The Evening Star SATURDAY, JANUARY 26, 1924. AVIATION’S PROGRESS.

Evening Star, Issue 18542, 26 January 1924, Page 4

The Evening Star SATURDAY, JANUARY 26, 1924. AVIATION’S PROGRESS.

An anniversary which attracted some attention last month in older countries was that of the first successful attempts at aviation made by the Wright Brothers in America. It is difficult to realise, when wo read to-day of tho achievements of aeroplanes, and British patriots warn their countrymen that they must develop an air sense corresponding to tho earlier sea sense if the Empire is to survive, that the invention on which so much depends had its practical beginning at no more remote period than twenty years ago. On December 17, 1903, the first successful flight of a motor-propelled aeroplane was made by Wilbur and Orville Wright at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. The triumph of the pioneers was quickly dashed, because prior to an attempt on tho same day to repeat their performance a gust of wind overturned their frail machine, putting an end to the experiments till another was built. It was with a. considerably improved machine that the experiments were renewed next year at Dayton; but it was not till two years bad elapsed from the first success that the public became suffb ciently interested in the attempts to make precautions for tho secrecy of the invention any sort of a troublesome consideration. The people who saw tho Wrights performing with their novel appliance thought, no doubt, that the Wrights were mad, and the mild interest which their attempts exeited was purely local. When the invention was offered, with patent rights, to the War Department in 'Washington, the American department was as slow to realise all tho possibilities of it as any British Government could have been. Successive offers which were made to it by the Wrights were treated by it in the most perfunctory manner. The brothers betook themselves to Europe, where, in France and Germany, they were able to rouse more interest in their discovery. It was not till four years had passed since the first successful ascent—years spent in constant study and improvement-s—-that the Signal Corps of tho American army was prevailed on to arrange for a series of test flights, in which the claims of tho inventors should he demonstrated. An amount of £5,000, subject to some additions for superior speed, was offered for the purchase of an aeroplane with a carrying capacity of two persons which should fly at a rato of forty miles an hour and remain in tho air for that time, tho conditions which the Wrights had declared themselves able to fulfil. The flights were of most concern to tho Signal Corps, because tho only military uso which was then foreseen for aeroplanes was for reconnaissance purposes. It was not till June, 1912, only two years before the Great War began, that the first machine gun was fired from the, sir. To the War Departmeut’s surprise, there were two oilier entrants for the tests arranged by it, but the. Wrights’ machine was tho only one I hat started. It was flown by Orville Wright, and the second flight was disastrous, Tim machine crashed to the ground, Orville's passenger was killed, and the invent or himself had several bones broken, fn later attempts, however, the requirements, of tho military department wore more than satisfied, and the Wrights received iheir reward of £6,000 —a. dear price to pay, perhaps, for an aeroplane of those days, hut, not probably above the amount of their expenses. By this time aviation was advancing in more countries than America. On July 25, 1909, Bloriot made Ids flight across tho English Channel. and the future of tho new science was assured. It has been a rapid progress, helped by the war. Fifteen years ago the maximum duration of flight was Ihr 51min, the maximum altitude about 150 ft, and the maximum speed forty-two miles an hour. Records of to-day show maximum duration, 57br 15min; greatest distance, 5,295 miles; maximum altitude, 56,662 ft; and maximum speed, 274.2 miles an hour. What the records will be when the centenary of aviation comes to be celebrated is too terrible to think of.