Los Angeles herald., 1909-07-05
WINTER TRIALS
AT LOS ANGELES
GOVERNMENT FLYING CRAFT
MAY COME
SIGNAL CORPS NEEDS coNTINU-
Gus WORK IN AERoNAUTICS
Chief Signal Officer Said to Be Con-
siderine Season of Flights with
AeropIane and DirigibIe
in California ..
[speclal to The Herald.1

| WASHINGTON, d. c., July 4.-The
government aeronautical work may be
continued into the winter, and IL that
can be arranged it is possible that
Lieuts. Lahm and F'oulois of the signal
corps will bring the Wright aeroplane
to California for the winter expert
ments. The activity last winter at Los
Angeles has attracted attention to the
possibilities of all the year aeronautfcs
| by the army Last winter the balloon
squad was disbanded, but 1t is deemed
of considerable Importance to make this
work as continuous as possible.
Aeronautical experiments are not
| feasible in the east, but it Is considered
possible to conduct them through the
entire winter in, Southern California,
where there is comparative little rain
fall and other conditions are almost
ideal. Now that the signal corps is
practically certain to have a flying
machine, officers are anxious to de-
velop practical work as speedily as
! possible. If this must be discontinued
within a few months after taking over
the machine from the Wrights progress
will be considerably delayed, and the
interest of congress will likewise be
greatly lessened
Nothing definite or official can be
gained regarding the winter plans of
| the chief signal officer regarding
|
! that something of this sort is under
| consideration. Senator Flint has in
terested himself in a movement to have
aeronautical trying grounds located in
| Los Angeles county, while other mem
| bers of the California delegation have
been working for the establishment of
something of the sort in the San
Joaquin valley.
| 1t is believed that the adoption of
| plans for winter work would aid in
building up the efficiency of the aero
nautical section of the army to a de-
gree that would greatly aid in securing
more adequate appropriations for aero
nautics from congress, as the limita-
| tions for work in the east bring 1t at
time of the year when it does not have
| it's best effect on the lawmakers.
Lieuts. Lahm and Foulois. who will
| be the first to learn the handling of the
Wright brothers aeroplane. and who
| will afterward instruct other Officers,
have been following every phase of the
preparations intently. Orville Wright
believes they will be apt pupils and
that fewer than seven or eight flights
each will be sufficient to teach them
how to handle the machine.
Californians interested in aeronautics
have been working for some time to in
| terest the war department in the pos
| sibilities of winter work In this state
on a scale impossible in any other part
of the United States. Prof T. S. G.
| Lowe has made a strong showing on
this line, and it is known that his eff
| forts have carried considerable weight
because of his leading position as an
authority on aeronautiCs in war. G.
| w. Sirch has been working on this line,
as have been w. H. Leonard and H.
La " Twining of the Aero club Of
| California. Former Secretary of the
Navy Victor Metcalf of Oakland and
Senator Perkins have been interested
along the line of government aeronau-
| tics, but their efforts have not favored
| Los Angeles county.
In answer to a letter from c. w.
Sirch of Los Angeles setting forth the
merits of Southern California as an
! ideal section for aerial experiments
Senator Flint said: I'm reply I beg to
state that there appears to be merit in
lyour suggestions, and l will be glad to
| look into the matter and do anything
/ can to have the aerial trying grounds
located at Los Angeles"