Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-10-11

vember on momentous adven-
ture that may mark a new epoch
in aviation and in mans conquest over the
earth.
II has been specially constructed to ascend
70 an altitude Of IL to IS miles, or almost
double the present record, and to fly at 400
to 500 miles an hour, which means Paris-New
York in six or seven hours, providing there are
no strong head winds to battle against. In
deed, the French experts privately hope for
much higher speeds. strong wind on the
tail Of this mystery plane might add 100 or
zoe miles more to its speed. After the trials
the machine will be flown to the United States.
The pilot and mechanic will be inclosed In
an alright duralumin cylinder to protect them
from the rare atmosphere and intense cold,
with all controls functioning through padded
joints.
II this momentous fight proves successful,
all present aviation practice will Immediately
be thrown onto the scrap heap and the
ment the news flashes around the world all
commercial and military planes in existence
will be as obsolete as horse and buggy. The
limitations Of space will almost collapse, for
this flight will only be crude beginning Of
high altitude flying. Hundreds of millions of
dollars worth of material may have to be
thrown away and factories everywhere will
start working on new models. fve-hour
flight between the Old and New Worlds will oe
utterly commonplace. horrible vision of fu-
ture warfare will open up.
~ WOULD say that the unknown factor In
! this experiment is not what the plane
win do, but what weather conditions it will
encounter at IL to Is miles, an air ministry
technician told me.
1--WE are convinced that the plane will the
oretically, do at least 400 to 500 miles an hour
at that altitude and that the two men in it
will be completely at ease, but what will they
encounter? We know that the air will be much
more rare, of course, and many qualified per-
sons believe that it is zone ideally clear, with
a rather constant temperature and very light
winds and mild atmospheric perturbatonS. In
other words, an ocean of OIL. which would be
perfect for our purpose.
Another school of meteorologistS pretendS
that there are great differences of temperature
close together the same horizontal plane,
which means violent disturbances, and winds
with q velocity of 200 miles an hour. In that
case high flying will not be very practical.
This first fight of plane into the strato-
sphere will be almost as daring an adventure
into the unknown as Columbus voyage
across the Atlantic. We can practically say
that we know absolutely nothing of the con-
ditions at rs, 900 feet above the earth few
trial balloons sent up at different places have
been whirled through this zone at 200 miles
or more per hour, but is this a normal state
OF affairs up there? You know of course, that
at 400 or 5OO miles an hour an a1rplane could
remain in constant sunshine, being in a fixed
relationship with the sun. The earth would be
spinning underneath it, but the pilot would be
sitting in eternal sunshine. Indeed, he would
be in eternity. for, having left the earth, he
would have left all sense of time behind"
THIS new high-hying plane is not vague
! project It stands today, practically fin
ished, in Henri, Maurice and Dick Farmans
works, the most important in France, at Billan-
court. near Paris
The motor, the supercharger, the propeller
and the air-tght cabin have already passed the
air ministrys severe test The Farman Co.'s
best mechanics have been working on the job
for 10 months No foreigner has been allowed
to see the plane, for although its details will
become known eventually, the government hopes
to give French commercial aviation an impor-
tant lead over that of other countries main