The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1907-01-03
FLYING MACHINES.
Sir Hiram Maxim Thinks They viii
Decide Battles.

wdould-be aeronauts, in every orner OF
the globe. That the conquest of the
air will before long be an accom-
plished fact has recently become
widespread conviction, but, at the
same time, those best qualified to
judge consider that aerial flight Will
not be perfected so easily or so soon
as many people suppose.
Sir Hiram Maxim Forecasts that 1t
will be some time before a machine
will be invented to travel two hundred
miles
my own Onion Sir Hiram told the
writer. sis that if, within the next
eighteen months or two years, an aer-
oplane is discovered which will travel
f.r, say, thirty or forty miles, excel
lent progress will have been made.
"There are, of course, a number OF
technical difficulties which cause he
building of flying machine to be
matter of considerable uncertainty.
The chief problem, perhaps, to De
overcome is to make the lifting effect
VI LlG dClOplclllC NoASA NAANNAA 80
weight of the machine; but, after con-
Quoting many experiments, some time
ago proved that this drawback is by no
means an insurmountable one. / am Of
opinion that the most perfect flyin ma
chine yea constructed has been made
by the Wright brothers in America. In
its initial trial trip this machine re-
manned in the air for fully thirty min
utes without the aid even Of a gas bag
while it also attained a veslocity of for
ty miles an hour, and, better still, its
steering apparatus proved almost per-
feet.
1.-THE importance of aerial fight in
warfare cannot possibly be uverrated,
and the French government showed
great enterprise when 1t purchased the
Wright brothers machine. Other ma
tons, indeed, will surely have to recog-
nize the immense possibilities of flying
machines as weapons Of war for which
purpose they are eminently more suited
than balloons. Indeed, it does not call
for the exercise of a very vivid imagi-
nation to picture the fate of some great
European power being decided at no
very distant date in midair.
Il have been told that Lord Kelvin
not many years ago stated as his opin-
i'm that it was matter of absolute
impossibility that a satisfactory fying
machine could ever be constructed,
though personally have strong doubts
about the authenticity of this story.
Still, 1t is an undoubted fact that not
long ago many far less distinguished
scientists than Lord Kelvin did hold
this opinion, and some great authorities
on aerial flight even wsnt so far as to
point out to me various reasons which
initiated against aerial navigation, and
at the same time they expressed the
opinion that all experiments in that d.
rection were doomed to failure. / mere
" mention this to show that it is only
quite recently that the possibilities Of
the aeroplare have been generally re-
cognized.
Eat the moment however, there
seems to be almost overwhelming con-
fdcnceN in the future Of flying ma
chimes and I have heard 1t said that
aeroplanes will before long b. used for
purposes of ordinary traffic. With thos
view I cannot agree. In the first place,
the construction of flying machine
will never be so chap as to make it
possible Again, although time will
doubtless do much to lessen this diff
Guilty, 1t Is impossible to ignore or UNI
derrate the danger which must attend
any attempt to conquer the air.
"Thus it is a far less dangerous pas
time to take trip in balloon than
in a flying machine, however perfect
the latter may be- for one would be
short sighted indeed to pass over light
ly the difficulties of an accurate de-
scent which is liable to become un-
pleasantly rapid.
But for military purposes there will
always be found plenty Of men pre-
pared to take big risks, because, if sue
cessful such important results are TO
be attained On tbs other hand, few
people, for popular purposes such as
ordinary traffic and pleasure trips,
would, l think, be disposed to make an
aerial flight across to Calais in ma
chine which stood chance of landing
with its occupants among the waves Of
the channel at any moment.
Il have, as ] before said, made many
experiments with flying machines, and
numbers of leading scientists have
watched my efforts in,this direction,
including Lord Kelvin and Lord Ray
leigh. Lord Kelvin described my ma
chimes as 'veritabla museums Of inven-
ton i
Not long ago had captive flying
machine constructed at my residence.
On the day Of the trial the elements
were most unpropitious, for when the
engineers got into the boats and the
aeroplanes commenced to work, the
wind, which was blowing at about for
ty miles an hour, so increased the
speed that the engineers found them
selves going at a rate of nearly eightvl
miles an hour I fancy those engineers
were uncommonly glad to find them
selves, on dry land again.
ITO my mind the real future of flying
machines consists In their adaptation
for military purposes, and l haye a
strong conviction that the day will
come when battles will be decided in
midair. -Tit-Bits.