Evening star., 1921-05-16
SEES A|RPLANES
COMMON AS SHIPS
Or. Zahm. Expert for u. S.
Navy. Predicts Early Ad-
vance in Flying.
BY HERBERT COREN.

One after another the h.S aIrrIanes
crash \ huge passrue rv-carrviuc
plane was hu.it IN Germany not !onG
ago. Il WAS planned 20 carry twenty
odd passengers. II crashed. Til, htg
Caproni airr'anc smashed All the
great Russian Alrplancs. hulIt before
the bolShcNIki nt.rfrr"d with indus
try and intellect. went down ~ runs.
Nevertheless. there seems no rca-
son to doubt that one 81 these days
| great passenEer- airplan's
| will he as slightly remarkable as
passenger steamers arc TO-
| day.
No more power per pound is rc-
ouired 20 carry ten pounds through
the air than is required per pound Tor
two pounds" said pr. Albert +. Zahm.
! the air expert for N" United states
Navy The problems are precisely
! alik.'
Then one may expect - 50" er--'
/ HEAVIER ihan-air ships flying ovcrh'..!
Que of these. DAYS
: "lnd"Nbj"Gly
| Regarded as Real Expert
! Not :" much has been hard rf g..
! Zahm as of other exports on a.9.,f
! problems. TIL" WrlEhj$. DE I....l,.,..
! Curtiss RIeriot-thcr, ar. a Scor, o.
| fifty names better known to the
average reader Yet nr. Zahm IS not
merely the pioneer in flying. but he
| is today the one supreme expert
the final authority-to which All fiers
go for guidance. One is tempted to
think OF flying experiments as mere
| chauneurs as compared to the on
gineer who has the plans for the cars
they drive.
One sees him now and then in
| inston. Tall, rather gray, very
quiet, with certain air OF knowledge
and decision. When he talks on mat
ters aerial no one ventures to arcu"
the point with him. There are few
| days in which he is not At work on
some knotty problem connected with
jnying. Hardly a week passes on which
some one whose name is being Spat-
tered all over the first pages does not
appeal TO him 10 resolve some ques-
ton. But he is hardly known. One
reason why. no doubt is that he rare
| ly flies. That is probably one reason
also why he is in such excellent
Health today.
! 1t VAS a book written by DR. Zahm
that first interested Dr. Langley in
the problem of flying. DR.. Zahm had
worked out certain formula which
DR.. Langley later amplifeI. DR.
Langleys attempts AZ flight failed,
land his friends insist that his dea tn
| is directly due to his chaGrin at the
mute eXperimented--still along the
lines of the Zahm Langley formula
and had some success with his Gid
iers.
| Old Formulae Followed.
! But Chanute had a proper respect
for his limbs and did little gliding
himself. The Wright brothers pick ed
tup the Zahm- Langley formula. plus
the Chanute additions. and went to
jkittyhawk. y. g.. and succeeded. II
! was only a matter Of time before a
motor was hooked up 10 the Wright
gliders. But the original theorem set
down by Zahm had not been altered.
1t had been added to, but nothing had
been taken from il.
| 1t was DR.. Zahm who built the first
wind tunnel All the aerial expert
ments. all over the world, have win,l
tunnels nowadays. So that when he
says that one of these days there may
be Aquitanias OF the air. one is in
ciined to take his word for il. No
idoubt there are problems vet to solve.
But in spite of the smashes reported
| from Italy and Germany and France,
! the day of the big plane is undoubt-
!ly approa ching.