be as far out in front of the machine as possible so they can have an unobstructed view, and so that if they should be so unfortunate as to be pitched out, they will be quite clear of everything. This is especially true of naval machines built to fly over the water. Military aeroplanes also should have a standard method of control, so that any Army or Navy aviator can operate any Army or Navy machine.