Montpelier examiner. [volume] (Montpelier, Idaho) 1895-1937, 1914-04-17

of the North Atlantic, pursues the welltraveled
air lanes of Europe, safely passes over the bleak
and forbidding wastes of Siberia and fringes the
almost uninhabited coast line Of northern Asia
and Alaska.
But each OF these feats has beer exceeded al.
ready in the air records 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 aviators have signifed their intention OF
entering. They are 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 Northclife for the first crossing OF the Al.
lantic, will find his 100000 and perhaps mora
eaten up by the expenses Of his undertaking
~ IL quite certain, however, that plenty of men
al large fortunes and sporting proclivities viii be
found e. finance this peerless air event
The eyes Of the world will be upon the bravo
contenders even more than they were upon the
pioneer aviation racers in that first meet al
2hains 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 the
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 $50 miles, and from Iceland to
Stornaway, IN the Hebrides, Is $40 miles
Three enormous leaps-610 $40 and $40 miles
None of them insurmountable in itself But to hit
the bulls-eYe three times in Observation-Disclosures
the rub.
Then these seas are not always as hospitable ais
the Mediterranean, which Roland Garros has now
crossed twice, There are fog and wind and rocky
landing places.
But II a 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 instance) than that taken by the late
John B. Moissant when he set on in an untried
machine with fog In his face to fly from Paris
to London at 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 Petersbura
Moscow and the Trans-siberian railway to Man
churia and then south to Vladivostok The next
lap takes the aviator across the sea to Corea.
He must then cross the Japan 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 ayiators who hesitate about pronouncing
are calling attention to the distance-28.O00 miles.
The successful flyer must travel an average of
more than zoo miles day for four months VIII
1t be possible to accomplish the trip In the few
months Of summer OF the Northern regions
through parts of which the course lies? Vedrines
FIVE weeks in doing the $500 miles from Paris
to the pyramids. flying at an average of only 100
miles daNy
This explains clearly how greatly the proposed
journey would Guido anything yet accomplished.
Besides the notable flights already mentioned,
Oscar Bider has flown practically every high
mountain in Europe. Garros has made a fight
from Marseilles to Paris without stopping; Brinde-
jonc des Moulinais has toured the capitals of
Europe, and two besides Vedrines have reached
Egypt from France. Yet these journeys pale be-
fore the difficulties OF the race around the globe
II is to be noted, however, that the history OF
aviation is one succession of surprises. Scarcely
anything Of Importance accomplished has not
been called impossible beforehand. Aviators
have done much that one hesitates to doubt
their ability to do anything
Special aeroplaness will be constructed for the
race. These will probably be swift but not built
for the maximum speed. They will make say 60
niles an hour. Reliability will be the object