O Love of my love, O blue,
Blue sky that over me bends!
The height and the light are you,
And I the lark that ascends,
Trembling, ascends and soars,
A heart that pants, a throat
That throbs, a song that pours
The heart out as it sings.

Lo, the dumb world falls remote,
But higher, higher the golden height!
Oh, I faint upon my wings!
Lift me, Love, beyond their flight,
Lift, Oh, lift me in the night.
Laurence Binyon.

1909 has been so eventful in aviation that at its close the French Government was able to offer the citizens of the Republic consolation for being surpassed by Germany in steerable balloons by the announcement of its determination to keep the lead in aerial locomotion with the heavier than the air, destined in its opinion to drive all the military dirigibles off the aerial battlefield. Were the progress in aviation to continue as rapid as it has been during the last twelve months, the day would be fast approaching when the steerable balloon would be at the mercy of the little aeroplane. But whether it is wise for a nation to discount the perfecting of the heavier than air by neglecting the lighter than air as a military auxiliary is quite another question. It is, however, interesting to note what the aeroplane has already done, and can do to-day, and to examine what it must be able to achieve to become an instrument of practical daily utility in time of peace, and to perform all the services expected of it in war.

In 1908 the aeroplane had just done enough to convince the thinking world that aerial locomotion with the heavier than air would be an acquired addition to the already existing means of civilization within a more or less distant or near future. At the end of that year few people thought that future would be near, and now the progress has been so formidable that many persons look forward to a yet more rapid development of aerial locomotion than that which characterized 1909. At the end of 1908 the only aeroplanes which could fly were the Wright, the Voisin, and the Blériot, and this last named machine has done so only spasmodically; and the only aviators who had piloted them were Wilbur Wright, Or

ville Wright, Henry Farman, Delagrange, and Blériot. A great many inventors had built other flying machines, but none of them had remained in the air even five minutes. It is difficult, if not impossible, for any one to state correctly the number of aeroplanes of all descriptions which have been constructed in 1909, or the number of men who have learned to pilot them. However, there are still few types of flying apparatuses which can be relied on to ascend into the air and remain there even in fairly calm weather till their pilot may choose to descend, or be constrained to do so by the exhaustion of fuel for the motor. The most renowned amongst them are the Wright, the Voisin, the Henry Farman, the Maurice Farman, the Curtiss, and the Cody biplanes, and the Blériot, the Antoinette, and the Santos Dumont (La Demoiselle) monoplanes. Most remarkable feats have been achieved with those machines, all of which are being constructed in large numbers, to satisfy either the ambition of sportsmen to taste the sweets of flight, or that of men anxious to win some of the prizes at aviation meetings. Wilbur and Orville Wright and the pilots of their machine have flown long and high. Orville Wright has circled round the statue of Liberty at the entrance of New York harbor; and Tissandier on his Wright biplane has flown from Juvisy to Paris and back to Juvisy, after doubling the Eiffel Tower at the altitude of about 1400 feet; Paulham on a Voisin machine flew in a gale at Bétheny; the same aviator on a Henry Farman biplane repeated that feat at Blackpool, and astonished the world by his performances at Brooklands, and his cross-country flight from Bouy to Chalons and back, during which he rose to the altitude of 1900 feet; Henry Far

man himself remained in the air at Bétheny 3 h. 4 m., and carried two passengers with him on his biplane in a flight of 61⁄2 miles, and in the month of November at Camp de Chalons he travelled a distance of 1444 miles in 4 h. 17 m. 54 s., and Sommer at Doncaster won most of the prizes, and carried a large number of passengers one after the other on his Henry Farman machine for flights of various distance and duration. Curtiss, by capturing the Gordon-Bennett Cup, and by winning the speed race at Bétheny, demonstrated that his biplane was a very swift and reliable apparatus, and Cody's performances in England showed that his machine was not a quantité negligéable. Maurice Farman has till now abstained from appearing at aviation meetings, and has not competed for any prize, but he has with the biplane of his invention earned the unofficial record for cross-country flight by travelling from Buc to Chartres, and from Chartres to Orleans, to say nothing of his previous cross-country flights in a circuit round Buc, in the course of which he on one occasion covered a distance of more than fifty miles. He thus inaugurated veritable aerial tourism. As for Blériot's monoplanes, the small cross-Channel type has been so often described that it is only necessary to state that its inventor has since his historic flight from Calais to Dover achieved much more remarkable feats with it than the crossing of the English Channel. Hubert Latham has proved that, steered by a skilful pilot, the Antoinette monoplane can weather a gale just as well as the Henry Farman biplane, and that it can rise into the air with as great facility as an aeroplane. Indeed if Paulhan on his Henry Farman biplane attained the altitude of 1968 feet, measured by military officers using theodolites, Hubert Latham holds the officially controlled world's record of altitude by his flight over the Camp

