Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1916-06-17
RELATIVE EFFICIENCY Of AIRSHIPS
ny FREDERIC J. HAsKIN.

many is. in fact. the only nation which
continues to pin any great portion o.
It's reliance in a ir work on the dirigibls
balloon, the motor-driven machine
lighter than air. in her case the Yep
pelin. All tho belllgerents are using
balloons for observation purposes. But
even Germany has a big and effective
a"roplanc feet on each of her fronts.
Particularly the western What cx-
perience the war has brought seems 10
justify the course or those nations
which stick to the aeroplaua
When the war began, the relative Of
hc!ency Of the various types OF craft
built TO navigate tho atmosphere was
pretty much matter OF theory some
people believed that ona aeropian4
could dash another to the earth simply
by swoop!ng over aud In 'front.' OF II.
so that the airgust from the propeller
or the attacking machine could catch
the enemy and hurl him down. Nobody
believed that an aerop!auc would stand
much shel! and shrapucl trc. It was
pointed out particularly that the pro-
peller OF an aerop!ane. made OF wood
and revolving as IL does 4, such n t-e-
nendous speed ns TO appear like moth.
ing but n tremulous haze. was par
ticulariy vulnerable point 1t was pre-
dieted tina, ri'e or shrapnel ball
striking the nyiny propeller would
Can stnnd Many Hits.
The aeroplane has proved stable he
yond hll expectations, A ride ball
striking tho propeller does nothing but
make hole In one of the blades The
machine can weather almost any num-
Der OF hits IN the wings and bod so
long as no Vital" spot is struck. such
as the motor. the gas tank, or The avl-
ator himself Moreover. even when tho
engine stops as result OF some shot
that nrds It's mark. the pilot can often
succeed N volplanlnS back Into his
own lines. The high speed az the aero
plane. the crrai!c course il can take.
the rapid shifts OF altitude that ara
possible when necessary, combine 10
make Il a poor mark for sheli-ire
Some Of the light scouting planes make
100 and 1870 miles an hour. None az
the hei!iserents has succeeded in han,p-
ering the eneniy's air rcccnaissancs
service seriously.
All this is to the c-edI, OF the
heavicr-than-a!r machine The d!ris-
ible has certain virtues Of its own
however In fight with acroplanas
it would no, stand much chance. II
is much bigger aud hence an easier
target. not so easily naneuvered. ex-
cept that II can rise more quickly for
time. and quite dctcuScless against
attack from above. 1t is much more
at the mercy OF the wind than the
aeioPiahe' i'ul II mas Immensely more
carrying capacity. II can he loaded
with great weights OF fuel and ammu-
milton. in addition 10 large crews.
Hence 1t has greater cruising radius
Speed Against Duoyancy.
The heroplane stays in the air by
, virtue OF its speed alone. stop tho
! engine and it must descend The
dirisibie, on the contrary. hoats by
virtue OF buoyancy, and hence can stay
| aloft for days. Moreover. II can, by
| virtue OF these qualities. fly by night
as well as BY day. Night flying is
dangerous to the point Of !npractica-
bilitH for an aeroplane. because IN case
Of emergency the pilot cannot see
where he is landing.
In spite of these points, the aeroplane
has probably demonstrated its super-
| iority to the dirigible as war ma
chine. But the features IN which tho
, Zeppelin type excels are those which
would be of great use in time Of peace
Carrying capacity. the ability to make
flights of long duration and the ability
to fly by night are all things to be
desired in an aircraft used in com
inerce. or for such purpose az carry
ing the mails In spite of the much
greater cost of such a machine II
seems probable that we may look for
developments in the use of the lighter
than-air craft in this country in the
future.
Meanwhile. American effort is being
spent in tho other channel II is the
use OF the aeroplane in which we are
rapidly growing more proficient. Sup
porters of this type of craft look for
further progress which will develop
| larger and much more powerful aero
plane. such as Europe has already
neguh TO manufacture. thus combining
'he advantages of both types.