The Monmouth inquirer., 1925-08-06
LIGHTHOUSES FOR
wV0YACERSOF AIR
Beaconss Mark Way Like
Pencil of Light for Air
craft at Night.

their way, one of the most ancient
adthncta Of navigation, has been revo-
lutionized recently because ships now
sail the air as well as the sea-, and
the classic type Of lighthouse does not
] meet the needs Of the air %voyagers,"
says a bulletin from the Washington
headquarters of the National Geo
graphic society. 4N
s.The latest development in the new
est lighthouse field" continues the bull
Ietin, sis the establishment Of a one
billion candle-power beacon near Dillon
In eastern France, primarily to facili-
tate night travel on the Paris Mar
settles line, but also to point the way
for the numerous buzzing carriers OF
passengers, mail and express, which
France sees weaving a network Of air
routes oyer the country In the near
future.
Most Powerful In World.
"This most powerful lighthouse in
the world does not rise like its long
line Of famous predecessors from near
the pounding surf, but is situated on
a mountain top $50 miles inland from
the English channel and the Mediter-
ranean, and 300 from the Atlantic. 1t
Is not, like the existing aviation lights
In the United States, n Of q series
of beacons In the line of a Travelled
route: and unlike many great light
houses of the sea-, 1t does not mark a
---Ro- 49, 30 - hn ox1ofdoA nT a QhQn-
mel entrance that Is to be entered. It
Is placed well to the side of the much
travelled French air lanes, in such q
situation that 1t can be seen from
great distances and used as a check
on location and direction. The beacon
lies nearly 2,00O feet above sea level
and flashes its powerful beams far
above most Of the low hills of central
France. Under favorable atmospheric
conditions it Is believed that the Dion
light can be seen from near Marseilles
In the south, and from the air above
Paris, Lille and even Brussels In the
north.
sGThe lighthouses of the air have had
q radically different development so
far In Americas vast land rea Al
most the only problem here has been
to supply well lighted, hard and fast
| routes for the transcontinental mail
flyers; and this has been SO well
soIyed by the Post Office department,
that 1t probably will serve as a model
for all the definitely lighted airways
Of the future. The most powerful OF
air-mail beacons are Of half-billion
candle power. There are five of these,
on the division landing fields at Chi
cago, Iowa City, Omaha. North Platte
and Cheyenne, from 200 to $50 miles
apart The planes land at each OF
these stations and the brilliant fash
ing beacons are to identify the landing
fields. AS the planes approach the
earth the beacons are turned of and
the fields are food-lighted.
"Between the regular landing fields,
at 26-mile intervals, are emergency
landing fields, each marked by a fash
ing light Of 100000 candle power.
Normally these smaller beacons serve
to outline the flying route. Between
the lights Of the emergency fields. APP
prox1mately three miles apart, are
small. blinking, route beacons. Thus
the air-mail flyer has his night route
marked out for him with a pencil Of
light extending off from Chicago 1000
miles to the west.
"An of these lights are not shining
at one time. For the west-bound flyer
only the Chicago-Towa City division
is lighted at first. The planes are OPP
Grated on a regular dispatching sys-
TEN. AS a plane passes over each
emergency field the caretaker there
notifies the station in advance and
that In the rear by telephone. When
| the plane lands at the division point,
all Of the emergency fields passed over
are notified, and their lights are
turned off, Then the portion of the
route passed over is lighted only By
the little automatic blinking gas lights
Of the three-miIe beacons, which pulse
their signals for weeks at q time with
out attention. When the plane is
ready to take of on the next leg Of
its cruise, all the beacons Of the sec
ond division begin flashing to lead It
In safety along Its way.
Different ii Rough Country.
Between New York and Chicago a
second lighted airway is now being put
into operation, with somewhat differ
! emit types Of lights. Because Of the
rough country. beacons cannot be seen,
as In the West. for rs miles or more.
Lights Of the Western emergency field
type are placed from u to II miles
|. apart marking emergency landing
sites. IN between, usually on hills or
ridges, are lamps which send out
rather broad beams of fair b~rilliancy.
These are merely routing signals and
do not indicate landing fields. TO
make their character cIeaf rh sends
, yerticadly a constant bean Sfred light.
at shdrtAE intervals AID NE Eastern
airwaX are smaaa. b1iIikH lights like
those Used In tie west"