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Aviation History
1920
1920 - 0325.PDF
MARCH 18, 1920 " It will also be possible for an aviator to obtain advancereports of weather conditions along his route, and when in distress over the sea he will be able to send SOS messages toships. " Provision is also made, in the event of forced landings,for a message to be sent from the ground for assistance." ALL this good promise for the future makes it the moresignificant that Mr. Godfrey Isaacs, of the Marconi Company, should be so intimately associated with the great " H.P."aircraft deal with the Government. To M. Maurice de Waleffe, of the Paris Journal, must be accorded the honour of being the first to arrange an " inter- view " in the air. Upon the return, the other day, from Paris to London, of M. Flandin, the French Minister for Air, in a Goliath 'bus, M. Waleffe, who accompanied him, inter- viewed him during the flight, with the following result:— " I have just seen my British colleague," said the Minister,as the aeroplane sped on, 10,000 ft. above the Channel. " While Britain is going to devote ^20,000,000 to flying thisyear, I must be content with ^7,000,000. And I shall have difficulty in getting that." Above Abbeville, he continued, " On December 1, 1919, our commercial flying machines had covered 281,000 miles in i,35° flights. And not a single accident, you hear. Dodging interview-mongers in the air has its difficulties. LIEUT. WARNEFORD, V.C., amongst his other feats, de-stroyed a Zeppelin at Mont St. Amaud, near Ghent, on June 17, 1915. A tablet is now to be erected there in memory ofLieut. Warneford's achievement. M. ALPHONSE DAUDET, in the A ctimi FranQaise, sets out adefinite date when the Germans hope to take their revenge for their great defeat in the late War. From informationreceived from a reliable correspondent, he claims this to be in the year 1935, and he affirms categorically that theirinitial effort will again be directed against Belgium, and simultaneously against England. The great object will beto destroy London with the aid of bombs of 900 kilogrammes and other monstrous engines of destruction, which are nowbeing manufactured in Germany. So now our " administrators " will consider themselvesperfectly safe in " watching developments " until about 1934 and a half, when the same old scramble to make goodin a hurry will be once more witnessed. WHILST that good old League of Nations still wobbles in the balance, all sorts of responsibilities are being saddled on to it by the advocates of this plan of perfection. Lord R. Cecil the other day gave his views upon " The Political and Economic Advantages of the League of Nations," and suggested that international economy did not depend upon the dismissal of typists and the putting down of motor-cars. The great cause of expenditure, he contended, was military and naval preparations. Yet, unless we had a new inter- national system, we should have to arm ourselves. There was no alternative, because we knew that a defeated country in the next war would be absolutely wiped out. Disarmament was required, and if that were done it mustbe by international agreement. That was one of the great tasks of the League of Nations. Militarism had not beenexorcised. It existed—he was not quite sure in this country —but at any rate in other countries. IN the meantime, in between revolutions and general upheavals in difierent parts of the world, and pending the very problematical bringing into active existence that won- derful L.O.N., our " administrators " are coquetting danger- ously with the present and future of what most men com- petent to judge say will be the deciding factor in the next war—a supreme air fleet. Hey ho ! PRACTICAL help, in quite an unexpected direction, is notedas coming from the air, at Port Depont, Maryland, U.S.A. In a telegram to hand from New York it is announced thatArmy airmen flying De Havilland and Martin bombers have saved the town of Port Deposit from probable destructionthrough flood by breaking up the ice gorges of the Susquehanna River with large charges of " T.N.T." Bombs weighing50 lb., designed to penetrate the ice floes before exploding, were dropped from a height of 500 ft. The attack continuedfor several hours, shattering ice 20 ins. deep in the neighbour- hood of Havre de Grace, the site of the famous race track, overan area of one square mile. The airmen came in response to an appeal from the local authorities, who feared the con-dition of the stream would result in flooding the entire com- munity. A NOVEL sort of " kick-off " was witnessed last week-end while a couple of football teams were at work at Mold, Flint- shire. An unknown pilot from an aeroplane flew over the match ground and dropped a football. OUR French contemporary, La Vie Atrienne, publishes a photo, of an Avro biplane, describing it as one of the machines which are attempting the flight from London to the Cape. This is the very first we have heard of it! A GOOD deal of mystery surrounds the new discovery madeby the Handley Page firm, to which reference has been made frequently in the daily Press lately. The interpretations givenhave in some instances been not a little amusing, chiefly on account of taking too literally information sent out by theHandley Page firm. Mr. H. P. told us all about it as long ago as the Paris Aero Show last year, but requested us torefrain from publishing any details until patent and other matters had progressed a little farther. This request we,needless to say, respected, and even now we are not at liberty to disclose any details. It can, however, be said that thediscovery is likely to have the very greatest effect on the future of aeroplane design, and will go a long way towardsreducing the cost of flying. Not only so, but it appears probable that while retaining the maximum speeds reachedby modern aeroplanes, it will be possible to land very much slower, which will be an enormous advantage for the com-mercial machine of the future. FLYING IN THE BERMUDAS A COMBINED company has lately been formed to promote flying in the Bermudas. The aeronautical firms interested in it are Messrs. A. V. Roe & Co., Ltd., the Supermarine Aviation Works, Ltd., and Beardmore Aero Engines, Ltd. This association of a seaplane firm, a flying-boat firm, and an aero-engine firm is extremely interesting. It is further understood that associated with this enterprise is the firm of Furness, Withy & Co., Ltd., who have large interests in Bermuda, and who, under agreement with the Bermuda Government, run a passenger and cargo service between Bermuda and New York. In charge of the actual flying operations will be Majors H. H. Kitchener and H. Hemming, A.F.C., both distinguished ex-squadron commanders of the R.A.F. Already two Avro seaplanes have arrived in the Bermudas, and pleasure flying has already begun. Trips round the islands are sure to be popular, and it is thought likely that young Americans, many of whom-visit the islands every year, will often be glad to take the chance of a course of lessons in piloting, for which purpose the seaplane of the Avro Company is quite as suitable as the aeroplane. Two Supermarine flying boats are also on their way out, and when they arrive, more extended flights out to sea can be undertaken. Touch can be obtained with approaching ships and the port authorities can be warned of their where- abouts by wireless. Probably it will also be found useful to take pilots out to the ships, as, owing to the numerous coral reefs, it takes a tug a long time to get out of harbour. Busi- ness, it is thought, may also be done by the flying boats for the bunkering companies. It is also proposed to undertake an aerial survey of the islands. This has never been done before, and there are numerous submerged reefs which have never been charted. The aerial camera will disclose their exact position in the most speedy manner. Occasional hurricanes are experienced, and they are almost the only drawback to the climate of these islands. A couple of days warning of the approach of one is usually received, when, of course, the aircraft will be able to take cover. After the storm has passed, there are sometimes wrecks in the vicinity of the islands, and at times boats adrift in need of help. It may take surface craft a long time to discover them, but in the clear atmosphere which always succeeds a storm in those parts the airmen can see for great distances and can send wireless messages of the locality of craft in need of help. In fact, injured persons could be picked up by the flying boats and carried to land with the least possible delay. Salvage parties could also be flown to a wreck and put aboard her. Flying will add much to the amenities of life in the Ber- mudas, and the four firms who are initiating the business deserve credit for their typically British enterprise.
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