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JANUARY 16, 1909.

FLIGHT.44 , ST. MARTIN'S LANE. LONDON, W.C.

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A GOOD deal of public misapprehension has existed inadvance as to the n ature, and therefore as to the im-portanc e of the Conference that h as been held by theInternational Aeronautic Federation in London thisweek ; and, on the other hand, a certain a mo unt ofconfusion has arisen in the minds of a good many peoplebetween this Conference of Aero Clubs and a Congresswhich the French Government intend to call during theyear to enable questions affecting Interna tional law to bediscussed authoritatively by the nations of the world.Clearly, of course, the mutually self-recognising bodieswhich officially represent the aeronautic movement inthe various countries have no jurisdiction whatever inm atte rs affecting t he fresh legislation t hat will ere longbe required for national as well as international use.But, for all that, the Conference of the past few dayshas been an event that will leave its mark for m any ayear to come upon the history of applied aeronautics;and will for all time constitute one of the earlymonuments denoting that the era of flight had actuallybegun with this year of grace 1909. Initially, the mainobject of the Congress, at the time it was called, wasto adjudicate upon the relative claims of Switzerlandand the United Kingdom in respect to the winning ofthe G ordon-Bennett Balloon Race in October lastanepisode concerning which we do not feel called upon tocom me nt in this column. But, as a matte r of fact, thatportion of the actual agenda p aper; which formed thebasis for the deliberations of the Conference, willprobably be deemed of least importance by the majorityof people who are interested in the new sport that looksso promising for the near future. Everything of a retro-spective kind at least sinks into complete insignificancewhen compared with the matters of future programmeand policy which were subsequently mapped ou t; and,unless we are very much mistaken indeed, the nett upshotof this Lon don meeting will-te-.to have advance d to anextent that has hitherto been impossible the cause of

Flight, as an organised movement tending to commercialmaterialisation. F irst and foremost, the F ederation hasestablished itself on an almost unassailable basis asthe consolidated body which will control the socialand sportive side of aeronautic progress in all itsbranch es. As such, it now forms an internationalbond of union and ro-operation between the nationalClub of each individual country and those of everyother, thus conferring that power and prestige on a singlerecognised institution in each country which is sonecessary for the organ ised and efficient repr esen tationof common interests in each land, while simultaneouslyensuring unity of action in all m atters which extendoutside the imm ediate sphere of any one nation. Th ereis, for one thing, no longer any doubt as to w7hether theexisting Aero Clubs intend to act as real societies ofencouragement for aeroplane and air-ship developmentsas well as for the advan cem ent of knowledge andrecreation by bal loo ns; while of even more practicalmoment is it that a very substantial prize fund is incourse of formation, that rules and regulations forgoverning future contests have been prepared in readinessfor the competitions that are contemplated, and thatalready a special committee of inquiry has beenconstituted for sketching out some propaganda thatwill enable the aeronau tic w orld to hold its ownwhen questions of legislation ar e broug ht to the fore.From many points of view, it is well that this first seriousConference should have been held in England, rather thanabro ad ; for, apart from th e obvious advantages whichit is bound to have for this country in awaking interestat ho me , the F ederation as a whole has h ad its handsmaterially stre ngth ened by the solid assistance afforded toit by the Royal Automobile Club. One of the pointswhich came up for consideration was that of the relationsthat are to exist between the comparatively newly-formedaero clubs and the powerful automobile clubs which haveof course been in existence for quite a number of years;and one of the m ost significant resolutions which wasadopted by the Conference was that of passing a vote ofconfidence in the F rench Aero Club as the aeronauticrepresentative of Fra nce. Nee dless' to say, the recentavaricious action of the Automobile Club de France, inendeavouring to arrogate to itself the functions of theF rench Aero C lub, was at the root of this questionbeing ra ised ; and equally evident is it, we are glad tosee, that the F ederation intends to throw its full weightupon the side of the sm aller body. Th at the positionbetween the Aero Club of the United Kingdom and th eR.A.C. is in marked contrast to that which pertains inF rance is something for which we in this country haveto cong ratulate ourselves : and if it means, as there isgood gr oun d for hoping it will, that official repre senta tionof British aeronautic interests is to be saved from internalstrife and dissensions in the days that are to come, rapidprogress is assured for the daw ning industry. But that ,after all, is little more than incidental to the subject whichwe have in hand this week ; and must therefore be leftat that until a future occasion. The real point to whichattention has to be drawn is that a most successful Con-ference, bidding fair to bear the best of good fruit, hasbeen held by the Federation Internationale Aeronautique,and that those deliberations took place in Eng land . Inwhat has been said above, we have in dicated the natu reof the deliberations and of the decisions that were arriveda t ; but, for all that, we would draw special attention tothe details of the proceedings th at app ear elsewhere inthis issue.

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JAN UA RY 16 , 1909 .

THE FIRST PARIS AERONAUTICAL SALON.{Continued from page 22, January qth.)

ENGINES FOR AEROPLANES.T y p e s .IT is generally said that the developm ent of the m otorcar engine has been the one factor which has made aero-planes possible. Such, too, is indeed the case, but thetruth of the saying applies to generalities only, and to thehigh-speed internal-combustion engine as a principlerather than as a definite mach ine. Th e motor car engineis light for the power it develops, wonderfully light com-pared with ordinary steam engineering practice, but it isnot considered light enough for experimental work inthe se early days of flight. New designs, therefore , areto be seen on every side, and there is hardly an instancein which the motor car type of engine has been closelycopied by the manufacturers of aeronautic machines.Th e one exception that there is happ ens to be noneothe r than the W right engine, mad e by the B ariquandand M arre firm, for it alone has four upright cylinders.All the rest are quite unorthodox, although some, like theAn toine tte, hav e been sufficiently long in existence tohave becom e a well-known type. Th e An toinette has itscylinders arranged V fashion, and so too has the Renault,the E .N.V., and the J.A.P ., the last named being theonly British-built exhibit at the Show.A leading idea w hich has very largely controlled thedesign of aero motors has been the necessity of makingthe engines run properly with only so m uch fly-wheeleffect as th ey can obtain from the mom entum of thepropellers. A fly-wheel would in itself be regarded as somuch useless weight on a flying machine, and makershave in consequ ence felt called upon to dispense with it,at any rate at the present time. Th e propeller, mounteddirect on th e crank-shaft, is doubtless a fair su bstitute,but one driven through a transmission-chain cannot verywell have any useful effect in such a capac ity, owing tothe slack of the chain intervening at the moment whenthe stored-up energy, represented by the momentum of thefan, is to be returned to the assistance of overcoming theinertia of the engine's moving parts.It is in order to overcome this initial difficulty that themajority of aero motors have a large number of cylinders,the object of this being to spread the impulses as evenlyas pos sible over the two revolutions which go to com-

