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Aviation History
1920
1920 - 0401.PDF
APRIL 8, 1920 Made many correspondent sends us this photograph of a German Fokker biplane which was flown by a Canadian pilot at Shoreham during May of last year m ONE of the great points which Mr. Handley Page is, during his visit over yonder, impressing upon our Canadian brethren, is the great need for enterprising municipalities to erect aerodromes. AN intensely interesting little " family gathering " tookplace last week at Jules' Restaurant when, at the invitation of Mr. Griffith Brewer, a few friends of Mr. Orville Wrightgot together to greet Mr. V. Stefansson, the Arctic explorer, who had just arrived from a visit at Dayton to Mr. OrvilleWright and his sister Miss Katherine Wright. It was a happy experience and opened several of the guest's eyes as to thetrue and most promising methods for arctic exploration. That Mr. Stefansson's once theories were now proved factswas quite patent, and the mistakes hitherto made by ad- venturers in the higher regions, of encumbering themselves-with vast stores of food for out and home again, has ap- parently been the one great stumbling block of explorers.Mr. Stefansson's method is the reverse. He just goes out into the unknown with as little as possible, and trusts almost'entirely to the guns of the party to supply all the animal food they need from day to day. That it is possible, he hasproved by his wonderful deeds. How all this upsetting of theories will affect the use of 'planes in future expeditions weknow not. It would appear as if it should rather help their utilisation than otherwise, and we hope, should Mr. Stefanssonever take on another attempt at Pole investigation, he will take into consideration this method of keeping up communica-tion with the outer world during what may well be another three or four years' journey across the great ice-packs. At thelittle gathering aircraft was not mentioned, although never a man amongst us but was more or less intimately associatedwith air-work. Which was curious. Did we all forget it when invited -to seek for information from the guest of theday or was it a case of dodging the question ? " Was there a man afraid, was there a man dismayed ?" We wonder !It was a delightful experience to listen to the simple narrative, interspersed with quaint similes, of Mr. Stefansson and butfor pressure of appointments, the whole company would gladly have remained on to midnight to have first - handpoints upon so fascinating a subject. Mr. Griffith Brewer must have felt a very happy host that day. IN a recent issue of a French contemporary is a photo, ofan American pilot flying a Curtiss boat under a bridge at Rio de Janeiro, apparently about twice the width of theTower Bridge. Under the picture is the somewhat bitter comment that the exhibition of the film showing a Frenchaviator flying under the Arc de Triomphe is still prohibited. But surely there is all the difference between a dangerousattempt to get through a small aperture, with the risk of damaging France's most historic monument, and an ordinaryflight along a river rather wider than the Thames below the Tower. We think there should be no two opinions regarding And after—When at a height of about 6,000 ft. the upper plane broke away from the machine, leaving the centre section struts and N struts on the fuselage and lower wing respectively. Needless to say the unfortunate pilot was killed 401
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