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Aviation History
1919
1919 - 0897.PDF
Flight, July 10, 1919 ^/A W/ t^~^ ( ENGINEER. First Aero Weekly in the World. Founder and Editor: STANLEY SPOONER A Journal devoted to the Interests, Practice, and Progress of Aeriel Locomotion and Transport OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE ROYAL AERO CLUB OF THE UNITED KINGDOM No. 550 (No. 28, Vol. XI.) JULY IO, 1919 [Weekly, Price M. L Poet Free, 7d. Flight The Aircraft Engineer and Airships Editorial Office: 36, GREAT QUEEN STREET, KINGSWAY, W.C. 1 Telegrams: Truditur, Westcent, London. Telephone: Gerard 18*8. Annual Subscription Rates, Post Free : United Kingdom s8r. id. Abroad.. .. 33J. ad These rates are subject to any alteration found necessary under war conditions CONTENTS S08 Editorial Comment: R34 - Aerial Navigation Schools A Territorial Air Force .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 898 Air Ministry Publicity .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 900 Flight—and the Men: Mr. Rotiert Blackburn, F.Ae.S., C.K., M.I.C.E. .. S99 1 .ondon from Above .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 901 The Curtiss Model iS-B Biplane .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 902 The Royal Aero Club : Official Notices 905 The Transatlantic Voyage of R 34 .. .. .. .. 906 Roof-Top l^anding Stages for Airships .. .. .. .. .. .. 914 Design and Construction of Flying Boats .. .. .. ..915 Civilian Flying .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 930 The R.A.F. Aid Committee and R.A.F. Prisoners Fund .. .. .. 922 Airisms from the Four Winds .. .. .. .. .. 923 Personals 92 In Parliament .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 925 The Royal Air Force .. .. .. .. _ .. .. .. .. 927 Side-Winds 929 Resettlement .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 930 EDITORIAL COMMENT [NOTHER milestone in the story of the air was marked on Sunday last by the arrival of the British airship R 34 at Long Island, after the successful crossing of the Atlantic. Thus, in less than a month, two brilliant records have been placed to the credit of the Empire by the first direct crossing by aeroplane, and now by the journey of R34, which has completed the first Atlantic voyage achieved by a lighter-than- R 34 air vessel. The great airship had nothing in the way of a " joy-trip." At the latter end of the voyage she encountered a succession of electric storms, which her navigators had to endeavour to avoid, thereby increasing the distance and running their fuel supplies perilously near to exhaustion. How nearly is to be judged by the fact that when she arrived at her destination at Mineola she had but forty minutes' fuel left. At one stage of the voyage she encountered a fitty-knot westerly gale, and for some time made no progress at all. Still, all's well that ends well, and the principal thing is that she safely accomplished the journey and duly arrived at her determined port of destination. It may be quite natural that a number of the newspapers, here and in America, have tended to hysteria, and have indulged in all sorts of superlatives in connection with R 34's successful voyage. Therein they are wrong, though it is probably the case that the very same happened a hundred years ago, when the first steamship crossed the Atlantic. If the matter is viewed in its true perspective, we shall realise that the successful crossing of the intervening ocean, and the resultant record of the first airship voyage from Britain to America, is in all respects comparable to that of the first steamship, and is not at all in the same category as the flight accomplished by Alcock and Brown last month. The latter demon strated that it is possible, given a certain amount of luck, to safely pilot an aeroplane across nearlv two thousand miles of sea. It has, however, not much immediate commercial value. It is rather the consummation of a very fine sporting effort. The voyage of R 34 is something rather different. Here we have the case of a great airship setting out from her base at an exactly determined time, just as a ship sets sail from her home port. All being well, she was due at her destination at a particular time, but, through stress of weather, she was subjected to a delay which added materially to the time of the voyage, and ran her fuel supplies too close to be pleasant. Nevertheless, she did arrive, after battling with weather conditions that would have wrecked the airship of ten years ago. Ships and steamers are subject to the same delays through adverse conditions of weather, and the records are full of cases of steamers haying to burn cargo and wooden fittings because of such delays depleting their bunkers. All these things being as they are, we prefer to regard the voyage of R 34 as being merely the first example of something that will become commonplace in the not very far distant future. It has simply demonstrated what everyone who has studied the development of the airship believed to be possible. Lessons have been E 2
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