Evening star., 1926-11-27

miles from California to near Ha-
| waii in August, 1925. That record has
not been beaten since, but it was
hoped that this flight to Colon would
have excelled it. since the distance
was some 800 miles farther. On that
Hawaiian fight, the plane was
equipped with two Packard engines
| of 500-horsepower capacity, while in
the Colon flight the capacity of the
engineS-of the same make-waS 600
! horsepower each.
, Lieut.. Comdr. Byrd. in his brilliant
| flight to the North Pole and back.
covered a nonstop course of more
| than 1900 miles without an accident.
The glories and unsurpassed round
| heworld flight of the three American
| planes has not been equaled by any
other long-distance flights, but while
| that was superb, there was no single
jump longer than 600 or 700 miles.
| There have been, all told, 103 world
fight records up to 1925, of which the
United States held 54, France, 33;
| Denmark, 5; Czechoslovakia, 4: Ger
many, 3; Italy, 3. and Sweden. j. All
commercial routes in Europe are sub
| sidized; none in America.
| In 1924, there were SO world records
made, of which the United States
made 14-with American flyers and
American equipment. France made s
airplane records. seaplane and 3
| helicopter. The Looming air yacht.
with the Liberty engine, holds the
world record for speed of seaplane-
| 101 .642 miles per hour, made last
year. and the Curtiss seaplane made
| a world record In 1925 for duration
| IA hours, So minutes and 44.2 seconds.
1t was Wright 585horsepower
! engine. We have more recently been
beaten in speed and altitude, but the
| story is not yet ended.
X 4 x =
What is the object OF the long
| distance experimental flights? Why
should not the experiments be made
| by circling around over the ocean
within a few miles Of the base? The
answer Is that such test flights are
made, but that such tests do not
cover all that must be learned for
practical purposes.
1t is extremely important to ascer-
tain in a practical way how enec'
lively we can protect by aircraft the
| Panama Canal in case OF sudden war
emergency. What are the weather
conditions to be faced in flying over
the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantlc
! What instruments are needed for air
gation-for 1t must be remember
ed that the aviator over the ocean
has no landmarks to guide him. AS
has been remarked by an experienced
hyer, "All waves look alike The
aviator must steer as does the captain
| Of n ship. What facilities OF radio
| communication are best? How can a
competent personnel be trained for
long distance sea flights except by
making such flights? What food is
best for such flights? This food prob
lem Is a new one for dietitians. Food
which is adequate on land or ship is
not all suitable above the clouds. The
aviator is under a constant nervous
strain and can take no exercise. Un-
suitable food makes him loggy, his
| digestion is upset, he grows drowsy
by the wind and the constant hum of
the engines. He must have sugar
and concentrated coffee to stimulate
him physically and mentally.
These are problems impossible to
meet by mere theory.
| OF what use will such planes be in
case of war? They will be invaluable
| for scouting the ocean, in discovering
submarines. From height of 1000
feet the observer can detect a sub.
marine under 70 or 80 feet of water.
The water, Opaque from the deck of a
ship, becomes transparent from a
| height above the waves.
| A plane 1000 feet above the ocean
gives a range of vision across a ship
lane so miles wide, and If it travels
60 miles an hour, 1t could scout $50
square miles Of ocean per hour.
/ tCopyright 1926 by Paul " CollineD