The Elk Mountain pilot., 1919-03-13

The airinan no more
follow the shortest distance between two points
through the air with mail and fast express matter
than train can run without stations and switches
mt each end of the route.
AT these air route stations must be landing
fields hangars for the machines, susoline supp..s,
spare parts. charts maps. weather forecast Sig
nails, engine mechanics. receivers for the quick
transfer and delivery of mail. express matter or
whatever 1t is. What types of landing fields? And
where shall they be located-Outsde city limits or
In city parks cleared of buildings and for the
purpose?
Another point: Special charts will have to be
prepared for the pilot to follow. For instance.
crossing the Atlantic. going enst, the arplane
would. am told by engineers, have to follow east
little by south. Similar charts would have to be
drawn to guide the pilot during prevailing trnde
or seasonal winds. The Chinook winds of the
Rockies. for instance. would add from 20 to so
miles an hour to pilots speed coming east and
Impede his flight to the same extent going west.
The deserts. the Mojave. Arizona. Mexico Utah.
have their dust storms from March to June. Which
way do they blow? Montague, think 1t is. says
the brown fogs of the Atlantic can be surmounted
mt from 10000 to 1900 feet but while the arplnne
will take the flyer above the dust, will 1t take him
above the hurricane that creates the dust?
The meteorological bureau Of Washington and
the chamber of commerce of San Diego have done
most up to the present time In charting air cur
rents for aerial flights 1t is an entirely new
world and 1t Is a puzzng one; for remember. the
airplane may drift from its course. just as ships
drift in ocean currents without the compass giving
inkling Of 1t, and here again the army and navy
could, an they would a tale unfold.
But 1t Is in the region Of the mountains that the
lighthouses with powerful lenses most needed
for aerial routes This air region is an entirely
unknown world. and 1t is dangerous reefs OF
Labrador for landing place. Cases rec
ord In which fighters in the war interocked wings
and came down and stuck In treetop without
much a scratch on the skin of either pilot.
But quite dangerous treetops and rocks
coming up to meet you through the floor OF your
car are the gusty air pockets above all mountains.
1t Is not known yet whether the air above noun
tains is gusty at night when the Is not
creating upcurrents: but II by day the creates
Niagaras Of air, and II by night you may into
n blizzard Of snow. say, above Pixies Peak, there
is lot to do in charting air roads above the Rock
les before we get that section of transconti-
mental air route safe as flight above the ocean.
Still, late 1880. the fur traders OF the
tains secuted the possibility of wagons ever
crossing the Great Divide. Today trains motors
and wagons cross all sections Of the Divide with
less thought and danger than pedestrians cross
Fifth avenue. New York and by 1880, it Is O safe
wager with your that airplanes will do the
same.
But this is not all there is to chartng the air.
not by long. long shot. How about direction sig
nalsf
Rules Of the Road Needed.
Each machine must always be given its own
space twice its own space to pass or meet
another machine, but how about direction signals :?
Do you pass to the right or left? What are the
penalties and who pays them. II you don't take
the correct side and collision results? Who has
the right OF way. the comng-in machine the
going out? What rate of speed is to be allowed
for certain levels and who is to police the air and
regulate the traffic?
Did your ever think what a gorgeous streak Of
adventure an air robber, Captain Kidd of the sky
route. could have II he made of with plane good
for eleven tons cargo and 1877 miles speed? You
might catch him on peak Of the Rockies. or he
might have cached his loot in the moon. You may
smile, but are any of these possibilities more un-
likely than were the actual achievements of the
airpane in the war;
The apprehension Of the airplane in industry be
ing CLANCY because Its engine may 60 dead or Its
controls go out Of whack does not alarm the air.
man. Dual engines dual controls and two pilots
will minimize that risk but there is a very def
mite apprehension in the airnans mind He knows
the airpane is going to leap into industry spec
tacularly the motOrcar. all right.
He wants the air charted and the rules Of the
game established before the argosies of countless
winged fleets are in the air. He wants all ele-
mcnts Of danger and confusion and antagonism
moved before the argosies of mail and express and
ayinR freight 20 MP in the air.