Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-12-22
AERO TO GO WEST
Army Machine Will Be Ex-
hibited in Chicago.
PRACTICE AT SAN ANTONIO
Lieut.. Foulois May Be Detailed to
Experiment With Wright Flyer
at Texas Point.

The Wright aeroplane owned by the
Signal Corps of the army will leave
Washington early in January for Chica-
go. where it will be feature of the cleo
trio exhibition from January II to Janu
airy %. AS soon this exhibition is
over the machine will be sent to San
Antonio Tex.
There is big army post at San An
tonic, and the country around there is
better adapted to flying machine practice
than that around Washington. There is
only one officer now available for flying
Lieut.. Benjamin D. Foulois-both Lahm
and Humphreys having returned TO their
regiments. Lieut.. Foulois has hardly
completed his course Of instruction, but
he is thoroughly familiar with the ma
chine and probably will be able to. man
age it by himself
Ii Is intended to train other officers to
fly as soon as possible. and Lieut.. Fou-
lois will be the instructor.
Behind Other Powers.
il Is felt by the Sngnal Corps that this
country is much behind the other pow
ers in aerial equipment, and this was
noted in the recent report of the chief
signal officer. who said:
Progress in aeronautics has been even
more rapid during the past year than in
the preceding one. Records have been
broken In rapid succession, both with dir
igible balloons and heavier-than-air ma
chimes. The Zeppelin III in Germany has
increased its length of time in the air
from twelve hours Ton July I, 1909 to
thirty-Six hours. covering a distance OIL
100 miles, and has carried twentysix per-
sons at one time. The Wright brothers
have increased the length of their flights
txr,r, md fyryaYa 1inIY fc- "a
carried a passenger one hour and ten
minutes, and have flown at "A height of
+0O feet. Six aviators have crossed the
hour mark with aeroplanes, and the
number making continuous flights is
growing rapidly Cross-country flights
are taking the place of flights in circle
over a limited field, and the latest
achievements, in which aeroplaneS flew
from France to England crossing the
English channel, and up the Hudson
river from Governors Island to near
Grants tomb and return. indicate the
practicability of mechanical flight.
United States are providing themselves
Systematically with aerial fleets, Ger
many and France being notably in the
lead
1.-The United States does not at pres
ent possess a modern aeronautical equip
ment, and 1t is believed that systematic
plan of development of this military aux
iliary for national defense should be in
augurated without delay"
Applications Held Up.
In the meantime there have been
number of applications made by amateurs
around Washington for the use of the
College Park training ground to try out
their own machines There are nine
such machines being built in and around
Washington, and it was announced when
the lease WAS first taken on College Park
by the War Department that the ground
won d be at the disposal of aviators with
machines of their own whenever it was
not in use by the government. Since
then, however there has been less dis
position to give private individuals the
use of the field. and the applications have
been put up to the Secretary of War,
who is now out of Washington.