plete the Otto cycle. In the larger Anto inette enginesthere are as many as sixteen cylinders, but the moreusual num ber is eight for engines of this pattern . Sucha number gives a very even turning moment on thecrank-shaft, and collectively they occupy but a moderateamount of space when arranged in this way.Eco nom y of overall length is, of course, a valua blefeature in a light engine, because a long crank-shaftwill not only be heavy in itself but will need a largenum ber of bearings to keep it from w hipping, and thesein turn will involve a big crank -cham ber. It is very easyto understand, therefore, why an engine with radialcylinders should suggest itself as a desirable basis for thedesign of an aerial motor, inasmuch as with such anarrangement both the crank-chamber and the crank-shaftare utilised to their fullest extent. Th is ty pe has beendeveloped in the Clement-Bayard, Gnome, Farcot, andGobron-Brillie engines, but not one of these four but hasbeen modified in other directions as well. Th e Clementand the Farcot are arranged horizontally, the Gnome is arotary enginethat is to say, its cylinders revolve bodilyabout a fixed crank-shaftand the Gobron, instead ofhaving its eight cylinders arranged radially in one plane,has them arranged in pairs, so that they form a cross inappearance. Th e Gobron engine, it may be mentionedhere , has sixteen piston s in its eight cy linders, workingon the usual Gobron principle.

Other makers who have favoured the radial principlehave been deterred from adopting it completely by fearof lubrication troubles in connection with those cylinderswhich are inverted, and this has, of course, in partacco unte d for th e horizo ntal disposition of two of t heengines mentioned above, which are in other respects ofthe pure radial type. In order to get over the difficulty ofhaving inverted cylinders, while at the same time retain-ing certain advantages of the radial principle, M. EsnaultPelterie has adopted a design in which those cylinderswhich would ordinarily be inverted in such an engine aretransferred en bloc to a position above the crank-chamber.Here they occupy a parallel plane, and assume positionswhich are midway between the other cylinders; theythus differ essentially though not in effectfrom engines

PA RI S A ER O SALON.V iew, from beneath, of the Antoinette Monoplane, showing the lattice-girder frame,which carries the tubular condenser near the front end.

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% -JANU ARY 16, 1909.

PA RIS AER O SA LO N. -V iew of the Voisin Aeroplane, built on the lines of "F arm an N o. 1."carries a dummy pilot, and is mounted as if about to fly off into the Grand Nef. The machineof the real radial type. In the R .E .P . models the engineshave eithe r five, seven, or te n cylind ers, the last beingvirtually a dou ble edition of the first. T he use of five orseven cylinders simplifies the valve mech anism to a verygreat extent, as was described in The Atitomotor

Journal of Novem ber 30th, 1907. Ano ther enginewhich is " turned up," so that all the cylinders are setradially about the upper half of the base-chamber, is theDe Korwin motor, made by Buchet. Th e Anzani enginehas three radial cylinders arranged clcse together in oneplane.Forged Steel v. Cast I ron .

A feature of aeroplane engine construction which wasvery marke d a t the Paris Salon, and is the moreinteresting because it has no parallel in motor carengineerin g, is the use of steel cylinders forged in onepiece with their heads an d valve chambers. Steelcylinders, as our read ers know, are used by a fewprominent makers of cars, but in such cases they areinvariably separate from the cylinder-heads, and arevirtually nothing more than a simple tube. In aeronauticengines such as the new Antoin ette, the steel cylinderis quite a different thing altogeth er, for it is. ashas been mentioned, forged solid with its own head

and valve-chamber. The re is only one valve-chamberproperly speaking, in the Antoin ette engine, because theinduction-valve is of the atmospheric type and is mountedindependently under an aluminium cap. When thecylinder is first forged, the valve-chamber which is to be,is, of course, solid, and it has to be bored out in readinessto receive the valves, and a passage has to be madebetween it and the combustion-chamber in the cylinder.Ot her engines in which forged steel cylinders are usedare the Clement-Bayard, the Gnome, and the Wrightengine made by Bariquand and Marre.A i r v. Wate r Coo l ing .The two main classifications into which aero motorsfall at the present moment are respectively air-cooledand water-cooled types. So far as the exhib its at theParis Salon go, the representatives of both are fairlyequally divided. Am ong the water-cooled class are theAntoinette, Clement-Bayard, Gobron, Wright, E.N.V.,and one of the J. A. P. mod els, while in the air-cooledcategory is the other J.A.P., the R.E.P., Anzani, DeKorwin (Buchet), Gnome, Farcot, and Renault. Indealing with air-cooled engines, it is necessary to drawattention to those which rely upon natural convectioncurrents to bring fresh air in contact with the hot metal,

PA RI S AE RO SALON. Rear view of the Delagrange Aeroplane, built by Voisin. T hi s illustration shows thebox-kite tail ?nd the rudder, which is not visible in the photograph of the Farman machine (above).34 ^ ; : : , : . - X ; H : : ^ ; , . - / : r , -

