Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-08-02

down in circles from the North Pole. linus
it is unsafe to assume that, because a craft
may start from the North American coast
with a favoring wind, such conditions will
prevail for the entire crossing. 1t might
happen that one of these circular storms
would be met in mid-Atlantic; and if this
did occur it would not only upset the calcu-
lations of a time schedule, but might cause
disaster.
The question of the weather indeed, like
that of the motor, no matter how it may be
argued, remains factor that IS uncertain.
Usually the wind does blow to the eastward;
a disturbance in mid-Atlantic may be
avoided; in nine cases out of ten motor
will run without mishap; and so on. But no
man has yet crossed the Atlantic by a1r-or,
for the matter of that, any very wide ex-
panse of water. The atmospheric conditions
through which a machine would fly are
therefore unknown, and unexpected phe-
nomena may be encountered.
One is reminded of NJ. Bleriot, when he
took out his monoplane to fly the English
Channel The machine was propelled by
an air-cooled motor, the best performance
of which, prior to the crossing of the Chan
mel, even after expert tuning had been
fight of about twenty-five minutes; and
now Bleriot asked it to run for more than
half an hour without breakdown. And the
penalty, he knew, should it fail him sud-
denly, was fall into the water which might
cost him his life. But quite deliberately, in
the cold gray of early morning, he took this
chance; and for thirty-six minutes, while he
battled with a rising wind, the motor licked
away as smoothly as clock.
should they fly before the feat is within the
normal scope of aviation, must the cross
Atlantic airrnen play high-higher than
B1eriot played, and with greater and
graver risk.
THE motor and the weather,-here are
two uncertainties. And there is an
other. Even should their engine run with
out hitch, and stern wind blow smoothly
all the way, the pilots still have the problem
of steering correctly. Nowadays, when he
makes fight across country, an airrnan has
a map and compass for his guide. He sets
a course by compass, and checks it from his
map; and he has the advantage also that,
should doubt arise, he may note some land
mark that will tell him, beyond any question
of error, whether or not he has been adher1ng
to his path.
But there may be a fog or a land mist;
and then the airnan flies alone, with nothing
below or around him but empty air. His
compass needle points north, of course, and
he has his map, and should the air be calm,
or the wind continue in the direction it held
when he plotted his course, he may still find
his way without fear of error. But if when
he is flying the wind should change, and
blow suddenly across his path, the machine
may be borne steadily sidewise, even while
its bow points true upon the compass course.
To meet this difficulty there is now an anti
drift" compass, which enables a change of
wind to be detected, and an allowance made
for it, even while flying. But an experienced
pilot, and one aided thus by science, would
be chary of flying for hours through fog,
with no landmark to tell him that his course
remained correct.
And yet in the attempt to cross the Allan
tic, with at least twenty hours steering be-
fore them, the pilots will be flying under
conditions that may be likened to a con-
slant fog. From the moment, that is to say,
that the coast line fades behind them and
they face the sweep of ocean, they will have
no guide, beyond perhaps the sighting of an
occasional ship, to aid them in adhering to
their course. Such conditions, for a few
hours, might mean no risk of error; but for
twenty, and perhaps for thirty! Here we
have doubt with vengeance, confusion
of "ifs' and @buts.'
THE man who is sufficiently bold, how
ever,-our ideal pioneer, is not disposed
to be nervous, even at such haunting fear
-. 1 Il l. j.