Show waff 4 MAJORITY of experienced aviators believe the proposed aeroplane flight around the world this summer while it will be a marvelous demonstration of human progress and efficiency Is never feasible the directors of the panama pacific exposition at san fran cisco are assured of the operation cooperation co ot all the great nations over whose herrl tory the monoplanes mono planes and aeroplanes aero planes will whirl feat after teat of endurance must be performed by the aviator who traverses the broad american continent makes the great jumps from island to island of the north atlantic pursues the well traveled air lanes of europe safely passes over the bleak and forbidding wastes of siberia and fringes the almost uninhabited coast line of northern asia and alaska but each of these feats has been exceeded al ready in the clr records now on the books now all that Is needed Is the combination of them the performance of one great air journey after another means luck enormous luck to a greater degree than in almost any sporting contest ever organized several aviators have signified their intention of entering they are willing to take the risks they are not actuated by the desire for gold for even the successful contender who will win the first and also the offered by lord North clitte tor the first crossing of the atlantic will find his and perhaps more eaten up by the expenses of his undertaking it Is quite certain however that plenty of men of large fortunes and sporting proclivities will be found to finance this peerless air event the eyes ot the world will be upon the brave contenders even more than they were upon the pioneer aviation racers in that first meet at rheims in 1908 the attention of the close students of the race Is centered upon the problem of the atlantic after passing due east from san francisco across the sierras through reno nev cheyenne wyo kansas city st louis and new york the aviators will coast along the seaboard to belle isle between newfoundland and labrador here the flight across the atlantic will begin the flyers will probably head tor cape farewell greenland miles away from cape farewell to iceland the distance Is miles and from iceland to stowaway away in the hebrides Is miles three enormous leaps and miles none of them insurmountable in itself but to hit the bull seye s eye three times in succession there a the rub then these seas are not always as hospitable aa the mediterranean which roland garros has now crossed twice there are tog and wind and rocky landing places but it a row of warships patrol the course lent by their governments in the interests of acl ence and human progress the risk will not be greater for instance than that taken by the late john B molisant Mols sant when he set off in an untried machine with a fog in his face to fly from paris to london at a time when the channel crossing alone was considered almost a miracle compared with the atlantic crossing too the rest of the journey seems fairly simple the proposed route Is by way of edinburgh london paris berlin warsaw st petersburg moscow and the trans railway to manchuria and then south to vladivostok the next lap takes the aviator across the sea to corea he must then cross the japan sea to kobe and tokyo turn north to and travel along the coast either to east cape or to the aleutian islands the distance between the two continents here varies from 30 to miles from alaska the course will be southward to vancouver seattle and home to san francisco the aviators who hesitate about pronouncing the journey possible in the present stage of their are calling attention to the distance 28 miles the successful flyer must travel an average of more than miles a day tor four months will it be possible to accomplish the trip in the few months of summer of the northern regions through parts of which the course blest was five weeks in doing the 3 miles from paris to the pyramids flying at an average of only miles dally this explains clearly how greatly the proposed journey would outdo anything yet accomplished besides the notable flights already mentioned oscar alder has flown over practically every high mountain in europe garros has made a flight from marseilles to paris without stopping brande bonc jonc des nals has toured the capitals of europe and two besides have reached egypt from france yet these pale before the difficulties of the race around the globe it Is to be noted however that the history of Is one succession of surprises scarcely anything of importance accomplished has not been called impossible beforehand aviators have done so much that one hesitates to doubt their ability to do anything special aeroplanes aero planes will be constructed for the race these will probably be swift but not built tor the maximum speed they will make say 60 an bur reliability will be abe object est difficulty would bo t cross the atlantic ocean an for this trip special machine with arrangements to carr provisions and fuel tor 2 hours at least must be con except tor the across the atlantic sale captain baldwin the bract will not be difficult I 1 algurt that the aviators will have tc travel 28 miles ot course it will be necessary tor tac pilots to travel in each ma chine so that they can relieve each other motors now are made sc that they are fairly reliable and the trips across the vi ahei atei tor stretches of BOO or miles may be accomplished with comparative ease the trip by land over europe and asia will be made without great difficulty and arrange ments tor crossing the bering will insure success toi that stage of the journey there will be accommodations for two men both pilots who will relieve each other at the tiller A large supply of fuel and oil must be carried it will be a splendid test for the machine builders and most of the factories on both sides of the at are expected to be in the field in the united states the following constructors have tentatively signified their willingness to build a round the world plane glenn H curtess of hammondsport Hammond sport N Y orvllle wryght of dayton 0 W starling burgess of marblehead mass thomas benoist of st louis emale ber liner of washington D C the brothers of baldwin L I 1 john E seoane of new york city ealton F gallaudet of norwich conn and ingles of new york city there are now licensed aviators in the world out of this field there must be several hundred who would attempt the proposed flight it the financial backing were forthcoming the first man in america to get in his entry was beckwith havens capt mathew A batson of savannah oa a former array officer who la the anven tor of a flying boat announces he will enter the race lincoln beachey will also compete from abroad come many expressions showing enthuse aam tor the race the time before the start Is short however by may 1 few could have their machines in readiness at the golden gate claude grahame walte the noted english aviator thinks the exposition boffl dais should take oft the time limit entirely lie thinks the trip around the globe cannot be made this summer but might be accomplished in 1916 lie said they the exposition officials might as well offer 10 it Is as safe as in the bank of england if the offer is to be withdrawn at the end of 1915 I 1 do not believe you would have time now to get a machine ready even it you worked day and night I 1 think it would need to be a comparatively slow machine tor the race that Is one doing 60 miles an hour I 1 certainly would not have a monoplane for I 1 do not think monoplane construction lends itself to a big weight lifting machine the london dally mall lord a newspaper doubts that the feat can be accomplished it says the exhibition committees offer indicates remarkable confidence in the future of aircraft though there is little prospect of the feat being accomplished by the proposed date but it is merely a question of time before an airman puts a girdle around the world roland garros said they can count me in provided oceans are eliminated as in the case of an automobile trip and other conditions are decently fair I 1 am an aviator who will not attempt the impossible I 1 am positive thit no engine today could stand the whole journey without having to fly across the oceans I 1 believe I 1 could accomplish the feat with one engine provided I 1 were allowed to repair it capt thomas baldwin a veteran of the balloon field before be took up aeroplanes aero planes said the greaff hect to have at least to offer in prizes probably be although the first prize will the race will ha it may be or under the supervision of an international commission consisting ot men from all the countries on the route ot the race the commission will be scientific and advisory and Us duties will be to suggest the route and offer counsel on geographic and scientific problems the commission will be named by the president of the united states the king ot great britain the president ot france the german emperor the emperor ot russia the emperor of japan and the premier ot british columbia an international fleet will be organized japan and the united states will be asked to patrol the pacific ocean course with scout cruisers and the united states england and france to establish the same sort ot a guard in the atlantic russia will be requested to distribute troops over the desolate wastes ol 01 siberia and manchuria |