Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1918-04-12
AFTER WAR AVIATION
What is Being Learned Now Will be
Utilized When Peace Comes.


The role which Americas young
ayiators are TO play in the commercial
and economic life Of the nation after
peace is declared has been forecast
10y Rear-Admiral Robert E. Peary. L.
:. navy, in d communication to the
National Geographic Society. a part Of
which is made public as a war geo.
graphy bulletin as follows:
That the young men who are
training for fiiers in war service will
have an important and useful role to
play in the commercial, industrial,
and scientific growth Of aviation is
apparent.
When peace comes thousands Of
men and thousands of planes will be
required for the mail service of the
future. for policing the air, for aerial
coast patrol. for aerial map making
by means Of aerial photography, for
exploration, and for rapid transit Of
passengers and freight.
An aerial mail service has already
been outlined tentatively in Europe by
both the Entente Allies and the enemy
governments. France and England
have had committees at work for
ing their air fleets and air personnel
after the war. Bavaria has proposed
an aerial traffic service for central
Europe. and Prussia Is said to be per-
fccting arrangements for a peace-time
Hamburg to- o-Constantinople mail and
passenger service.
How extensive may prove this
aftcr-thc-war aviation service may be
| surmised from the fact that already
airplancs have been perfected which
are capable Of carrying uloft 20 pas
ScnGers: other machines have devcl-
opcd speed of $50 miles an hour,
while the record nonstop flight tc
date Is l,D0i miles, only l9l miles
short of the longest water gap in the
American to- Europe air course, by
way of the Azores from Newfound-
land. The transatlantic flight is a GER
tainty of the next few months, no rea-
Sonablc person doubts.
british authorities have expressed
the belief that it will soon he posi-
bic to 90 from London to Paris and
return i'm one day, or from London to
Iagdad in Il day and 4 half; to New
York i'm two days. and ID Ceylon IN
two and three-uuarters days. Air
routes 10 India. with air currents and
being mapped.
Every obstacle of nature has been
overcome by the airmen-deserts. seas,
and mountains The attainment Of an
altitude Of four miles is now almost
commonplace, and the Alps have been
conquered on numerous occasions.
That America is not waiting su-
pinely for peace to be declared before
she makes her preliminary prepara-
tions and experiments for the age of
the airplunc is indicated in the es-
tablishment recently of well-marked
air route from Dayton, Ohio, to RAN
toul. Illinois, as an aid to the training
Of aviators.
This work has been carried for
ward under the direction Of Carl G.
Fisher. of indianapolis. chairman Of
the Mapping committee appointed by
the National Advisory Committee on
Acronautics.
THE initial program for marked
route consisted Of serial numRsIs
painted in large white figures on barn
roofs. with an arrow pointing the d.
rection where Il clear field Of the
proper aera for safe landing might be
found. in the event an emergency
landing was necessary.
with the indianapolis Motor
Speedway as a central point landing
field numbers from l to ~ were paint
way and Dayton, at an average dis
tance of about two miles apart. From
the speedway to Rantoul the field
numbers ranged from l to 2S; size
used. to 10 feet long by "a to SO
inches wide. The distance between the
fields on this end of the route averag-
cd about four miles.
The details Of this Dayton-R -Rantoul
route present in general way the ma
ture of the task which the aviation
sign post pioneers will undertake in
mapping and marking the four trans
continental airways. proposed by the
Aero Club of America and known as
the Woodrow Wilson. the Langley. the
Wright Brothers. and the Bell and
Chanute routes.
THE last of these routes. extending
from Boston. Mass, to Seattle. Wash
ington, via Albany, Syracuse, Roches-
ter, Erie. Buffalo, Detroit, Grand
Rapids. Minneapolis, Bismark. and
Great Falls, will be n richly deserved
memorial to Octave Chanute. the pio-
neer aeronautic engineer. and Alexan-
der Graham Bell whose name is more
frequently associated with other great
gifts to humanity. but who In an un-
spectacular way was a potent factor
in advancing mans mastery Of the air.
1T was the financial support and
personal encouragement of the inven-
tor Of the telephone which largely
enabled Samuel P. Langley to continue
his experiments with heavier-than-a AIR |
machines-experimen which were OF
value to Orville and Will
bur Wright, who finally achieved sue
cess.
Alexander Graham Bells support
was given at a time when the fore
most physicist Of Great Britain. Lord
Kelvin (Sir William Thompson, the
foremost astronomer Of America, ST.
mon Newcomb, and the foremost
business genius Of this age, Andrew
Carnegie. scoffed at the possibility OF
mans flying.
The name Of this airway will also
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