Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1920-12-02
PLAN ARSA'PS
800 feet LONG
Prediction Is Made That Huge
Craft Will Be Used in Regular
Transatlantic Trips.
AIR Liner IS ON THE way
Long Distance Craft Of the Future May
es Plane, but Experts at London
Conference Predict Lighter.
Than-Air Type.

London-In awarding prizes recent
iy for new types Of airplanes built by
British manufacturers, the govern.
ment took occasion to deplOre what II
viewed as a retrogressiOn In the held
of aerial research. Manufacturers OF
aircraft, In answering the criticism, re-
piled that one could not hope, IN times
of peace, for as rapid Developments as
were possible when the exigencies OF
war made expense and human life com
paratively\ of little Importance.
Nevertheless, some bold predictions
have been made at the air conference
which met at the Guildhall. There
were, of course, speeches which embod-
led the dreams of every reader OF
Jules Verne or H. G. Wells, and there
were graphic pictures of the great air
liners Of the future. But there also
were sober talks by distinguished SCI
entists, who paid more attention to
such practical details as wing tips and
automatic controls than to visions.
,rne air liner Is on the way. there 10
no doubt about that; but 1t Is going to
come as result of tireless and patient
research and experimenting: 1t Is go
ing to embody q detail here and sug-
gestion there, and when 1t Is finally
turned out on profitable basis il
will provide a mode of travel as safe
as and infinitely more swift than any
land transport.
Craft Eight Hundred Feet Long.
The long distance aircraft Of the fu-
tule may be an airplane, but 1t is more
likely that q lighter-than-ai type will
prevail.
What are the requirements for
craft capable of carrying out a. sus-
tanned flight, say, from England to
Australia?
According to the experts at the
Guildhall, each craft would be about
800 feet long, with gas capacity Of
III least 100000 cubic feet. The "R"
dhigibles already constructed in Eng
land hold more than 100000 cubic
feet. so that this seems by no means
an impossible provision. An average
speed of 80 miles an hour would be
Notwithstanding already achieved.
1t is estimated that drigible con-
structed on this basis would carry 100
passengers, for whom comfortable.
properly heated and we'll ventilated
living, dining and sleeping quarters
would be provided.
Inasmuch as the dirigible would fly
I'm direct line. 1t would be able to
make the LOndOn-Cape Town journey
in five days, whereas the ocean trip
now requires Is days. India might
be reached I'm four days. as against l6
AT present.
Even though passenger-carrying at
first might not prove practicable, II
seems probable that before long mails
for the fringes of the British empire
may be carried by the air route. 1t ia
calculated that the whole weekly mail
from Britain for Egypt, South Africa
India, Australia and New Zealand
could be transported In one dirigibe
for each route. Sir Trevor Dawson.
ce-chairman Of Vickers. Limited.
the great aeronautic firm is authority
for the statement that the fire danger
for dirigible is really no greater
than that Of any ocean liner.
One Of the great drawbacks to the
use of the dirigibles-the difficulty of
housing them in storms-may be avoid.
ed by mooring them to great masts
end allowing them to float at the end
of their cables. 1t is said that
skillful captain can, in still weather,
bring huge dirigible to her mOOring
with the aid Of only half q dozen men.
and that even in heavy winds nothing
like the small army which now is nee
essary to place dirigible In Its hangar
will be needed safely to moor the great
airships.
A great mast. to be fitted with lifts,
petrol and water mains, and with pow
erful cables and hauling apparatus, Is
to be erected at Howden, Yorkshire,
to test the practicability Of this ar
rangement.
1t is obvious that English aircraft
firms are much interested In the Ger
man bid for air supremacy, and APP
parently a little worried by 1t. The
rumOr of an early service OF super
Ztppelins from Berlin to New York,
Chicago and San Francisco, which has
been banded about for a month
or SO, was seriously treated at the
Guildhall conference; In fact, It was
made the basis for an appeal for
prompt British embarkation upon a pol
icy of the construction Of similar or
greater airships.
pirisIble Floats Over London.
The appeal finds the more response
because London recently has witnessed
the sight. unusual since the days Of
Zeppelin raids, Of huge dirigib:es float
ing far above IT, On the occasion Of
the Prince of Wales homecoming the
R-32. manned by the American crew
which will take the 4-3S hack 20 Amer
lea next spring. sailed gracefully above
the procession made up by the princes
carriage and his escort. Later other
large ships from the airdrome III CrOy.
Ion were employed to give the dele
gate, to the air conference demon
stration of their ability.
Ii is computed that the cost OF carry.
ing passengers in one Of the great
diriglble airships of the future would
be about 20 cents passenger-mile, or
approximately twice the present aver
age 6rst-class steamship rate. The
rate for carrying malls would be from
ten to sixteen cents an ounce for 1900
miles.
II.