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J A N U A R Y 16, 1909.

and those which utilise a forced circulation.Under this latter heading come the lastthree motors mentioned above. TheGnome is a rotary motor, and its cylinderstherefore whirl round in the air; theFarcot has stationary cylinders set hori-zontally with a direct-driven fan mountedabout them ; the Renault is a " V " engine,and induces a draught about its cylindersby the use of a fan and piping.Although the Antoinette has beenmentioned above as belonging to thewater-cooled class, it should, as a matterof fact, be placed in a category by itself,which might not inappropriately be termed" steam-cooled." The latest Antoinettesystem is to carry such a small amountof water in the reservoir that it quicklyboils, and they provide an aluminium con-denser to condense the steam thus formed.This condenser forms part of the Antoinetteinstallation for their own aeroplanes, but,in the ordinary way, the purchaser has theoption of buying the engine separately andusing an ordinary radiator with a largersupply of water.

TABLE OF FLIGHT MOTORS AT THE PARIS SALON.Type.

JT Wate r Cooled, i ram. mm,20 Antoinette ... h 80 8050 Antoinette .. . 8110 10550 Antoinette ..J16 80 80100 Antoinette ...J16 n o J10560J.A.P j 8 90 jn o50 Clement-Bayard \ 7 1OO 11532 Wright (B.M.) ... 4108 no80 Gobron 8120 1200

c/3

50E.N.V j 858 Dutheil-Chalmer [ 4De Korwin ...I

1400jnoo1400IIOO13001.00I2OO1400

i o o

Air-Cooled.20 R.E.P i 5 8530 R.E.P 7I 8550 R.E.P 10 8535J-A.P. j 8 8550 Anzani .. . ..

Remarks.

80 29160 : 72I 3 0 IOOO 150 IO8

V type ; atmosphericinlet-valves ; injectedfuel; steam cooling.V type ; mechanical valves.Horizontal radial; mechani-cal valves.2 8| 6 1 Vertical; mechanical valves.2-2 4" 9 X type ; mechanical valves;

j 16 pistons.3-o 6'6 V type ; mechanical valves.Horizontal opposed.Model of 4 - stroke - cycleengine.

30 De Korwin(Buchet)50 FiatWith Fan.

45 Renault ...75 Farcot

50 Gnome

Light Water - Jacket s .Where water-cooling is employed, everyeffort is usually made that the cylinder-jackets shall be as light as possible. Intwo instancesAntoinette and E.N.V.the jackets are formed by electrolyticallydeposited copper ; that is to say, thecylinders are first prepared with a thickcoating of wax to represent the water space, and to forma surface upon which the copper can " grow" in theelectrolytic bath. The wax surface is coated with black-lead to act as a conductive medium for the electriccurrent which carries the copper, and when the jacket isfinished the wax is, of course, melted out to leave ahollow space for the water.On the Gobron and Clement engines, tubular brassjackets are employed, and in the latter case these areshrunk in their places. On the Wright engine, madeby Bariquand and Marre, the jackets are aluminiumtubes.Combined Valves .

Another expedient for reducing the weight, whichhas been adopted by some makers, is the use of a valvewhich com bines the purposes of an induction-valve andan exhaust-valve in one. Such a device is to be foundon the R.E.P. engine, and also on the Farcot, but itcannot be said to have come into general practice as yet.Those makers whohave adopted the principle have doneso, of course, because they object to the atmosphericvalve, such as is used on the Antoinette and some otherengines, and also because they wish to effect the savingof some of the parts involved in the operation of twoseparate valves by mechanical means.In the case of the R.E.P. , the operation of the twoseparate valves would be all the more complicated onaccount of the arrangement of the cylinders, but the com-bined valve enables a very neat design of operatingmechanism to be introduced. The Wright, J.A.P.,E.N.V., and Renault engines have mechanically-operatedinlet and exhaust valves. The Gnome rotary engine has

95 1600 53-51 2295 'ioooj 68 31

453634

95 'i6ooj 9795150 1500J1001200 108

( Semi - radial ; combinedmechanical valve.

80 1 80 1800 50 2460

2 - 4 | 5-32 - 2 | 4- 82'2| 472 8j 6 1! V type ; mechanical valves.3' 2 7"o Semi-radial ; atmospheric! inlet-valve.2"ij 4"61 Semi-radial.

1 V type ; mechanical valves.

90 120 11500145 40 3"6' 8"o V type ; mechanical valves ;I ' enclosed ian.105 120

no 120

1 2 0 0 1 1 0 ; 55 1 2 ^ 4 - 4 H o r i z o n t a l r a d i a l ; com-b i n e d mechan ica l va lve ;o p e n fan.1200 75 52 ! I ' 4 3-2 Rota ry rad ia l t y p e ; a t m o -spher i c in le t -va lve in pis-t o n .an atmospheric valve in the piston, and a mechanically-operated exhaust-valve in the centre of the cylinder head.In several casesthe R.E.P. among themthe exhaust isallowed to blow straight out into the air without evenpassing through the shortest of pipes ; in the case of theGnome engine, the gases even imping e direct up on thevalve-operating rock-lever.

(To be concluded.}

A Professor of Aeronautics.ALTHOUGH there has been a good deal of talk withregard to founding a chair of aeronautics at variousuniversities, we believe the first professor of aeronauticsis Professor Prandtl, who has been appointed in Germanyto lecture on the complete science of aeronautics atGottingen University.

" T r a v e l and Exp l o r a t i on"Is the title of a new monthly magazine which is todeal with questions relating to touring and exploring onland and sea and in the air. In the first number, whichhas just been published, the features likely most to interestour readers are an article dealing with the history andachievements of dirigible balloons, which is contributed byMr. Eric S. Bruce, and some notes on aerial flight show-ing why progress has not been made in this country, byMr. H. Massac Buist. Some hints on motoring in snoware also from the pen of Mr. Buist. The new magazineis very interesting, and the many photographs with whichit is illustrated are well reproduced, so that it should beassured of a large public.

