The sun., 1910-06-05
The Channel Double FIInht.

The Hon. CHARLES STEWART RoL1ss
fight across the Channel 20 France and
back in a biplane has been accepted a.
a matter oi COuuse, although Il was a
remarkable achievement and may stand
a. a record for some time. II NJ
JACQUES DE LEssEPs. who few across
the Channel from France on May q,
had driven his mOnOplane back within
twenty-four hours. thus satisfying the
conditions upon which the Ruinart
prize was to be awarded for a Channel
double flight, the success Of the grand
sou Of the Suez Canal engineer would
have made almost a. great a sensation
a. that occasiOnsd by the pioneer fight
Of BLERIOT.
Why. then, has the round trip with
out ahRhting. the condorlike sal and
sweep from the cliffs Of Dover to the
lighthouse at Calais and home agnin,
bern allowed 20 pass with little more
than honorable mention? For these
reasons, We think The premier honors
had been won by Frenchmen. il was
high time am Englishman distinguished
himself bv fying the Channel. and those
Interested in aeronautios, which includes
almost everybody nowadays, were still
acclaiming the spin Of Mr. GLENN Cur
TIss down the Hudson in two hours and
thirty-two minutes Compared with
that performance the fifty mile Channel
tour of the son Of Baron LlANGArTOCK
seemed a mere saunter. But II il is ~
regarded the feat Of the Hon. CHARLES
STEWART Rolls will be underrated.
The elements must be propitiOus for
the Channel flight, and as il is a place
Of sudden and treacherous winds there
will always be danger after a fair start
of airship wreck. HUBERT LATHAM
waited for many DAYS TO launch his
mOnOplane from the cliffs near Calais.
and on July 10, 1912, got away only TO
drop into the sea six miles from the
French coast. But for a quick rescue
by the torpedo boat destroyer Escopette
the daring LATHAM would never have
made another fight When his rival
LOUIS BLERIOT stole away while LATHAM
was sleeping at dawn Of July Is there
was not air enough 10 float the thistle
down, but in a haze BLERIOT lost his
course in midchannel and above the
cliffs Of Dover he ran into "a regular
aerial maelstrom. was whirled around
twice a. a feather might be tossed about,
and was lucky 20 make a landing
LATHAM tried again, and once more
came 10 grief. Ten months elapsed
before another aviator crossed the
Channel, VI. JACQUES DE LEssEPs. who
made a swift passage in weather that
was IDEAL but stiff wind and a haze
prevented the return Of DE LESsEPs,
and he lost the Ruinart prize. On the
score Of weather the Hon. CHARLES
STEWART ROLLS was highly favored.
and he was fortunate in his motor
which worked smoothly, never missing
ignition. The Channel will be tried
again and again no doubt but the ily-
ing men will rarely get the weather they
want, and they must always take into
reckoning a plunge into the sea.
The Englishman who has made the
Channel dDubls fight is a genuine anna
teur. Nevertheless he Is the one man
IN England of whom success might have
been expected with confidence sOoner
or later Tie may be said ~ have gradu-
ated from the bicycle 10 the automobile
and then 10 the airship. A a cyclist he
won many prizes. he was pioneer ~ the
automobile in Englani and competed
successfully in a great number Of races
Of from One 10 a thousand miles, making
a worlds record for speed on several
occasions Taking 10 the AIR, Mr.. ROLLS
made I'm balloon asoensions and after
ward transferred his activities 20 the
aerOplane. He Is an engineer by pro-