Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-07-26
GiantAWyhips
Continued from Fifth Page

now in use. If we take the immense saving Of
time into account, We must come to the con-
cluson that nothing will be able to compete
with the big plane Of the future.
COME people think that the airplane still
- leaves much to be desired in regard to
safety Without going into this question, !
will merely express my firm conviction that all
the present causes of insecurity will be overs
come, inventors all over the world are
graphing with the problem. and that eventually
aviation will be just as safe as railways, ships.
mctorcars or any other form of transport. Sea
travel is by no means absolutely SAFE we still
hear plenty Of shipwrecks but nobody sug-
gests that this Is reason for limiting maritime
transports.
While commercial flying is sure to develop
considerably and supplant other methods Of
locomotion, just the railway took the place
Of the stage coach and the steamship took that
of the sailing vessel, the airplane is bound TO
assume the highest Importance for military
purposes. The airplane can see everything and
attack everything To protect oneself against
1t is almost impossible.
Mans instinct Of self preservation viii lead
him to devise means Of defense against air
attacks but he will be only partially successful.
The plane can produce clouds Of smoke TO
screen itself from observation Its engines can
be made almost noiselesS. With q super-fed
engine 1t will be able TO operate at great
aircraft guns and would be virtually invisible.
All military men realize that the airplane
has completely changed warfare. At present
it Is simply an auxiliary of other arms but In
future the other arms will be the servants Of
the great mechanical contrivances that will
dominate the atmosphere.
THE airplane can be used for all kinds Of
] purposes. There Is NO mission which 1t
cannot carry out and what it has accom-
plished hitherto is insignificant in comparison
with what 1t will do in the future.
My reference 70 o 1,O00-ton plane was in
territorial, it is by no means impossible to
build such q machine. 1t would be able to
carry $500 men, or the strength Of a regiment
Of infantry. Reckoning the weight Of machine
guns, rifles, ammunition, ETC., we can say that
one Of these machines would be able to trans
port q battalion in full marching order. It
would carry occupation troops just as warShip
carries landing parties.
At present, however, we need not occupy our
minds with machines of this kind For the
next few years we must go building and
improving planes of more moderate size-a
branch Of progress which country can
afford to neglect.
Before five years, perhaps ten have
elapsed, Paris will be brought within 20 hours
travel Of New York by means of 50-ton or even
150-ton planes Buenos Aires and Toxic win
be three or four days journey from Paris. Air
travel is steadily becoming accepted fact,
and the world Is being covered~with a network
of air lines.
Recent discoveries show that airplanes flying
at a Smile height may do 400 miles an hour.
Greater speed may be attained
Statistics show that air traffic is constantly
on the increase for goods, mails and passengers.
The goods that passed through LIE Bourget the
Paris airport. last year represented 1000 600.
Costs are decreasing in proportion to the i'm
provement in materials and the increase in
traffic, and they will continue to come down
until they are no higher than in other forms
Of locomotion. All this, of course, is a matter
Of time, and in the meantime, we must 60 on
improving our material and increasing the
capacity Of our air lines.
tCopyright, 1881