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JANUARY 16, 1909.

In ternat ional Aeronaut ic Federat ion in London.T H E International Aeronautic Federation com-menced its sittings in Lo ndon at the H otel Rilz onMonday, January 1 ith, when Mr. Roger W. Wallace, K.C.,

Chairman of the Aero Club of the U.K., presided in theabsence of Prince Roland Buon aparte. Forty delegateswere nominated by their respective co untries to attend.T he first day's sitting occu pied some five ho urs, and wasprincipally devoted to the appeal of the British AeroClu b against the award of the Gordo n-Benn ett BalloonCup to Colonel Schaeck's "H elve tia." T he conference,however, did not sup port the protest, and th e award toSwitzerland was therefore confirmed. T he full items onthe agenda paper for discussion at the conference were asfollows :1. T he question of admitting the Aero Club of Odessa as repre-senting Russia.2. Discussion of the appeal of the Aero Club of the UnitedKingdom against the decision of the Berlin Aero Club in awarding

the Gordon-Bennett long-distance prize of 1908 to the Swiss balloon" H e l v e ti a ."3 . Modification of th e representation of the various aeio clubs ofeach country on the Federation.4 . Relations between the aero clubs and automobile clubs ofdifferent countries.5. Discussion and adoption of rules and regulations governingdirigible balloon and aeroplane contests.6. T o consider rules governing the Gordon-B ennett A viation CupRace, 1909.7. Report of the comm ittee charged with revising the statutes andregulations of the Federation.T he following is the official text of the minute inwhich the conference expressed this resolution relatingto the (.ordon-Bennett Race :" T h e International Conference, meeting to decide the winner of

the Gordon-Bennett Race, declares' T hat, having taken note ofthe official aw ard of the Germ an Club, whereby Colonel Schaeckwas exclusively, on a point of law, declared th e winner ; that ,having considered the various proposals subm itted to the meeting ,some or which suggested the annulm ent of the race, whilst others

suggested that the first place should be awarded to Mr. JohnDunville, and that Colonel Schaeck should be disqualified, regretsthat the obligatory interpretation of its rules prevents this con-ference from giving a retro-active effect to the decision of May 27th,1908, and also regrets that , having before him the proposition putforward in a perfect spirit of sport by the Aero Club of the UnitedKing dom , Colonel Schaeck should have expressed his w illingnessthat the first prize should be awarded to the club w hich hadprotested against him, provided that he himself were awarded aplace in the race, and to accept the division with Mr. Du nville ofthe sum of 12,500 fr. ; this a ttitude is deplored by the conference,which, nevertheless, accepts the classification of the Germ anC l u b . ' "At T uesda y's m eeting, a proposal was put before theconference by Belgium that the Federation should foundan International prize fund to the value of ,48,000,with proportionate subscriptions from the different coun-tries, E ngland, America, France , and G ermany to givej8,ooo each. T he proposal was accepted in principle,and, if possible, will be carried throug h. A comm itteeof three military, naval, and legal experts, from each

affiliated Club, was app ointed to inquire into the questionof regulating flight by International law.On the question of proportionate representation on theF .A .I , a resolution was passed by which the delegateswill be proportionate to the relative aeronautic activitiesof the country they represent. A vote of confidence inthe French Aero Club, as representing aviation in France,was passed.In connection with the friction which has taken placebetween th e Aero Club of France a nd the AutomobileClub of France, the following proposal by Mr. RogerWallace on behalf of America was carried. " T he Inter-national Federation decides that any affiliated aeronauticalclub is free to act in its own country and can enter intoany arrangement with another organisation, but only oncondition that it maintains in all its integrity the funda-mental statutes of the Federation." T his resolution,besides being a vote of confidence in the French Club,

INT E RN AT ION AL AE RON AUT ICAL CONFE RE NCE , LONDON, JANU ARY 11th, 12th, and 13th, 1909.Meeting of the Delegates to the Conference at the R itz H otel. See Key Pla n on opposite page.36

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confirms thesupreme control of national aeronautics bythe representative Aero Club of each country.The French club proposed a set of rules for aerialcontests (a resume of which appeared in ourlast issueonpage 27), which were provisionally adopted until thenext conference, totake place inOctober this year. Inthe meantime a council of four wasappointed to reporton the rules.A list of the names of delegates who attended theConference, and other information reported by theSecretary of the Aer# Club of theU.K. will be foundon thepage setting forth theofficial notices of theClub.Monoplane Passenger Flight .FOR the first time in the history of aviation, amonoplane, "Antoinette IV,"made a successful flightwith a passenger. Theevent took place on Tuesday,January 5th, at Issy-les-Moulineaux, when M. Welferingerarried M. Robert Gastambide through the air for adistance of half a kilometre. Insubsequent solo flightsthe machine attained speeds of 75kiloms. anhour ; theto a sudden conclusion on theWednesday by the breaking of one of the wings whilettempting a toosudden turning.

RENK GASNIER, whose successful flight was chronicledTheAuiomotor Journal of November 21st, 1908,his aeroplane after his accident, andat Fresne, nearBouchemaine. The machine has 35 square metres10metres spread. It is of thebiplane type,d is 9*5metres in overall length. Equ ipped with aAntoinette engine, it weighs 500 kilogs. in runningIn front is theelevator, and at therear is afixed

M. VERMOREL , an engineer at Villefranche-sur-has had an aeroplane constructed for experi-No particulars are as yet available

as to thetype he has selected, but it is stated that theengine is capable of developing 48-h.p. and weighs78 kilogs.Bernard Aeroplane.M. BERNARD, of Marigny, is reported to be con-structing an aeroplane of an entirely novel character,which he designates by the term multiplan articule,because it is sodesigned as to give automatic transverseand longitudinal stability. In addition, it is to beequipped with a special system of propellers, which havebeen designed togive a better starting effect.Zatopp Aeroplane.

