The Cordova daily times., 1922-10-28
LAND LIGHTS
 NOW ORDERED
 FOR AIR SHIPS

Land lighthouses will doubtless soon be as familiar as the sea beacons which guard our coasts, says the New York Times. By Illuminating the great airways night flying will be made possible in America, as it is today in Europe. The time required for carrying the air mail will thus be re. duced by about one-half. Two power ful land lighthouses of the newest de. sign have recently been constructed at Elizabeth, N. J., for the use of the navy at Hampton Roads and at Mo. Cooks Field at Dayton, Ohio. It is expected that these new types of light houses, or some modification of them will be extended across the continent
 The presence of these powerful lights throughout the country will lend new interest to many familiar land scapes. The land lights will, as a rule, be more powerful than those on the seacoasts, and be visible for much greater distances. The aid expected from them by flyers is entirely differ ent from that of the sea lighthouse, and an entirely new form of beacon has been developed Not only the lighthouse itself, but the light thrown from it, is in striking contrast to those along our coasts. Land lights are now in operation in Europe which are twenty times as powerful as the most brilliant coast lights in the Unit ed States, and have ten times as eff fective a range.
 The land lighthouses which are about to be installed in Virginia and Ohio are of wholly different types One of these throws upward a vertica shaft of light of immense power Such signal will be clearly visible in all directions for many miles. The second light is supported by a cone like base painted white. The light ir l this case is thrown outward and down ward from paint above the cone The 1 illuminated base is thus visible wheth CT seen from above or from any poin1 | in an arc of 180 degrees, or, in othel 1 words, from any point on the ground or in the air up to a point directly above it. In either case the signals l it will be seen, are unmistakable anC { cannot be confused with ordinary lant ! lights.
 The problem of the land lighthouse is wholly different from that of the sea beacon. The most powerful sea light in America, at the entrance tc New York harbor, has an effective range of twenty-six and one-fourth miles. It would be seen much further if it were not cut off by the curvature of the earth. The reflection of this powerful light has been seen in the sky more than fifty miles at sea, but the light itself is not visible beyond a uelllILo iluiil He piOUleHH Ol IAe sea beacon is to throw a beam of light to the line of the horizon. The dis tance from the light to the horizon is known as the geographic range.
 Unlike ship, an airplane travels high above the horizon and the light is not cut off by the curvature of the earth. The air pilot can thus pick up the land lighthouse at a much greater distance, in short, as far as the light will travel. By increasing the power of such land light it's eff. fective range may thus be increased almost indefinitely. A land light house has been erected on top of Mt Africa, near Daijon, in France, which has a candle power of 1,000,O00,000 Its light is visible in clear weather for a distance of 200 miles.
 A land lighthouse to be useful for flyers must obviously be clearly wis ible from a point directly above it, as well as from the distant horizon.