The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1914-03-27


air lanes of Europe, safely passes over the bleak
and forbidding wastes Of Siberia, and fringes the
almost uninhabted coast line Of northern Asia
and Alaska.
But each of these feats has been exceeded al
ready in the air records now on the books. Now
all that is needed is the combination of them The
performance of one great air journey after an
other means luck, enormous luck, to a greater de-
gree than in almost any sporting contest ever
organized.
Several avators have sigpifed their intention OF
entering. They willing to take the risks.
They are not actuated by the desire for gold for
even the successful contender, who will win the
$4,000 first prize and also the $4,000 offered by
Lord Northcliffe for the first crossing of the At
lantic will find his 100000 and perhaps more
eaten up by the expenses of his undertaking.
1t is quite certain, however, that plenty of men
OF large fortunes and sporting proclivities will be
found to finance this peerless air event.
The eyes of the world will be upon thel brave
contenders, even more than they upon the
pioneer aviation racers in that first meet at
Rheims in 1908.
The attention of the close students of the race
is centered upon the problem of the Atlantic.
After passing due east from San Francisco across
the Sierras, through Reno, New; Cheyenne Wyo.;
Kansas City st. Louis and New York the avia-
tors will coast along the seaboard to Belle Isle,
between Newfoundland and Labrador Here tho
flight across the Atlantic will begin The flyers
will probably head for Cape Farewell, Greenland,
6lO miles away. From Cape Farewell to Iceland
the distance is go miles, and from Iceland to
Stornaway in the IIebrides. is $40 miles,
Three enormous leaps-610. go and $40 miles.
None OF them insurmountable in itself. But to hit
! the bulls-eye three times in succession-theres
! the rub
Then these seas are not always hospitable as
the Mediterranean which Roland Garros has now
crossed twice. There are fog and wind and rocky
landing places.
But If row of warships patrol the course
lent by their governments in the interests of sci
ence and human progress, the risk will not be
greater (for nstance) than that taken by the late
John b. Moissant when he set off in an untried
machine with a fog in his face to fly from Paris
TO London at a time when the channel crossing
alone was considered almost miracle.
Compared with the Atlantic crossing, too. the
rest of the journey seems fairly simple.
The proposed route is by way of Edinburgh.
London Paris, Berlin, Warsaw. ST. Petersburg,
Moscow and the TransSberian railway to Man
churia and then south to Nadivostok, The next
lap takes the aviator across the sea to Corea
He must then cross the Japan sea to Kobe and
Tokyo, turn north to Kamchatka and travel along
the coast either to East cape or TO the Aleutian
islands. The distance between the two continents
here varies from 80 TO 200 miles. From Alaska
the course will be southwark to Vancouver Seat
tie and home to San Francisco.
The aviators who hesitate about pronouncinG
, the journey possible in the present stage OF their
are calling attention to the distance-2S,0oO miles
The successful flyer must travel an average OF
more than 200 miles day for four months VIII
II be possible to accomplish the trip in the few
months of summer of the Northern region:
through parts of which the course lies? Vedrine'
was five weeks in doing the $500 miles from Paris
to the pyramids, flying at an average OF only lOC
miles daily.
This explains clearly how greatly the proposed
o Journey would outdo anything yet accomplished
!, Besides the notable flights already mentioned
Oscar Bider has flown practically every higl
mountain in Europe. Garros has made high
from Marseilles to Paris without stopping; Brinde
!, jonc des Moulnais has toured the capitals o
Europe and two besides Vedrines have reaches
, Egypt from France Yet these Journeys rale be
Q fore the difficulties OF the around the globe
IL is TO be noted, however that the history @
aviation is one succession of surprises Scarcel
s anything of Importance accomplished has no
been called impossible beforehand. Aviator
have done so much that one hesitates TO douh
o their ability to do anything.
Special aeropanes will be constructed for th
race. These will probably be swift, but not bui
for the maximum speed. They will make say, G
miles an hour. Reliability will be the objec