M. ZATOPP, a Russian civil engineer, is reported tohave achieved a flight of 32metres at Saint Martin deCrau, in anaeroplane which isequipped with an enginethat is said touse a form of glycerine as a fuel.The Lepouse Aeroplane.

TH E aeroplane which is being built by M.Lepouseat Brussels, and which is to becalled an "aern-torpille"measures 5 metres in length and has a span of only3 metres. It is said to beequipped with a gas turbine,and that thewhole apparatus only weighs 75kilogs.Fa rman ' s Ann ive r sa ry in Fl ight .

WEDNESDAY of this week, January 1,5th, was theanniversary of the first Grand Prix of the air, whichH enry Farman won bymaking a flight of 1 kilom. in aclosed circuit. Theprize of 50,000 francs wasesta-blished by Messrs. Deutsch de la Meurthe and ErnestArchdeacon, and thewinning of it was justly consideredto mark thebeginning of a new era in aviation. Alwayswere thepioneers striving to make a circular flight, andit seems almost incredible that only a year ago there wasno official record of such anapparently simple perform-ance having been accomplished. Since that day Farmanhas made wonderful strides, as everyone expected hewould. InJuly hewon theArmengaud prize for remain-ing in the airover a quarter of anhour in duration, and

INTERNATIONAL AERONAUTICAL CONFERENCE.Key plan to thephotograph opposite. / '..-'.I. J. H. LEDEBOER, and 2. H. l'ERRIN {Secretaries of the Conference}; 3. V. JACOBS (Belgium); 4. COUNT DE LAVAULX(France); 5. ROGER W.WALLACE, K . C . (Chairman Aero Club U.K., and President of the Conference); 6. PROF. Busi.EY(Germany); 7. Reporter; 8. V I C E - A D M I R A L SIRC H A R L E S C A M P B E L L , K.C.M.G. ; 9. H O N . C. S. R O L L S ; 10. C A P T . K I N D E L A N(Spain); II. J. T. C. MOORE - BRABAZON ; 12. H. H lEDEMANN (Germany); 13. PROF. A. K. H UNTINGTON ;14. L T . - COL. MOEDEBECK (Germany) ; 15. COL. ScHAECK (Switzerland) ; 16. CAPT. MESSNER (Switzerland) ; '17. CAPT. H lLDEBRANDT [Germany) ; 18. E. CLOUTH (Germany); 19. H. WURMBACH (Germany); 20. JOHN DUNVILLE ;2 1 . C. F. P O L L O C K ; 22. LOR D R OYS TON ; 23. C O L . V I V R S (Spain) ; 24. H. S T A D E (Germany); 25. H. M A N N S (Germany);2 6 . B AR ON GUY VAN ZUYLE N (Belgium) ; 27. V. K E R - S E Y M E R ; 28. M A R T I N D A L E ; 29. E R N E S T C. B U C K N A L L .

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on the last day of October he won the French Aero Clubprize for high flight by clearing an obsta cle of 25 metres.Perhap s the flight for which his nam e is most likely togo down to history, however, is that which he m adebetween Bouvy and R heim s on O ctober 30th, for thiswas the first occasion on which man has ever flown fromone town to anothe r. Th e longest flight whichHenry Farman has hitherto executed is one of just over40 kiloms. in a duration of 44 mins. 32 sees., and wasmade on October 2nd.Farman Tr ip l ane So ld .

HENRY FARMAN has sold his triplane to somepurchasers who do not wish to have their names madeknown at the present moment. T he sale was effected onTuesday, January 5th, at Mourmelon-le-Grand after adem onstration trial. T he machine, it is interesting tonote, was sold as a triplane, although Farm an repeatedlyused it as a biplane. It is equipped with an Antoine tteengine.F a r m a n ' s N e w M a c h i n e .HAVING sold his triplane, Farm an is putting in handat Chalons two or three new machines ; the first will be atriplane built on lighter lines than that just sold, thesecond will be of a different type and lighter s til l; atpresent no information is available as to what the thirdwill be like. Th e smaller of the two proposed m achineswill have an engine of not m ore than 25 to 30-h.p., and afeature of its arrangement will be such that it will operatewith either one or two propellers running at 600 r.p.m.It is stated that H enry Farm an is abou t to take outpatents on these machines.Maur i ce Farman ' s Aerop lane .

TH E aeroplane w hich M aurice Farma n, brother ofthe famous Henry Farman, is having built for himself,will be cons tructed by Ma urice M allet. It is a biplanewith a 1 o-metre span, and carries the engine and thepilot's seat on a centra l frame. In front is an elevatorand behind is a rud de r; means are also provided forwarping the planes. Two engines have been chosen withwhich trials are to be made, one a 40-h.p. R. E. P. andthe other a 58-h.p. Re nault. It is probable that themachine will b e equipped with two propellers driven bychains. Th e machine is expected to weigh 250 kilogs.

without the motor or propellers. Exc ept for the rudder,there are no vertical surfaces on the machine.Br i t i sh A rm y A eroplane " F l ics " 20 Ya rds .

PI LOTED by Mr. Cody, the British Army aeroplanesucceeded, on Saturday, January 9th, in "flying" amatter of 20 yards on the Farnborough Common.During the course of its brief flight it attained an altitudeof about 10 feet, but at no time did the machine lookvery happy in the air, for it was obviously too heavy inthe stern. This, according to Mr. Cody, was due to thearrangement of the condensers behind the pilot, and heanticip ates that when they are shifted forward he will beable to make a more successful effort.We publish this week two very interesting photographsof the machine taken on the occasion of its trials onSaturday. On e shows the aeroplane, which measuresover 51 feet span, being drawn to the seat of operations,and the other shows it in the air at a very sharp angle tothe ground.Robar t Aerop lane .M. H E N R I R O B A R T , of Amiens, has recommencedhis flying experiments with a new aeroplane weighing400 kilogs., and fitted with a 40-h.p. An toinette engine.T he surface is 50 sq. m etres, and the engine drives twotwin-bladed propellers through chains ; the propellers are2 32 metres in diameter and 3 metres in width.De C aters ' Aerop lane.

