The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1919-05-06
NAVY LENDS HELP IN
A|RPLANE FLIGHT
TRANSATLANTIC FLIGHT BEING
PROMOTED BY AMERICAN
NAVY DEPARTMENT

Washington, D. C.-When Column
bus and his three caravels sailed
westward on the first transatlantic
voyage, the great discoverer found
that by keeping to the southwark he
was favored by winds that bore him
away from the Old World and toward
the hides.
Now that Columbuses of the Unit
ed States Navy are preparing to
cross the Atlantic in the first journey
by airplanes-in three big seaplanes
they find that the winds that watt
ed Columbus are still blowing west
ward, making it impracticable in the
present stage of aircraft development
to follow the southerly route from
America to Europe, even if the great
distance were not prohibitive. But
they find that farther north, in the
latitude of Newfoundland and Ireland
the prevailing direction of the wind is
from west to east, and that under
good wind conditions they may cut
three hours or more from the time
that would be required to travel from
Newfoundland to Ireland at airplane
speed in still air. The same thing
applies in an airplane journey from
Newfoundland to Portugal by way of
the Azores.
Wind is the one element of para
mount Importance to successful
trans-A tlantic flight, according to
Professor Charles F. Marvin, Chief
of the Weather Bureau, United States
Department of Agriculture. The
Weather Bureau, by direction of the
Secretary of Agriculture and at the
request of the Secretary of the Navy,
is aiding the navy in every possible
way to make the first over-ocean
journey success. A friendly coope-
ration also exists with the meteoro
Britain and aviators of other nations
preparing to make this flight,
Reports from Europe and Ocean.
AS part of its work the Weather
Bureau is using its daily reports from
all its stations in the continental
United States to give indications of |
the most favorable day for the long
flight to begin; it has arranged to
receive wireless and cable reports !,
from observing stations on the west |
coast of Europe, from Spitzbergen
and Iceland in the north to the Azores /
in the south; and other reports are to I
come by wireless from naval vessels
ranging in class from battleships to
submarine chasers, posted on the bos-
ON of the Atlantic. All these re-
ports are to be compared, charted and
in Washington by the
official forecaster, who in this case
will be Major E. H. Bowie, who was
ON duty as forecaster for the Ameri-
can Expeditionary Forces in France
during the war. His forecasts and
detailed advices concerning the mete
conditions will be trans
nitted to Willis R. Gregg, Bureau I
who has studied extern
'ively the relation of weather condi-
lions to transatlantic airplane
lights and who has gone to New
where the American {
planes are to take the air for over t
ieas after flying from New York,
md he is now receiving summaries
IS the point of contact between the {
Weather Bureau and the naval avi- t
tors. He is equipped to tell them {
lot only when no storm is approach
ne, but to indicate the successive di- {
ections toward which an airplane
hould be headed to keep to desired i
curse, and also to calculate the assis- '
ance that will be furnished by the
Winds. '
1t is probable the epochal flight q
viii be made at an altitude of from l
600 to 1000 feet-much less than |
he average maintained on long
lights overland. A reason for this is i
cen in the belief of meteorologists q
hat trans Atlantic aviator would c
OF need to fly as high as would c
aviator in order to j
erive the greatest possible assist /
nee from the wind. The reason for h
neir belief is that surface winds at o
ca are nearly twice as strong as d
nose on land, and the increase with t
ltitude over the sea is. much less t
nan over the land. The later in t
rease on this continent, as well as S
l Europe, is nearly 100 per cent IN h
bout 1000 feet. n
Flying Low Less Dangerous. G
Whatever the wind direction, say
ne meteorologists, flying at low lev
Is above the sea would be less dan a
erous than at similar levels above n