The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-05-05
ELLYSON INTRODUCES
NEW ENGINE. OF WAR

get the flying machine into the air;
the scouting aviator has lot to AZ.
tend to after he Ii aloft and started
upon his mission.
Until a short while ago the air pilot
had his hands dangerously fun OF
things to be manipulated in order to
sustain him safely in flight. and
moments inattention was pretty GER
tain to invite trouble, IL not disaster.
He had no opportunity to make OBJ
servations OF the land beneath him
or to release bombs intended to hit
certain spot on the landscape below.
panion whose duties should be limited
to recommending and to dropping pro-
jectiles upon the enemy.
Now it happened that the machines
used by the Italians in Tripoli were
not weight carriers. and 1t was there
fore out of the question to support
second person in them. According
ly. the aviator had to do all the work
himself, and this explains why bombs
dropped from aeroplanes so often failed
to hit their, mark. The Italian diri-
gible balloons. on the other hand, be-
cause they could be manoeuvred de-
liberately and could lift number Of
persons. were successful as bomb
throwers. and what they did showed
what could be expected of flying
machine properly built for military
work.
AZ result of study q number OF
devices have been developed which
make it possible now to insure to q
large degree the automatic control of
an aeroplane's equilibrium. and other
apparatus is being perfected which
reduces the demands upon the avi-
ator. Quite apart from the military
importance of these later inventions,
the physical and nervous stresses upon
the aviator are fewer. These have
proved SO exhausting during the war
between Italy and Turkey that the
pilots have become incapacitated after
six months OF service, and doctors de-
clare rest period of at least two
years Is needfui in order to insure
their recuperation and fitness again
for duty with the flying squadron.
Among the helpful apparatus now
being developed by an American Arm
is a gyroscopic device which gives
promise of success in maintaining the
stability Of an aeroplane In flight.
Captain Chambers is engaged in the
which will not only give directional
guidance, but will also compensate
for the drift or sidewise movement OF
the flying machine.
On the other side OF the Atlantic
instrument makers have been work
ing away at the same problem with
more or less success. The market
supply OF such apparatus Is not large.
That there Is need OF just such an aid
to aerial navigation IL evidenced by
the fact that q German firm was sud-
denly dsnuded of Its supply by the de-
mands Of the war in the Balkans. IL
is safe to say that no small share OF
effective aid rendered by the Bulga-
rian flying corps has been directly due
In the past aviation generally has
been encouraged more as a sporting
proposition than an art susceptible OF
practical benefits, and this has really
hurt aviation more than II has helped.
Speed has appealed pre-eminently to
racing men and to what may appro-
priately be termed aeronautical aero
bats. and in some senses this speed
MS saved more lives than 1t has sac
rificed under the hazardous circum-
stances OF its employment. The VIC
torious vedrines strongly advocates
speed on the score that ii makes for
safety by offsetting or combating more
successfully atmospheric vagaries
while in flight, but this element of
high velocity multipiies the hazard or
the difficulty of alightlng as we'll as
increasing the danger of engine trou-
BILE and shortness OF the life OF the
motor.
For war purposes an aeroplane mo-
tor should work efficiently at different
will be needed for dissimilar services.
A motor of this sort would lend itself
to relatively low speed so that the fly
ing machine could return to the
ground much as q vessel slackens her
headway when coming up to her dock.
Captain Chambers has very definite
opinion upon this subject. which he
explains as follows:
"A weight carrying aeroplane. such
AZ a hydroaeroplane. necessarily needs
motor with considerable range OF
speed. and the same kind of motor
is needed to reduce the danger OF
alfghtfng. I think aviation would be
improved II tho terms of future speed
contest swere arranged so as to re-
quire each contestant to go over the
course twfce-the second time at ar
average speed 20 per cent. lower thar
his highest average"
The layman hAs heard so much OF
anti balloon guns and other weapon.
craft that he pictures the flying ma.
chine as being knocked into bits by
the precise fire OF these weapons A,
a matter OF fact. during the war liz
Tripoli. the Italian aeroplanes were
but seldom hit. never disastrously. and
when up in the air three thousa nd
feet they were not touched at all
American naval aviAtors, with theil
hydroaeroplanes, have proved that 1,
Is entirely feasible for them to reach
this height, and so far as endurance
of flight Is concerned. they hold this
record-Lieutenant Towers. OF the
navy. having travelled for six hour
and ten minutes and twenty seconds
| In standard navy Curtiss hydroaero-
| plane. Inventors have developed an
aeroplane wireless outfit OF very mod
crate weight, and with this equipment
| aviators are able to cover a range OF
/ fifty miles.
/ The next naval conflict is likely to
find hydroaeroplanes feature of the
essential equipment OF all large men
of-war, and the flying machine must
be considered seriously and not as a
mere fad or a mechanical achievement
OF no material value. In peace time
manoeuvres the French have clearly
shown that the aeroplane is capable
OF doing scout duty OF an important
character, detecting not only ships
upon the water, but the presence OF
submarines supposedly hidden below