BARON DE CATERS, who has entered for thekilometre prize instituted by the Belgian Aero Club,succeeded in acco mplishing a few flights of about100 metres in length at Brecht on D ecem ber 20th.Foggy weather brought his trills to a conclusion.Delagrange on Heavy-weights .T H E R E is already the beginning ol much differenceof opinion in aeronautical circles as to the ultimate useof light aviation motors, and M. Delagrange is taking theinitiative on the side of the heavy-weights by makingpractical experiments with them . H e has equipped hisaeroplane with a 50-h.p. Chenu engine weighing 3 kilogs.per horse-power, and has already made some short flightswith it. It only remain s for him to accom plish a longflight successfully to turn everyone's attention in this newdirection.

BR ITISH AR M Y AERO PLAN E.M r. Cody in flight on Saturday last at Farnborough on the new Arm y aeroplaneThis {light was about 20 yards (by some it is stated to have been 50 yards) at a height of 10 feet.38

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Orville Wright on the Cost of Upkeep.SPEAKING to a press representative before heleft America to join his brother Wilbur in France,Orville Wright m ade the interesting statement that " anaeroplane flies faster, is cheaper to run, and is more easilyhandled than any other machine. Airships will havetheir uses, but can never be as practicable as aeroplanes."If all these things are trueand Orville Wright ought toknow as well as anyonethere is not only going to be avery great future for the aeroplane, but it is going tocome very quickly, for in these hard times an appeal tothe pocket is heeded by all, and there never was a day inthe history of man when the idea of speed did not sethear ts beating faster. Th e only thing that is a stumb lingblock at the present time is just that little doub t as towhether these same aeroplanes really are " more easilyhandled than any other machine."

Orville Wright at Plymouth.B Y the time he reache d Plymouth in the " KaiserWilhelm der Grosse," on Monday, January n t h , OrvilleWright had a little more to say on the same subject withthe representatives of the English press who came to seehim. Speaking on the subject of comm ercial flyingmachines, he said that he did not think they would comeinto general use for commercial purposes, although hewas convinced th at they would largely take th e place ofyachts and motor cars for pleasu re. H e was emphaticin stating that " Most assuredly in 10 years the conquestof the air will be accomplished, and it is my belief thatthe aeroplane will have made great strides in progress, as

has the motor car in the last decade."Orville Wright has not yet recovered from his accident,and , in fact, his docto r think s it will be a year before heis quite right again. Orville himself, however, wants tofly in three months, although he has no in tention oftaking any undue risks ; moreover, he has the vigilant eyeof his sister Ka therine on him to see that he attemp tsnothing rash at the present moment.Wright Aeroplane Makers.Tw o firms have been selected to undertake theconstruction of the Wright aeroplanes for M. LazareWeiller's Company, the Cie. Generale de NavigationAerienne. On e of these firms is the Chantiers de France,of Dunkirk, and the other is the Societe " A stra " ofBillanc ourt. T he sole selling rights hav e been ac quiredby M. Michel Clemenceau, son of 1 he well-known FrenchMinister, who has, according to the latest information,given an order for twenty-five machines.Aeroplane Experiments in America.

SEVERAL experiments with the new aeroplane," Silver Dart," described in our last issue, were made onDecem ber 6th, when three short flights were accom-plished. Th e machine was also out again on Dec. n t h ,and some trials were made with two persons on board,but they were brought to a conclusion by a slightaccid ent. Soon after the aeroplane rose a few feetfrom the ground, however, it tipped to one side,bringing one of the wings into contact with the earth.This caused the machine to swing round suddenly, result-ing in the wheels being sm ashed. It is thought that theapparatu s got out of control owing to the gyroscopic actionset up by the 50-h.p. motor driving the single propeller.Aero Club of France Affiliations.THE Aero Club of Fran ce has just accepted the

the Anciens Aerostiers Militaires of Paris, and the otherthe Aero Club de l'Ouest, which has its head-quarters atAngers.Official Pilots.THE Pilots' Flight Certificate of the Aero Club ofFrance has been issued to Messrs. Wilbur Wright, OrvilleWright, Henry Farman, Delagrange, Bleriot, SantosDumont, Esnault-Pelterie, and Captain Ferber.The rules under which these certificates are issuedhave been compiled by the Aviation Committee of theAero Club of France.Prize for Aero-Motors.

THE Commission d'Aviation of the Aero Club ofFrance has drawn up rules for a prize to be offered foraero-m otors. It will consist of a sum of 500 frs. and willbe awarded to the maker of the engine which was usedon the aeroplane which has achieved the record distanceflight up to Jun e 30th, this year. A sum of 200 frs.will be awarded under similar conditions as secondprize.The se prizes have been presented by M. Lariviere andM. Robert Balsan respectively.L.N. Pupi l s .

THE Ligue Nationale Aerienne has evidently nointention of perishing with the passing away of th epresent generation. It has founded a committee ofpupil pilots, who are recruited from the engineers-to-beof the well-known technic al schoo ls. Am ong those whohave joined are 80 students from the P olytechnic, 50from the C entral School, and a large numb er from theMining School. In order to enable the boys to witnesspractical experim ents, ce rtain day s have been set apar tfor them at the Juvisy aerodrome.The L.N. at Douai.A BRANCH of the Ligue Nationale has been foundedat Douai. M. Louis Breguet, MM . Ren e Quinton andErnest Archdeacon opened a conference at the Hippo-drome there on Sunday last, January 10th, when thesubjtct of aerial navigation was discussed.T.C.F. Aerial Tourists.

