The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1911-10-03
ARMY D|ROMEN
FL|TT|NG SOUTH
LIKE THE "wJLD GEEsEs THEY
ARE SEEKING A BETTER
CLIMATE.
MANY E x P E RIM E NTS
LIKELY THAT THE WINTER OPERA
TONS WILL BE OF UNUSUAL
NATURE-MORE OFFICERS
NEEDED.
BY VICTOR ELLIOTT.

1t has been decided to close the army
aviation school at College Park. Md.
during November. the blrdmen are
preparing to carry on winter cam
paign in the South, which is ex-
pected to Guido anything that has
been attempted at College Park
school.
A number Of cities in South Caro-
lima, Georgia and Florida have re-
Quested Brlgadier General James AL
len, chief signal officer of the army.
who has charge of the government
aeronautical experiments, for consid-
GRAFTON when 1t is time for the South
ern station TO be established.
The level country in the South will
be great incentive TO the aviators
to make cross country flights. and
once the army men are there they
Will fly almost daily from their head
quarters TO little cities nearby, as they
have been doing from College Park
to neighboring towns. The corn and
cotton fields Of the South will afford
the alrmen ample space to make land
ings- All kinds of experiments will
be conducted. ranging from bomb
throwing to cross country flights, of
100 miles and over.
General Allen is spending some
time studying maps OF the South.
with q view to selecting some point
which is favored with good transpor-
tation facilities for the handing OF
the machines and possessed Of long
stretches of level country, to permit
extended flights. Climatical conditions
VIII also play all important part in
- 4 ,-t1 y,,f1
VIII probably be usec in the selec-
ton, but General Allen says he will
make his own choice and not be
styayed by influence
All Kinds OF Experiments
The army aviators have attained
efficiency within the past few months,
and are now devoting most of their
time to experiments. Sergeant NJ.
ldzerefck has arrived from San Die
go. and soon will begin the expert
ment OF carrying up 2o0-pound
dummy bomb on one of the biplanes
to test the practicability Of aeroplanes
becoming an offensive power in the
time of war Sergeant Idzereick, who
is one of the foremost army experts.
has been engaged some time in study
Ing out plan for the handling of a
compound bomb by an teroplane. AZ
ter stay of about two weeks at Col
lese Park he will leave for Sandy
HOOK to carry on experiments of the
same nature with a captive balloon.
II Is probable also that Captain
Charles d. Chandler will also be sent
TO SANDY Hook to take part in tie
experiments Captain Chandler is an
expert balloonist, having had many
years experience with dIrigibles be-
fore Joining the aeroplane squad
IL Sergeant Idzer. elk attains sue
cess In discovering some means by
winch an aeroplane can carry a bomb
weighing zoo pounds, the United
states government will take the lead
IN the mad scramble or modern ma
tons to make the aeroplane a power
full factor in war. In addition to the
difficulty encountered In carrying aloft
heavy bomb. 1t is agreed by experts
that We're weight of zoo pounds sud
denly released from an aeroplane
there would be difficulty In hand
ling the machine. Many maintain
that 1t would plunge upward so sud
denly that 1t would Lose its balance
and be wrecked
Shortage of Officers
The Tarbox automatic stability de-
vice for aeroplanes has been subject
ed to series OF tests at College Park
during the last week. and has been
declared a success by many. After
climbing to height OF zoo feet the
operator has folded his arms ana
trusted to the automatic device to
keep the machine at perfect eouilib-
rum. Whether this will be equally
successful when applied to the bomb
dropping machine viii be determined
by experiments in the South this WIN
ter.
There Is shortage Of officers avail
able for flying. and 1t is hard to find
men enough to man the machines
now owned by the government
The question OF getting mono
plane for the service has been dis
cussed at different times. but the
scarcity Of officers has stood in the
way OF adding this new type to the
aeroplane fleet. A few types of mon
oplane are built in this country. but
the most successful have been built
a abroad, equipped with the rotary mo-
tor. Several American manufactur-
ers are now building a rotary motor,
and II the government decides to
experiment with the monoplane it Will
probably see that 1t L. equipped with
this type of power.
Aeroplane Gun Test.
Considerable attention is now given
by army birdmen to the experiments
with the aeroplane gun by the ex-
perts at Sandy Hook, n. Y. Secre-
cy has been preserved over these
trials. and even the date has not been
made public. The ordnance board 10
every effort to get a gun that
can be quickly laid" and which will
have q prtsmatic and automatically
adjustable sight. The chief reliance
for this aerial shooting will be the
tracer she'll This shell leaves a
trace OF heavy black smoke in its
path by day, and line of sparks by
light. THIS type has been used with
success by the French and German
governments. and Is the only one
which IL expected to solve the new
gunnery problem Box kites and cap
tive balloons lowed by warships have
been used by foreign governments for
targets. but none OF these are con-
sidered a satisfactory substitute for
an aeroplane. The army aviators
want to use drifting balloons for
IL they can find something
cheap enough, but so far free bal
looms have been considered too ex-
pensive. The tracer smells used by
this government are OF American
make. and are considered superior
to anything made abroad.
Much time Will be devoted this
winter in the South to bomb drop
ping. map making and photography.
On one occasion Lieutenant Arnold
tried dropping potatoes for bombs,
but aside from this there has been
nothing done in photographing or
making maps. Aerial sketching. when
tried out, win determine an
other practical value Of the aero