THE BEST WAY TO FLY.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2595, 1 September 1909, Page 7

THE BEST WAY TO FLY.

MONOPLANE OR BIPLANES (By Hubert Latham.) fin the following article Mr Hubert Latham, who competed for the prize of £I,OOO offered by “The Daily Mail” for the cross-Channel flight, discusses the two types of aeroplane at present in use—the monoplane he has himself selected and the biplane used by the Wright brothers.] When I started, to study the problem of flight I had at the outset to choose the species of aeroplane I thought best, and I believe my choice has been justified. The few terms I spent at Oxford intensified my keenness for sport in all its forms, but it was not till I made a lucky balloon passage across the Channel that I began to realise the pos-, sibilities of aerial navigation. In the spring of 1905 I was asked to drive a motor-boat at the Monte Carlo races. 1 gladly accepted. The boat was of the fastest, and its motor, an Antoinette, was, so its designer told, me, fit to propel a flying machine, and built for that purpose. And then and there M. Levavasseur offered to build an aeroplane for me. Only my mother’s firmly expressed authority prevented me from accepting, and I forgot my disappointment during two years’ hunting and travelling in Africa and Asia. But while I rejoiced at the .progress made, in the meantime in the difficult arts of aeroplane building and driving,' I could not forget that I Had-missed the first chance, and wondered I should again find so good an opportunity. Last February I spent a month at Pau, and there had a chance of watching Wright’s wonderful machine in three or four of its flights. This decided me, and early in March last I began experiments at Chalons Camp, thinking flying would he the easiest thing in the world to learn. And so it is. "But what mistakes we made—in learning to drive! The machine itself has hardly been altered from the be-: ginning; in fact, it could have done alt it has done as easily in September 1908, when it first came out, providing; a pilot had been found. It might even have come out as early as 1903 or 1904, if only its inventor had found capital at the,time. THE FUTURE OF THE MONOPLANE.

Up to the present there is an unquestionable superiority in the Wright biplane owing to the fact that it is designed to carry two persons. We hope to have a specially built machine in a short time, in which the disadvantage of the monoplane will ho.-longer exist. Comparisons are . odious, but Mr Wilbur Wright himself says that .he believes in the future of the monoplane, whatever: its present' value may be. That it still leaves much room for imErovement I have'no doubt; in fact, M. evavasseur believes that to be thoroughly useful an aeroplane must possess at once much greater speed and much greater power than any type at the present day has shown itself capaolc of developing. It seems as though the double-decker could not be brought up to the same limit in those two respects as the birdshaped machine, provided the latter shows sufficient carrying power. Now, although the Chanute flyer, as perfected by the brothers -Wright, has a car lying surface of sixty square metres., it does not seem to show more oh an a slight superiority in weight-lifting ca” pacity over an Antoinette of thirty square metres or a Bleriot of twentyfour, which lately lifted two passengers. The great objection to the monoplane up to the, present day has been its lack of stability. Whatever may have been the grounds upon which such a theory was fofrhded, most conclusive proofs have been given that if it does not surpass its rivals; it equals them in the points of stability and safety. FIGHTING THE WIND.

The ability of a flyer to go out in. a wind should also be considered. Great progress in this direction was made when a machine with less wind-resist-ing surfaces was brought out. It stands to reason that 'wind will have far less effect on the smaller surface, as indeed it has on a narrow-winged bird, like a snipe or a pigeon, .'than on a broadwinged buzzard or heron. Speed is the defence against wind: speed and a great reserve of power, so as to be able to remedy any involuntary defection from the straight course by an increase of velocity, whatever the strength of the contending element may be. As to the convenience and ease of starting or landing, it will probably be demonstrated more fully in the course of time. It should be kept in mind that there are very few, if any, experienced drivers of monoplanes. M. Bleriot probably has had a more protracted course of self-teaching than any other man, and his mastery of his machine is wonderful. If a few such «• 1m w#re to drive machines of various types, comparison would bo possible. For my owjtt part I consider my instruction is yet” very. far from complete, aid I have to learn more than I 'knowalready before T begin to do fair justice to. my machine. Yet in calm weather I air ready find it. possible to start from any clear space of sufficient-width, and to land under the same- conditions, with the possibility of starting again without any extraneous aid. This, of course, compels us to carry a certain amount of extra weight in wheels, chariot, etc., but much is gained by the greater convenience. - *

THE QUESTION OF SAFETY; , Safety is the main point in such experiments, . and. as many have . accused me of i’mprudence I wish to'insist upon the extraordinary safety of the Antoinette i lying machine; It is impossible to imagine anything breaking in the air. The wings can carry an enormous weight on any . point without giving way, and the£ ate-strengthened by stout halyards. -The rudders and the propeller -are all calculated to resist an effort considerably greater than any they can possibly be called upon to withstand, and -yet if anything gave way the balance of the machine would not materially change. I could at the worst glide without difficulty to. the earth. If the. balance were destroyed the machine would not acquire any considerable speed in its -fall; could not, in fact, unless directed purposely towards the ground, break its body or sustain more than easily repairable damage. As for the driver, he is protected in any case. Though I haye.smasßed my machine many a time, and expect to doso again before I gain complete mastery, over it, I have ; never. , had the slightest bruise or scratch. Everything has to be broken to pieces before the man at-the wheel suffers, and it is hard to conceive, how such a complete wreck could take .'place.' , . . ; One. thing I thought best to, guard against-—splinters—for . they' run. through cushions and skins, like I had a strong canvas suit .made of the cloth employed for. fencing, jackets,, and now consider the risks of an accident to myself as • being reduced to a minimum. 7 ■ . '■