Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-01-16
M 7HEN in future squadrons of
NMX airships fight in the clouds,
HH who shall command them?
When air battleships clash.


NMN airships fight in the clouds,
HN who shall command them?
When air battleships clash.
shall they be in charge of quarter
masters or of naval officers?
When air scouts are dispatched hum
dreds of miles to sea, shall they be
directed by a chauffeur or by a navi-
gator?
These are questions of import vital
TO the success of American naval aero
nautics. and which. therefore. appeal
to American patriotism; but their
meaning cannot be grasped without
looking into some very interesting
facts concerning these remarkable new
instruments of sea warfare.
The aeroplane of today is a toy COM
pared with the probable sea-going air
craft of the near future. but enough Is
known to say positively that they will.
have at least three fields of action-the
scouting flight and the counter attack;
the attack with bombs upon hostile
ships and submarines or land works,
and the battle aircraft, which, heavily
armored and carrying guns must meet
and destroy in aerial conflict the same
class of ships possessed by the other
side.
The aeroplane squadron will be an
essential integral part of fleet. quite
as much as the scout cruisers, the no
tillas of destroyers and submarines.
and their fight will be for the control
of the air, which will entail scouting
supremacy and probably victory in con-
sequence.
Before an aviator takes flight he
must. in order to feel confidence in his
machine, know that it is in perfect
running order: each stay frightened 10
the exact tension which it must pear
each strut in the old bus must be
standing upright; the propeller blades
must show no sign OF split or straln'
the controls must be working smootn-
ly: wings and rudder must respond 10
his touch.
Above all. he must know every part OF
his motor: he can take no chance or
guess that it will hold up ana run
true. A mechanician may do the over
hauling and know as well as the ava
tor that things are in perfect condi-
ton, but the mechanician is not the one
whose life will pay the penalty OF an
oversight.
craft pilot must have the knowledge
and skill of a trained mechanician as
well as the GOODNESS. dexterity and re,
sourcefulness of the most accomplished
loops and other thrillers which make
the onlooker gasp. are of little value
to the service fiier, except as they
give him, through added confidence.
better control of the machine in actual
flight and when maneuvering for po-
stion.
A pilot who can do these circus acts
may perform an evolution well WIN
out knowing much about aeronautlcs'
but Wilbur Wright never tried such
thing in his life and discouraged the
practice by his aviators, and he kne"
much about aeronautics.
mechanician and the auartermaster.
or Recommendation, of the aero
plane to prepare and take 1t up, the
duties of the commander of the air.
ship have just begun.
In the recent trip from Fort Sill,
Kan, to San Antonio, Tex, four OF the
six army planes on leaving Wichita
became separated from the others and
went in the wrong direction, through
their pilots following the railroad
which ran west when they thought