The Washington herald., 1921-05-15
AND AFFAIRS OF WASHINGTON FRATERNAL SOCIETIES CD
AIRPLANE TAXIS PROVE POOR
BUSINESS PROJECT IN FRANCE
DESPITE NUMEROUS EFFORTS
Routes Through Coudland Lose Attraction
For Earlier Devotees of Aviation.

lost q number OF It's devotes<
To ny from London 70 -Rzr1s, one
left Leicester square. in the city,
at 3 O'Clock. motoring 20 Croyden-
more than an hours ride. After
tuning up of the mo-
tor, the machine usually got on
about l:3o o'clock. The actual trip
averaged about two hours and a
half. landing at lie Bourget around
Z o'clock. Then there IL customs
and baggage inspection, a walt for
the automobile. and a long ride OF
forty-fve minutes over a bunny
road. II was usually around
o'clock when one landed in the
Opera section.
One can take a train at IL in the
lunch comfortably, ana
hs In Paris by little after in
the evening at the Care du Nord.
city. ''
Hydrocarbons. which can aIirbt
on water. have been suggested for
The Paris-London service, permit
ting Passengers &c embark in IN.
center of Partk-fn the Seine at tSe
Ilacc de la concorde-and lana in
the Thames by the Savoy Hotel
such a service would cut more than
two hours on the present schedule.
Winter Tourists.
Elaborate plans had been mad.
tnis winter for a Paris Rfv1era se,-
wee. 70 carry the tourists o Csnnss
NICE ana Monte Carlo. MISTY
weather and improved railway ,.S
cilities' with the addition of ey-
IRA sleeping cars and a special a.
loke train. killed the project. how
ever. Besides there was rni.t~
weather over the Rhone Valley Al
most continually. resulting IN sew
erai forced landings. in one q,
winch passenger was killed.
Dilatory tactics and bad busipsx-
judgment have hurt French --a,t
atrplane service" On many occs-
sions passengers for EteanshIn,
calling at BouloEne or Cherhou,-
have missed the morning ~,
trains and been willing 10 nav f,t
fees for an aeroplane that would
get them TO the port in tim. "a
catch the steamer.
Poor Accommodations.
II is an interminabIe affair to r.,
.ne aerodrome, situated in the su-
burbs, on the telephone. Then
there is never an official TO reply
yes or no" whether the trim can
oe MADE He must always consult
some one. While the prospective
passenger is holding the line CEN
rai cuts the communication and
one must try all over again.
Next, II Is a question Of finding
an automobile TO rush the passep-
ger to the aerodrome. and then har-
Cling over the price. because the
figure mentioned over the phone IS
always much too low, and there are
numerous extras" to be paid. chief
OF which is the cost OF the retur,
trip for the pilot to fetch the ma
chine back. This is at least one
third again more than the roinr
price.
Landing Facilities.
Then there are no aerodrom.s
within easy reach Of Cherbourr ana
Alighting in a fieId eIrb,
or ten miles from the port, the mas
senger must find an automobiIe. q
morse ana cart or a bicycle to con
Ney him to the steamship.
IL is significant that William p
Leeds. on his rush trip 70 visit his
mother. the Princess Anastasis in
Athens. wirelessed from the Inner
ator for an English machine for the
trip. and that the pilot had TO lanS
at Caen and telegraph Leeds 70
board the plane there. Leeds mo-
tored from cherbourg TO caen.
Little IL any progress has been
made in the speed Of French air
planes since the war. Sadi Lecoirt.
has established a record OF nearly
200 kilometers an hour-about $50
miles-hying at an average Of tbir,y.
feet OF the ground But 100 miles
an hour is still good. fast speed.
and the buses" that can hold TO a
sustained speed Of better than s.
or so miles are few and far between.
AFTER a few experiments in big
machines most OF the French manu-
facturers have abandoned them and
are sticking to two. three. and four
seaters. They broke Up too many
or the giants" in testing them.
BY now nearly all OF the compa-
nies which were stfu engaged on
war contracts last year have nUed
the quota OF machines demanded. ,
ana are gradually going out Of, busi-
ness or embarking in other lines OF
manufacture.
The EFFORT to make flying a gen
ueman's pastime" in France hss
failed riserably. Several concerns
which had a number OF little
chasse" machines-one-seat
hand. tried TO make them ponuIar
among amateurs.
For one thing. nearly all the
available rich young Frenchmen
were In aviation during the war. and
seeing so many OF their comrades
KILLED discouraged them with avl-
alton except as a stern duty.
through France. in a score OF
different 'depots." are great re-
serve parks of aeroplanes-French
American and German machines -
rotting and rustinE. They are what
Is left OF French aviation, the Amer
lcan stocks purchased after the ar
mtstice, and the aviation surrender
ed by Germany in accordance with
the disarmament terms OF the Yer
sailles treaty.
One could buy. until recently. a
pretty good two scatter for soon
francs, and II one could he found
In hangar with the motor in fair
condition IL was a bargain. But no.
body bought them. not even foreign
governments.
France has made a strong bid TO
sell her machines 20 foreign gov