Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-09-02
SPEED
Present Generation viii See Men
Breakfast In London and Dine
In New York OF Same Day
r LIEUTENANT BRAKPAPA, an Italian

- aviator, has Just shattered the wOrln
speed record by flying At the rate OF 24o
miles an hour. This is the fastest that any
human being has ever travelled and is far
faster than anything possible to the birds OF
the air.
Brakpapa's speed brings one step nearer
realization that "wild' prediction That was
made by enthusiasts in the early days OF
aviation, that the time would soon come
when a man would breakfast in New YORK
and dine in London the same day. Even
with 245 miles an hour. this Is not yet
possible. IL conventional dining hours are
followed but the reverse is possible. Tor
man could breakfast in London and dine IN
New York the same day.
The difference in longitude between. the
two cities makes, the direction of the hight
the controlling factor
The distance between New York and Lon
don is about 37O0 statute miles. At 24o
statute miles an hour. this means fifteen
continuous hours Of flying.
An aviator might leave New York at D
A. NJ. but that would be II A. NJ. In
London. Fifteen hours of flying would en-
able him to reach London at y In the eve.
ming, according to his New York watch. but
London clocks would show . o'clock the next
morning and that is rather late-or early
for dining.
If, however, the fight were made from
the English metropolis westward, there
would be far different story.
The take off from London would be at .
A. NJ, London time, but that instant would
be l o'clock in the morning In New YORK.
The fifteen hour fight would land the ma
chine at Mineola when the London clocks
were striking o'clock in the evening but
this would be only 4 O'Clock in the afternoon
in New York and there would be plenty OF
time to put the machine away and dress for
dinner
TN LESS than fifteen years the speed at
L which man can travel has increased ut
rate that is little short of marvellous. Two
hundred and fortyive miles an hour means
four and onc-twclfth miles in single
minute-from City Hall to the League Is
hold his breath. That is easy enough to
say, but, as a matter of fact, the mind gets
no real conception Of what such tremendous
speed means
The first machine that the Wrights used
successfully required about six minutes to
make this same distance.
A GLANCE backward along these speed
n records shows how thoroughly sophisti-.
Gated we have become in the triumphs OF
science. 1t seems that we marvel so long
as accomplishments are confined within the
powers of the imagination to conceive, but
once this point is passed. the responsive
powers become num5ed.
1t is doubtful whether TO the average mind
the announcement of Lieutenant Brakpapa' 8
feat would have caused more interest If 1t
had said his record was 1000 miles an hour
instead of mere 245. Imagination stag
gers at about 15C lies an hour, and after
that it simply uits cold
Just fourteen years ago. lacking one day
of Brakrapa's feat. Henry Fnrman aston
ished the world and got big front-page
stories in all the newspapers when hc flew
something less than seventeen miles in
France in seventeen minutes fat--and that
was with n fnir wind q holm him.
His fight averaged fifty five miles an
hour and served. 'nr the first time. to
make people realize that the airplane actual
ly might. some day. rival or even .surpass
were many who doubted it.
And this attitude of skepticism was
strengthened by the first really long fight
when Wilbur Wright won the Michelin Cup
and established the record 0f covering seven
ty-seven miles at an average spced of thirty
four miles an hour with and agai; $ wind.
That was on the last day Of the year, 1908.
TLENN CCRTISS won the first Gordon
VI Bennett Cup by flying twelve and half
miles in fifteen minutes and fifty seconds.
or about forty miles an hour. He was made
almost an international hero for it. The
human mind could conceive what forty miles
| an hour meant and knew it was mighty
| fast.
Then Delagrange, n Frenchman, startled
| everybody by flying 124 miles with n speed
| of 1902 miles an hour, and even the fact
| that he had fourteen mile wind at his
back all the way didn't lessen the glory of
| his accomplishment.
Then Grahame- White the metcoric Eng
| lishman who later few at the Point Breeze
race track with j. Armstrong Drexel, be-
gan to strain human credulity by taking q
BeriOt monOplane around a French course
at the unbelievable rate of seventy miles an
hour, but this was freak performance and
| for short distance only. 1t remained fol-
| Morane, another Frenchman. to fly for more
| than two hours and three quarters at 66. All
| miles an hour. This was just twelve years
| ago.
| TN THOSE days speed records imposed
| L hardships upon the aviator that the air
| plane pilot of today does not know. Thai
was before the curves had been figured out
| with such cXactitude as to reduce resistance
to minimum and to defect the pressure
! wherever desired.
| When the Deperdussin monoplane wa.
| first brought forth before a startled world
to make up eighty miles an hour, they built
kpadded hcadrest for the pilot so that his
Ixneck would not have to stand the pressur,
lFof such q strong air force upon his face
Today men fly at 200 miles an hour Will
scarcely more discomfort than the averag,
motorist feels in his flvver along a countr!
road.
| No human being could nave stood th
| strain of 245 miles an hour in the form o
machines used in that day. The little Cur
tiss biplane--a marvel for its perod--woul,
look like gingerbread toy now, with it
front outriggor of three bamboo struts, th
pilots seat built on one of them forwar,
Of the edge Of the plane so that when tn
machine passed directly overhead his tigur
was seen in front of and apparently entirel,
detached from the apparatus that was doin
the flying.
The Wright biplane was little better. I
had two seats placed on the forward edg
of the lower plane, but the pilot and pas
senger sat with their feet out in space. Th
monoplane Of the day gave some slight pro
lection to the pilot, but most of the earl
ones had fuselages OF open framework wit
no provisions for DETECTING the wind over
| head.
WmnHS% cns'S ""@~ "nn,pp "S, m@@s It the frs
lea, from New York to Philadelphia, h
was piloted by train with long whit