REALISING that the object of the Tou ring Club ofFrance is the development of touring in all its forms, thatbody has just created a Comile dc Tourisme Aerien, underthe Presidency of M. Leon B arthou, w ith M M. LeonChaix and Paul Ren ard as Vice-Presidents. T he preli-minary work for this new section will consist in the studyof matters relating to the preparation of suitable maps andguides to landmarks, garages, & c, and of informationrelating to legislation, general regulations, and Custom sformalities. In eviden ce of its practic al intere st in th emovement, it has inaugurated its formation by subscribingic o francs to the fund opened by the Aero nautic Clubfor the founding of the Mechanics' Prize, which wasrecently referred to in Tfic Automotor Journal.(.:'' ' - >Aviation Committee in Belgium.THE Belgian Autom obile C lub has formed anAviation Committee to further the interests of mechanicalflight in that country. Th e Co mm ittee consists of Baronde Crawhez, who has been elected President, and Baronde Caters, Baron Josep h de Crawhez, Cou nt de Liede-kerke, and M M. Jacobs, H . d'Oultremont, R . Gold-

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Ligue Meridienale Aerienne. .T H E chief officers of the L.M .A. have been electedas follows :President, M. C. F . Baudry, President otthe Aero Club du Sud-Ou est; Vice-Presidents, MM . E .Saulier. E . Sirven, Viscount de Curzay, and A. Salgues ;Secretary, M. J. Avril.

Monaco F l igh t Mee t ing .L I T T L E mo re th an a week has to elapse before theopening date of the first aviation competition which theworld has seen is due to comm ence at M onaco. Alreadynine aeroplanes have been entered for the big event,which consists, as our readers know, of flying from theMonaco Quay across the bay, round Cap Martin, andback again. T he meeting is under the organisation ofthe International Sporting Club of Monaco, and will beheld under the rules of the International Federation.T he right to mak e flights in th is competition will remainin force until March 24th. It is significant thatWilbur Wright has not yet notified his intention of taking

part. T he following are the nine entries at presentengaged :E ntrant. Aeroplane. T ype. E ngine.1. Lieut. Bourgeat Antoinette ... Monoplane Antoinette2. Soc. Anto inette Antoin ette IV ... Monoplane Antoin ette3 . R. Dem anest... Antoinette V ... Monoplane Antoinette4. Dela grang e ... Voisin ... ... .Biplane ... Chenu5. Delagrange ... Voisin ... . . . Biplane ... Antoinette6. L. Breguet ... Breguet-R ichet 2 bis H elicopter- GobronAeroplane7. L. Bieguet ... Breguet ... . . . Biplane ... G obron8. Baron de Caters Voisin ... ... Bip lane ...9 . G. Vuitton . . . Vuitton-H ubert . . . H elicopter

In Aid of Messina.M. G E O R G E S P R A P E , the well-known French jour-

nalist, has written an open letter in his paper, Lcs Sports,to M. Jean Dupuy. Pre-ident of the Syndicat de la PresseParisienne, suggesting that that body should organisean aviation fete on the Longchamps Racecourse onJanuary 24th in support of the Messina Relief Fund.T he d ate suggested is one on which the racecourse wouldbe available for the purpose, and the letter urges theSociety to obtain permission to use it, and to do every-thing in its power to ensure the attendance of manyaeroplanes and airships for all Paris to see.If this project is carried through successfully, it woulddoubtless have the twofold effect of raising a very con-siderable sum for a charitable and deserving purpose,and also of giving a further impetus in the public mindto the cause of flight. Already several aeronau ts havetentatively promised assistance.A n j o u C u p .

ON Saturday evening, January 9th, a committeemeeting was held in the Angers T own H all under thechairmanship of the Mayor, Dr. Monprofit, to discussthe much talked of aviation week in Anjou to replace theGrand Prix motor race. T he organisation of the eventis to be under the control of the Aero Club of France,working in conjunction with the Aero Club de l'Ouest,and the principal event of the meeting would, of course,be the proposed Angers-Saumur race for aeroplanes. Inaddition, there would probably be some form of d emon-stration with spherical balloons, and it is also suggestedthat an event taking place between Angers and Nanteswould be acceptable to the inhabitants of the latter town.In the meantime, the A ero Club de l'Ouest has under-taken the preparatio n of draft prop osals which will forma basis for future discussion. Som e date between Sep-

tember 15th and 30th, 1909, was stated to be the mostsuitable time for the meeting to take place.Juvi sy Aerodrome Unde r Snow.

O N C E more has the Societe d'E ncou ragem ent been-forced to postpone the opening of the Juvisy aerodrome^this tim e owing to the ground being covered with snow.No da te is at pres ent fixed for th e inau guration , bu t inany case the invitation cards already issued will hold goodfor the ceremony when it occurs.Wilbur "Wright will not Fly at Juvisy.