The

de Chalons, in the course of which he rose to the height of 1459% feet. Since then, on 7th January last, the same bold aviator piloted his machine over the Camp de Chalons to the formidable altitude of 1000 metres (3281 feet), measured by military officers provided with theodolites for the purpose. self-registering barometer Latham had on board his monoplane indicated a maximum height of 1100 metres (3609 feet), but it is quite sufficient to take the altitude vouched for by the military authorities. Even this record was, however, beaten in a few days by Paulhan, who, on his Henry Farman biplane, ascended from Los Angeles, in California, to the dizzy height of no less than 1520 metres (4986 feet)! Some people have called these remarkable performances both foolhardy and useless, but if it has not yet been practically demonstrated that in the case of a breakdown of the motor at such a height it is possible for a skilful aviator to bring his machine safely to the ground by utilizing the force of the fall to keep up speed, it is undeniable the performances make it clear the dirigible would in war be at the mercy of the aeroplane. The utility of the exploits, therefore, cannot be denied, especially as it is easy to foresee they will ere long be surpassed, perhaps by Latham and Paulhan themselves or by other equally skilful and bold aviators. Santos Dumont has flown on his butterfly-like monoplane, La Demoiselle, from Saint Cyr to Buc and back, and he also used it to pay a visit to a friend liv. ing at a neighboring country house, and thus demonstrated the possibility of using a very small flying apparatus. There is also a flying machine in Austria, with which Grade, its inventor, is said to have made remarkable flights, and it is probable there are one or two other aeroplanes in Europe which are sufficiently perfect to be worthy of attention.

Is it possible to employ all or any of those machines in their present naturally imperfect condition for useful purposes in times of peace or war? I think the answer to that question should be an emphatic "Yes," though the conditions required for the employment of aeroplanes in daily life do not yet exist anywhere. It is true aerodromes are being created at many places in France and England and other countries, but though sufficient for sporting display they are far from answering the requirements of aerial tourism. To encourage it, indeed to render it possible on a large scale, it is necessary to create aerial ports at the gates of all large cities and provincial towns-that is to say, a sufficiently large space clear of all obstacles must be provided in the outskirts of towns to enable the aerial craft to land and to start in safety, and bordering that space there must be sheds to house the flying apparatuses. Then, as there are lighthouses to guide the seafarers, landmarks are required to guide the aerial travellers. What form they should take must be decided by study and experience; but there can be no doubt of their utility, especially as in misty weather it is impossible to see far ahead or even to recognize wellknown spots from an altitude of 150 or 250 feet, at which aerial travel will probably be effected. Apart from sport and the pleasure of aerial touring, it is not difficult to imagine many services the aerial craft could render, but in the first place they must be given the possibility of landing and starting safely.

