The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-10-08
THE AGE OF FLIGHT
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H.ABOARD THE SKYFL YER
By Frederic J. Haskin.

of human life and health, at great financial cost, men have tried time and again to conquer the ice and snow that lie between those lands and ours, and have always failed. The Columbus of the future will have no modest caravel bought by a queens jewels and manned by a crew of ad- venturers to fight his way by sail and car into the unknown. He will have a ship of the skies fitted with all the devices that science can offer for the conquest of distance, altitude, cold and wind. He must be able to. carry with him provisions, fuel, clothes and tools enough for long voyage and a long stay, and motor sleds for short trips at his fartherst-north camp
 If he< goes in a dirigible gas ship, such as Baldwin has made, he must bear in mind the fact that in a great storm hundreds, sometimes thousands. of pounds of snow and moiture may fall on shis great silk bag, weighting 1t and cooling it to dangerous degree. He must know that in the Arctic re- gions high altitude is dangerous and so keep from 200 to 600. feet above . the earth. He sometimes must fight winds that flow with a steady velocity of thirty miles an hour. He must . economize so in weight and time that he must make up in speed. and go fifty or sixty miles an hour, where only twenty-five is now possible on such trips. A system of hot-air supply to prevent the chilling of the gas was feature of Wellman's plan. when he set out so hopefully toward the North Pole two years ago. For such trip Wellman needed a vessel that wouldd carry 20,965 pounds, for he required $500 pounds of gasoline alone.
 This new method of travel will call for new technical education. Ger many has already school for aero- nauts as Oh hemnitz, and for year pupils have been taught the details of balloon making. imitation and guiding. France has no particular school for such work, but instruction and prac- tice in aerostation are given by nine clubs and in connection with military service For over thirty years France has had balloonists in the army, two years training being given each. They are taught the value of captive ball looms and follow much the same work done at Chemnitz. The United States has done the characteristic thing and has correspondence, school conducted by private parties, with a licensed pilot of the French Aero Club at its head. and a stan of instructors in aerosta- tion and aviation.
 Prizes aggregating $132,425 were offered this year for achievements in aerostation. In the coming years prizes will be offered for the most comfortable devices for everyday use. One will be the aerial omnibus for carrying children to the central coun- try school-a Utopian condition that will do wonders toward spreading edu- cation in remote localities Postal authorities, merchants, and manufac- turers will be offering prizes for speedy and low-priced ships. This low price w:lI come, for an airship line needs no road-bed with tie and rail equip ment, no bridges, conduits, trestles and tunnels. and no great annual ex- penditure for keeping those up. It's pathway is free and untrammeled Nor will the air line have to purchase right of-way If it files its ships high enough to prevent their being public nuisances.
 This will minimize transportation costs more than anything else. Paris declares that in a few years good au- ! tomobiles. carrying four passengers. can be made for about $10O each for the citizens of her territory, because the roads are so good the light autos can stand the strain. Alrships will reck little if. roads be good or bad. and in the monday of the age of flight who knows but each commuter may have his own machine, be free from in- ter-urban travel, and save time. money and nerves?
 Copyright. 1908. by Frederic J.
 Haskin.)
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