THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 1907 THE COMING COMPETITION.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 13876, 13 April 1907, Page 8

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 1907 THE COMING COMPETITION.

The reference in the press both in England and on the Continent to Professor Rudol Martin's views of the future of aerial navigation marks an epoch in the development of mechanical science. The profcessor is a German savant of European celebrity, and ho lias convinced himsolf that the great struggle that is impending is the mastory of the air as contrasted with the mastery of the sea. The race is to secure first place, and so control the fate of nations and their commerce. At first sight the idea may seem fanciful and outside the sphere of practical development. This was the view taken not very many years ago in regard to the' use of electricity, and the scientist was ridiculed who spoko of electricity supplanting gas as a luminant. ,Tho scientist wag right: I his critics reasoned from their foundation of incredulity. It is only natural to read that the professor in the present instance foreshadows a new active force for warlike purposes which will revolutionise the means of defence now relied on by the groat Powers. What are the facts? Has'any real progress been made in the effort to solve the riddle of the air? For some years a good deal has been attempted by way of experiment with dirigible balloons and aeroplanes, or flying machines, and the point' of interest lies in the-actual success that has been achieved. Given a definite result the application is sure to follow. Certain results have been reached, and an entirely fresh interest has been awakened. Colonel J. D. Fiillerton, R.E., F.R.G.S., a member of the council of thq Aeronautical Society of Great Britain, read a most interesting paper on " Recent Progress in Aerial Naviga-tion"-at the lecture hall of the Royal United Service Institution, London, recently, treated his subject, as he had done previously in 1892, in two parts—Dirigible Ballooning and Aviation—in other words, navigation by machines lighter than air and navigation by machines heavier than air. These two aspects of the same science were reviewed in a most exhaustive maimer, and while nothing specially new was brought out as regards the use and control of balloons, great' interest has been awakened on the subject of aviation.

After an interesting exposition of the mechanism, control, and cost of the balloon proper and the results obtained, the present position of the aerial navigation ■ question resolves itself into this

viz., " Tho dirigible balloon does not. seem to bo a very satisfactory solution of the problem of flight, A balloon must bo of considerable siw in order to cany any reasonable weight; its speed is limited; and there are many difficulties in connection with its construction and management." On the contrary, the Hying machine appears to be far the best solution' of the question, and, to quoto the lecturer, ' Thcro is now no reason why good serviceable machines, travelling at the rnto of from thirty to forty miles pel hour, .should not be constructed, flio cost of the machines need not bs ery expensive; no move so in fact than a good motor-car." The definite point reached is all-important. A flying machine that can bo used for practical purposes can be made at a reasonable cost, Its commercial use suggests at once a postal sen-ice and the transit of light parcels. The question pf. further experiment necessary to ascertain tho resistanco of air is a matter of cost. Aerial navigation once recognised as t» fact, there is little doubt that sooner or later aerial ships will play a part, and an important part-, ,in future ware; therefore it is important that the public, should bo alive to the practical results already attained in this field of scientific research and experiments.

11l the discussion which followed Colonel lecture Sir Hiram Maxim took part, and brought forward the results of his own experiments to solve the vexed question of tho force required to lift the aeroplane and keep it in equilibrium, tho result being that ho found in practice that Lord Kelvin and Lord Bayleigh were right in their theory that apraplanea travelling at a high velocity and/at a' low anglo had a lifting powpr far beyond what anyone had ever supposed. Whereas mathematicians computed that the lifting effect would be very small, practical experiment had shown it to be very great.' Professor Langley has given two distinct terms in connection with aerial flight: ho suggests that the tendency to go with the wind should be called "the drift," and tho lifting effect, " tiio lift-." Sir Hiram Maxim lias succeeded in getting a "lift" eighteen times as great as tho " drift "—and this at moderate speed. At high speed tho result is very much better. "I tliink now," said Sir Hiram, " there cannot be any question about tho success of flying machines. . . . Tho flying, machine lias come, whether. we like it ov not, and it is a thing we have to compete wilh. Tho Wright Brothers have succeeded with their typo of machino in remaining in the air for half an hour, travelling at the rate of 40 miles an hour. Americans have spent a. considerable amount of money through Professor Langley. The French Government have spent largely on experiments, and M. Santos Dumont has any amount of funds to aid him in his experiments. The German Emperor has taken the matter np. The position today is clear. Flying machines have, already been made; they are coming, and they will soon be in tho air in moro senses than, one." It is interesting to recall the fact that the search for tho solution of tho puzzle of the world—namely, a means whereby human beings shall utilise the air by flights in it, is of very okl date. In tho days of Minos, King of Crete, the attempt was made, as Ovid and Horaco testify. Minos lived' about 1406' B:o. and ever since that time the subject of aerial navigation has puzzled tho world. Now great light is being thrown upon tho subject, and a great step in advance has beon taken. The balloon, which for many years lias been recognised as a means of locomotion, is now to be superseded by tho flying machine. This .has been rendered possible by the great advance in the modern development of motors and motor power. In 1882 Dr Pole, writjng on the subject of aerial navigation, pointed ont that tho ordinary light engine weighed about lowt per horse-power, but that Mr Thomcycroft had; then so much improved pn this that ho had actually succeeded in bringing down tho weight to 431b per liorserpower, A few years after the weight was farther reduced to 101b per horse-power, and that was thought extraordinary: Now, what is the position? Major 15. F. S. BadenPowell quote the latest engines of Buchet and Antoinette, who claim to produce a force of one horse-power for a weight of 2|lb. It has scarcely beon realised what progress has been made and how great a question this may be in a few years' time. Is it too much,to say that within the next decade we shall see machines going through the air in a practical way? Tho time has come now at anyrate to awaken public interest in the subject. Many experiments are being made, and among other inventors tho names of Bleriot, Vina, and Dufaux are quoted as examples of the earnest workers. There is no lack of ingenuity, and brains: are not thp perquisite of any given nation or country. Tho truth is that aerial navigation has now passed from the region of fancy to the realm of fact, and it may be asserted without fear of contradiction that the socret of "lifting" power has been solved. How far this power may be utilised for practical purposes is the point of interest, and there is no reason to suppose that tho development will cease at the present stage. Light engines, high speed, and the power of "lift" being discovered to be much greater than tho power of resistance, the application of the new mechanical law is not likely to be neglected. Sir Hiram Maxim presses the necessity of England being in the van. Germany, France, England, and America are all interested, and a new force is coming which will not bo without meaning, and possibly sinister meaning, to those nations whoso strength has been maintained by their control of the sea. Tho control of the air is a tremendous factor.