The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1919-01-03
To Be Pressed Into Mail and Pa
troll Work.
AIR SERVICE IN INFANCY
Captain Francis Of Division OF MIL
tary AeronautIcs Suggests Many
Uses for AirpIanes In Time OF Peace
Would Make Valuable Addition to
Coast Guard Forces-Forest Patrol
Offers Another Opening for Expert
Aviators.

What will America do with her I'M
mense airplane fleet and her army Of
aviators now that the war is ended2
Will the machines be junked and
the aviators be turned loose to seek
other pursuits?
"Most assuredly not" is. the answer
given by Capt. Roy N. Francis of the
division Of military aeronautics, one Of
Americas greatest aviators. Captain
Francis, who was one Of the country's
first airmen, having flown Curtiss
airplane in 1908, has a record of be-
tween $500 and 1000 hours in the air;
an achievement In which he has but
two or three equals.
AS an army aviator he is attached
to the executive section as an instruc-
tor, and few aviators are as well quail
fled as he to discuss this subject.
america cannot afford to junk the
airplane fleet which has cost her so
many millions of dollars" said Cap
tain Francis. ~ do not believe that
any other nation will do so.
"Even If the peace congress should
decide on universal disarmament,
there are still any number of uses to
which airplanes can be put in time of
peace.
"Take the air mail service, for in
stance. This is now only in its In
fancy, but 1t is destined to become as
common as the railway mail service.
1t will employ hundreds Of airplanes
and aviators all over the country.
Patrol the Seacoasts.
''Then there is the possibility of our
machines being used for seacoast pa
troll work, a valuable addition to our
coast guard forces which save many
ocean vessels from disaster every year.
''They will be largely used for army
dispatch work. Instead of sending Of
fetal messages from post to post by
the present methods. airplanes will be
used after the war as they were at
the front.
ION the. great lakes, airplanes can
be used for coast guard work, as on
the seacoast, and they can also be
used for patroling the lakes them
selves. Think how many wrecked lake
vessels might have been saved in the
past had there been an airplane near
by to carry its message Of distress and
guide rescue ships to the scene.
Forest patrol is still another open
ing for the use of expert aviators. Ev-
cry year., almost, our great forest fires
| In the northwest demonstrate that our
present methods of prevention Of for
est fires are faulty; chiefly because
the fires are not discovered while they
| are still smoldering. Constant air
plane patrol over our great forests
| would make forest fires a thing of the
past.
| "Then there are any number of COM
mercial uses to which airplanes can be
put. Instead of a cargo of bombs, q
commercial airplane could carry q car
| 60 of small-package freight for which
immediate delivery is necessary.
"The use Of the airplane for passen-
| ger carrying Is now being developed.
The huge Caproni and Hadley-Page
machines will be used for this pur-
pose In the future. Thousands of per-
sons will want to fly just for the nov
city, and the possibility Of accidents
will be reduced to the minimum.
Aid Scientific Research.
again, there is the need for scien-
tific research and Improvement Of the
airplane, which will keep scores of
men and machines busy for years.
"It will not be necessary, of course,
to maintain the numerous government
training fields for aviators after the
war, but some Of the best Of them
should be retained. I do not believe
1t will be necessary to discharge sin
gle pilot or observer from the army OF
to junk a single unchanged airplant
after the war;"