Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1914-04-07
aa,iseellaneous Reaaing.
AaounD EARTH BY AERorLANs
Within Five Years Crossing the Allan
Tic Will be AVERAGE 1rip.

will be made next year depends entlre-
ly upon the conditions laid down, but
1 feel confident that before the date set
for the start of that flight the Atlantic
will have been crossed in an airship
and that within five years it will be
just an average flight to fly from Eng
land to America"
This is the prediction of A. V. Roe,
who possesses the triple distinction of
being the first Englishman to fly from
British soil, the first Englishman to
build a hydroplane and the only man
Of any nationality who has flown with
an engine in his aeroplane as low as
nine horse power.
Mr.. Roe's latest claim to distinction
| is that he is the designer and con-
structor of the biplane on which Mr..
Raynham broke the British altitude
record when he ascended to $4,000 feet
and glided for 81 miles with his engines
stopped.
His company has built planes fitted
with wireless apparatus and light guns
and it is now building a special shed
in which four or five huge hydroplanes
will be constructed in secret. One OF
these planes will be driven by twin
propellers with two 120-horse power
engines This will give it total horse
power of 240, which is about 100 horse
power greater than is possessed by any
present flying machine. 1t will be the
largest Of it's kind on earth or in the
air and will carry gun, wireless outfit
and four or five men to man it. 1t will
be able to fly 80 miles an hour or can
stop down to % miles. The size Of the
gun has not been determined, but ac-
cording to the contract it must with
stand a recoil of half ton. The hy-
droplane will also carry fuel and lu-
bricating oil sufficient for a period of
six hours.
In speaking of the difficulties to be
overcome in turning out this class of
machine, Mr.. Roe said:
It's all question Of motive power.
Given a sufficiently powerful engine
you could lift Westminster abbey and
fly away with it. The difficulties Of
flight as such have been conquered, it
is now a matter of perfecting the mo-
tors and making them more powerful. |
Flying in it's early days was a |
nerve-racking business. Men were up
against an entirely new proposition.
They did not understand the intrica- |
cies and trickery Of the air as they do
now. The machines were not to be re-
lied upon nor were they as easy Of
control as they now are.
1T was the same with the motor car |
in it's first stages. They were always |
going wrong. There was always en-
CINE trouble of some kind. But the |
car was on the ground and the driver
could get out and fix the engine or
have the car towed to a mechanician.
In the air this was not possible, and a |
broken engine meant a broken neck.
The engines Of the aeroplanes now
run as smoothly as the engines on mo-
tor cars; in fact, they run more
smoothly, because they are more care
fully constructed and there is more
time and money spent on them. The
more we know about the air the less
nerve strain and vigilance we have to
use upon our flights. In the early days |
we were always wondering what was
coming next, and where we would |
light and how when that unexpected
thing did happen.
Five years from now flying will be
the popular sport Of the well-to-do.
This may sound strange to many now, |
but it is coming just as sure as the
price Of aeroplanes falls. The mechan-
ical and human difficulties are being |
reduced by leaps and bounds and the
price difficulty will be the next thing to
go. Last year there was six times as
much flying as there was in 1912, and
the total flights in the world averaged
from 10000 to $4,000 miles each week
of the year. The fatalities attending |
these flights were reduced, while the
flights were increased.
AT present aeroplanes are very ex-
pensive and a good one costs from $5,-
900 up-and mostly up. This high cost
is due to the fact that there are so
many improvements being made, and
designs vary almost from day to day. |
1t is only a question Of time when the
machines will be standardized and 1t
will be as easy to turn them out at a
profit and as cheap as motor cars are
now turned out. In fact, they will be
cheaper than most automobiles, and
good machine can be purchased in 1920 |
for $500 or even less.
Flying will then be the rage. For
the margin Of danger will also have
diminished. There is not much danger
now. The risks had to be run in the
early days. because it was only by
practical experiment that sound prin-
ciples could be hammered out For in
stance, l went up twice with motors
too heavy for my planes-substitute
motors-and on both occasions I came
down with rush.
"Once the engine buried itself six
feet in the earth, and the spectators
came hurrying along, thinking the
same would have to be done with me-
Anu IL my nldcnlne naQ naQ the engine Il
behind the aviator, as all other BIZ
planes then had, no doubt I should |
have been done for. I got off with a
day in the hospital and several stitches
here" and Mr.. Roe located with his
finger scar on his inventive forehead. |
Another difficulty hitherto has been
due to the fact that machine has
needed a good deal Of space in which
to alight. But that is being got over.
Here we are going to fit our machines
with aerial brakes-that is to say,
planes that can be brought flush
against the air in descending, so that
the speed of descent may be slackened
until the impetus on reaching the
ground will be so slight that the ma
chine can be brought to a stand in a
few yards. This will make flying both
safer and more convenient-New York
Press.
At the Play-A yOung lady went TO III