With regard to war, when men find themselves confronted by a hostile army, they are willing to run risks it would be folly to incur in time of peace. Consequently no skilful aviator would hesitate for a moment to take flight from a beleaguered city and steer his course with a compass over the heads

M.

of the besieging army to carry news or military instructions to the friendly forces, even if they were a couple of hundred miles distant. Also he would return by the same aerial route, bringing news and instructions from without. Then again, for reconnoitring, the service of an aeroplane, especially if like the Wright and Henry Farman it could carry a military observer as well as the pilot, would be invaluable. It would be able to approach very near the enemy's lines and would be almost invulnerable by its speed and the height to which it could rise. Clementel, the reporter of the war budget to the French Chamber, foresees the aeroplane could serve as the swiftest and surest means of communication between the wings of an army, the headquarters and detachments of troops sent on special mission, &c. He believes it could be used during a battle to discover the exact position of hostile forces hidden from the observer on terra firma. No doubt he is right, as he certainly is when he declares it is of the utmost importance that the aeroplane should be rendered yet more reliable than it is and capable of confronting a fairly stiff breeze with safety. He computes that the velocity of the wind in which an aeroplane can fly in safety is only one quarter of its own speed. That estimate is evidently much too low, for Latham, at Camp de Chalons, remained in the air thirty-two minutes and reached the altitude of 1558 feet on 1st December last, while the wind, measured by the French Aero Club officials' anemometer on the ground, was blowing at the velocity of forty-one miles an hour, and certainly at fifty miles an hour at the height to which Latham piloted his machine safely. Paulhan, Henry Farman, Blériot, and others have also flown in strong winds, but little if at all inferior to the speed of their respective machines. Doubtless there are not,

however, a great many aviators having already sufficient experience to pilot an aerial craft safely in such a storm, but their number is increasing and will most surely go on increasing rapidly. Moreover, to be capable of rendering signal service in peace and war, it is not necessary the aeroplane should confront such a gale. A well-balanced aeroplane can be piloted with ease by a fairly skilful and experienced aviator in a wind of twenty-five miles an hour, and there are comparatively few days in the year when the velocity of the wind does not fall considerably below that figure.

The capacity of a flying machine to weather a gale depending so materially on the means employed to ensure its stability in the air, it is interesting to note that the wings of Latham's Antoinette monoplane can be warped to restore the equilibrium of the apparatus, whereas the Henry Farman biplane is provided with ailerons attached to the main bearing surfaces, to keep it on an even keel, and yet both those machines behave admirably in a very strong wind. The same may be said of the Voisin biplane, which depends on its hind cell and the vertical surfaces dividing the main planes into box-like compartments for its lateral stability. M. Clementel nevertheless believes that to render the lateral stability of the aeroplane complete it will be found advisable to use a gyroscope. such an apparatus, applicable to flying machines, has been invented by the French Military Aeronautic Corps at Chalais Meudon, but he does not divulge the secret of the machine. gyroscope having sufficient power to maintain the stability of an aeroplane in the air would necessarily be very heavy. If it consisted in a compartively light apparatus, destined to operate a mechanism for the warping of the wings or the lowering of ailerons in proportion to the disturbance of the

He says

A

equilibrium, the dangers attending its working would be very considerable. The gyroscope has not been found applicable to sea-going vessels in which weight is of comparatively no consequence. It therefore seems unreasonable to expect that it could be used with advantage on an aerial craft. I think it will always be as necessary to rely on the skill of the aerial pilot as it is to depend on that of the captain of an ocean-going vessel.

With regard to the motor on which the safety, not only of those who may be on board the aeroplane but of those who are on terra firma beneath it, must depend, great progress has been made in 1909. It has been suggested it will be necessary to carry two motors on every flying machine to enable the pilot to keep the apparatus in the air, by driving one at full power in the case of the other breaking down. It is rightly argued that arrangement would at least enable the pilot to choose a safe landing-place, if it did not permit him to continue his flight. The additional weight is not, however, the only objection to that proposal. The mechanical complications it would necessitate are considerable. However, though the idea is one which should not be rejected as entirely impracticable, it should be remembered that the recent experiments of Orville Wright with his machine, Paulhan with his Henry Farman biplane, Latham with his Antoinette monoplane, Blériot with his monoplane, &c., seem to indicate that in the case of the breakdown of the motor the aeroplane can descend without disaster, especially if it is flying fairly high. When skimming the ground at the height of only 30 or 40 feet, the pilot has not sufficient time to utilize the fall as a motive power, and the machine crashes to the ground and is generally wrecked, even if the occupant escapes without great injury. At the altitude of 50, 100, or more feet the pilot, if