The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-11-10
Anour FLYING.


 From quite number of more or less qualified sources of late there have come enthusiastic announcements and predictions that the air has been con- quered. that aerial navigation has been proven a success. that airships are soon to be in successful operation over land and sea, and much more of the same tenor. The fact that number of dis asters to aeroplanes have occurred has not served to abate the enthusiasm of those who seem so certain of the suc- cess of this mode of travel.
 Among those who refuse to believe in the Wright aeroplane and other ma chimes of like style, Is Professor s1mon Newcomb. who. if not among the rec ognized authorities on the subject of flight Is certainly one of the most pro- found mathematical and philosophical thinkers of the age. He has written much on scientific subjects and while he may not occupy front rank among the flyers his views are certainly en- titled to credit.
 Taking up the matter of the aero planes of the general style of the Wright machines, Prof. Newcomb is convinced that they can never be sue cessfully used for carrying either pas sengers or freight. He argues that these machines cannot safely venture out of sight of land, nor can they be navigated in fog. They cannot stop in the air for repairs, and if any ac- cident of fault forces one to stop 1t at once comes to the earth like a wound ed bird. In short he points out mum Der of reasons why machines of this style cannot be a success, either in peace or war, and especially the latter. Of what is called "dirigible bal | loons"-the real airships. Prof. New comb has a more hopeful opinion, though he is not at all optimistic on the subject. The airship. he argues. can be enlarged to almost any size, can be navigated with something like sure ty.. and has other advantages but he is not very enthusiastic about It. When we take into consideration the cost of construction and of operation and oth- ford Times argues, doubts whether the most colossal and comfortable airships could ever put the railroad and steam ship lines out of business, How about war times? The possible usefulness of the airships in scouting expeditions and reconnaissance work Is unques- tIoned. They would drop explosives. though it would necessarily be from a great height and with a lack of precis- ion that would make their hitting a moving battleship extremely problem atical. Within range their vast bulk would make them easy targets. "The construction of machine gun which pointed verticaIly-couId fire a shot to , the height of two miles is so simple a matter that l assume thls to be the height at which the aerial ship would have to operate" says the professor. "A single yoeman armed with re- beating rifle could disable a whole ] fleet of airships before the crews could even see where he was or what he was doing" If the yoeman used explosive bullets balloon after balloon would be- come instantly a swirl of flame. Simon Newcomb feels able to tell the nervous Englishmen that their island has no invasion by the air route to fear. In daytime, with the sun shining it would he utterly impractieablei it would be exceedingly difficult and precarious at night or in a fog Besides, what would