Evening star., 1927-05-12
BACKGROUND OF EVENTS
BY PAUL Y. COLLINS.

miles, weighs 1so pounds weight
equivalent to 80 or 40 gallons OF gaso.
line, an hours supply, which would
carry them from 100 to $50 miles OF,
their course. A small radio, weighing
some IS pounds, would have g. range
of broadcasting of only about SO to
rs miles. The daredevil aviators de-.
fed in favor Of speed, although even
a radius Of Is miles in calling for
help might easily have reached some
ship in rnid.ocean, especially some
Of the many craft now securing the
ocean In search for the lost plane.
II is reported at the Navy Depart.
n1ent that even now the American
aviators who plan to fly next Satur.
day are wanting to dispense with
all radio, and trust to luck, in order
to start with more gasoline.
The fate Of the men OF such un-
questionable heroism as Capt. Nun.
gesser and Maj. Coli is the topic OF
much discussion among aviators.
Men of long experience who are in
terested In making aviation popular
so that Il may develop favor with the
general public declare that 1t will
never be "sold" to the public through
stunts or unnecessary dare-deviltry.
They attribute nearly all accidents to
the personal factor, and not generally
to any defect in the machines nor to
unforeseen conditions Of the air. The
public fears the unfamiliar and that
timidity is stimulated by the fatalities
Of stunt flyers.
In the mail service there have been
accidents, mostly due to the failure of
the pilots to turn back when they are
confronted with fog. They penetrate
the fog, hoping that it will clear UP,
but they are helplessly lost and un-
able to keep their course or to know
how close to the ground they may be
drifting. Their motto, say the ex-
perienced pilots, is not Safety first,"
as 1t should be.
According to the magazine Aviation,
80 per cent Of the accidents are due
to the personal error in Judgment Of
the pilots"
Control is now too complicated to
be applied in emergencies through
the reasoning brains of the pilots, who
must act automatically, owing to the
swiftness Of motion of the machines.
The editor adds:
This discussion Is not based on
the premise that learning to fly the
present type Of airplanes can be done
only by supermen, for 1t has been
proved that the average person can
learn to fly at least moderately well.
But it is based on the idea that flying
can be made easier, and that in calm
weather 1t Is simpler than running
an automobile, the contention being
that the difference lies, not in the
aerodynanic shortcomings of the air
plane. but in the system Of control.
nfiHnAffnV nf
Quire much thought and study"
n II u
Every time stunt flyer scares
tenderfoot, he more or less postpones
popularizing of aviation. Only a few
days ago, President Coolidge received
g. frantic letter from such a scared
victim who had not even left the
ground. The writer appealed to the
President, in the nam, Of his faith in
God and his true religion, to put an
time Of peace, for 1t Is needleSs
murder"
He told Of his having been offered
by an aviator friend. free ride in an
airpiane, some years ago. He Ac-
cepted the invitation and proceeded
to apply for $4,000 accident insur.
ance policy SO that his family would
not suffer from his foolhardiness. But
the insurance company informed him
that 1t was not taking on any death
risks of aviation" So he did not keep
his engagement with death. Ever
since then he has witnessed with
horror the fatalities occurring in time
OF peace, and he hopes that the Presi.
dent will suspend all aviation until
war comes.
II y X X
Within the last few days. detailed
descriptions have reached America OF
a new design Of airpiane under con-
struction in Gsrmany--the Rumpler.
It is ''all wing and no fuselage." The
wings are so large that they afford
headroom inside of seven feet In height.
and they are equipped with apart
ments inside the wings for 1Se pas.
sengers, besides D great supply OF
gasoline. At scattered points attached
m the J, .r,us nrp snx,14 nina r1r TEN In.