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Show AMscediamj Airplanes Treble Speed. When the war' bean the hig-hest type of airplane could not be depended upon ! to do much more than fifty miles an j hou-. Today the speedier planes make i ,C'" miles an hour in long flights. Where the best machines formerly carried two . men, or their equivalent in weight, the larger machines of the present will safely carry a ton or more of carco. I At the bgiruiine of th conflict tli ! eta :ida rn army ma-'hinc of the FTitish I was capable of do ins, ritty-cieht miles an hour at its best. By August, 1915, a new airplane with 100-horsepower had been developed. But it was heavy and not much faster than the other type, though somewhat larger, with increased carrying carry-ing capacity. , , in May, 191G. the British brought forth a 120-horsepower machine that could make seventy -five miles an hour. It had great stability and was an excellent fighting plane. Many of the type still are in use. But in the spring of 1916 the Germans suddenly produced the Fokker, which could do ninety-five miles an hour. This Fokker also carried the first machine gun to fire through the propeller. The Fokker outclassed the British planes and superiority in the air began to swing toward the Germans. Then the French quickly introducd three types of machines that were all a match and something better bet-ter for the Fokker. The British adopted I these machines and again were on an equal footing, with perhaps a shade to spare These machines pushed up the speed limit to about 115 miles an hour. But they were monoplanes, difficult to handle and always dangerous. Now the biplane is in almost universal use because be-cause of its superior stability. Again the Germans forged forward with a two-seated machine doing 120 miles an hour. The French came back with a plane carrying a 150-horsepower motor that could shatter distance at the rate of 130 miles an hour. Meantime the British had lagged somewhat and did not quickly adopt the new French creation, so the Germans took heavy toll among their fliers. But the British swung around and got on an equal footing again. Then the French produced a machine that could do 145 miles an hour in a pinch. That was in September of last year, and almost coincidentally the Germans brought out a machine of approximately the same speed. There the contest stands at the present time. Some exceptional machines crawl up to a speed of 160 miles an hour. Oregon Telegram. I |