R U MO U R S have been current that Wilbur Wright willgive demonstration flights at Juvisy before he leaves forPau. T his however is not the case, and h e has definitely-said that it is impossible for him to do so.T he Aerodrome a t Pau .AT P JU , Wilbur Wright will have a wonderfulnatural aerodrome to experiment on, and according to allaccounts, he should be further blessed with mo repropitious weather, for the climate and the winds in thatpart of the Beam district are usually of the m ildestdescription. Already the aeroplane shed has been-erected, the site chosen being in the middle of the Pont-Long moors. T he shed has been made large enough toaccommodate several aeroplanes, and contains privaterooms and a workshop. It is about 10 kiloms. fromPau, and lies north of Lescar. T he m oors on which itis placed stretch for a distance of 50 kiloms., and aredevoid of trees, houses, and cultivation.T hither Wilbur W right will be accompanied by hisbroth er Orville and his sister Katherine, besides h isthree pupils. M. Paul T issandier, who is one of them,has already sent on his machine to Pau, and it is probablethat experiments will be commenced on the 20th of thismonth.Aero E xhibits at Agricultural H all.IN connection with the Cordingley Motor E xhibitionand Market, which is to be held in March next at theAgricultural H all, there will again be an aero section.We are informed that one or two prominent aviatorshave promised to lend their machines, so the exhibitsshould therefore be more interesting than has been thecase with previous displays there.Avia t ion in Spa in .T H E King of Spain is apparently anxious that hiscountry should not be behind others in the realm offlight, and as a preliminary to further progress he isdispatching Cap tain Kin delan . and anoth er officer toFran ce and Am erica with a view to investigating what is-going on in those countries. In the meantime, a societyis being formed at Barcelona, termed the Association deLocomocion Aerea. T he President is Senor Gomas ySolas, and the Committee includes Messrs. F. del Villar,J. Marchesi, G. J. de Guillin-Garcia, F. Sojo, J. Padros,and J. Sarda.French Army Airship Specif ica t ion.T H E militarv authorities have asked, thro ugh th emed ium of the different societies con cern ed, for design sto be submitted to them of an airship complying with thefollowing specification :Speed, 50 kiloms. an hour for15 hours, with a load of six passengers, having an averageweight of 75 kilogs. ; maximum altitude, 2,000 metres;maximum volume, 6,500 cubic metres ; maximum length,90 metres; maximum height, 20 metres ; maximumdiameter, 13 metres. T rials will be m ade over a500-kilom. circuit in winds up to 7 metre s p er second,,

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and will last 15 hours without descen ding. The y will becarried out at an altitu de exceeding 1,300 metres duringtwo-thirds of the voyage, and places specified in ad vancewill have to be reached.A prize of 5,000 francs will be awarded to the winnerof the competition, and other prizes will be allottedaccording to classification. Th e winner will be giventhe order for the construction of a duplicate or duplicatesfor the Government.

Public Garage for Dir igibles .AN interesting project is on foot in Belgium, wherea wealthy manufacturer, M. Solvay, who, it is stated, has

been backed up by Pringe Albert of Belgium, has decidedto build an immense shed at jemeppe for dirigibles andairships. Large stores of hydrogen will be available forthe inflation of envelopes, and arrange men ts m ade forcarrying on other kinds of work in connection with them.It is stated that the Company have ordered two dirigiblesfrom France as part of their stock-in-trade, and that oneof their engineers, M. Lepouse, is experimenting with anaeroplane of peculiar construction. What their ultimatefull programme is to be, is not at present quite evident.Germany ' s Ai r sh ip Garage .

GERMANY is also contemplating the erection of avast shed for her airships, but in this case it naturally

J tJ jA /nxxJ t ixrruxJu

IN TE RN AT ION AL AER ON AU TICA L FEDERATION. Signatures of those present at the Luncheon to theDelegates of the Conference, given at the Royal Automobile Club on Tuesday, January 12th.

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assumes more of a national aspect. Th ose of theZeppelin type are, as our readers know, housed infloating sheds, but the suggested new garage would beerected at Friedrichshof on land.Schutte Airship.

No further particulars, beyond those publishedin The Automotor Journal on Decem ber 12th, areavailable in respect to the Schutte airship, which hasbeen designed by a Professor of the Danzig TechnicalHigh School on lines suggested by a Berlin architectnamed R ettig. Mu ch importance, however, is beingattached by those interested, to the wooden frameworkwhich is being employ ed, for in othe r respects it is veryeviden t tha t the airship is to follow closely on Zep pelinlines. It has been sought to show that the Zeppelindisaster was caused by a self-generated electric discha rgeirom the aluminium framework, and on these groundsthe use of wood in the Schutte dirigible is claimed to bea vast improv ement. American pine is the selectedmaterial.Siemens-Schukert Airship.

T H E information which was published in Th eAutomotor Journal of November 23rd, to the effectthat the famous Siemens-Schukert firm were about totake u p th e con struction of airships, is materialising inthe further news that they have already decided uponthe designs for their first machine, which is to be builtunder the supervision of Captain von Krogh . Th eenvelope will be of th e ordinary non-rigid type, havinga volume of 12,000 cubic metres, with a length of100 m etres and a diameter of 13 metres. It will bepropelled by engines developing 500-h.p., and there willbe at least two, and perhaps three, passenger cars.Consul t ing Avia t ion Engineers*

IT seems early days yet for aviation to have c on-sulting engineers. But there are some people who are

ever on the move with the times, and thus there aregenerally to be found a few who depart from a rigorouslyconservative policy in these matters. Messrs. Markhamand Pran ce are a case in point at the present time, forthey inform us they have laid themselves out to deal withthis new industry in the same way as they have do newith autom obile matters on land and on sea. Amo ngother duties which they will undertake is to secure anymake of flying machine which their clients may wish topossess, and as all the well-known machines happ en,unfortunately, to be in France at the present time, thoseof our readers who may be thinking of obtaining a Wrightor a Voisin for experimental purposes may find theservices of Messrs. Markham and Prance a considerablesaving of time and trouble.Church bans Flight.

I F General Kov anko, one of the speakers at theannual meeting of the Russian Aero Clu b, has beencorrectly reported, it would appear as though the OrthodoxChurch is opposed to the study of aviation. It seems also,although the secret has been well kept, that Russia hasa peasant who can easily beat Wright and Farman attheir own game. H e is said to h ave had the audacity tofly over a church in the aerop lane he has invented, andfor this deadly sin he was prosecuted by the priest,condemned to be birched and anathematised by the localdiocesan council. We ought to hear more of him01the reporter.

Aeronautical Patents.Applied for in 1007.

Published Junitary \\tJi., 1909.27J552- J- W CLOUD. Means of transport by land, water, or air.Applied for in 1908.

Published January l^t/i, 1509.2,588. L . BLERIOT. Balancing steering apparatus.6,566. M. F. GUTERMUTH. Wings for flying machines.

A E R O P L A N E C L U B D I N N E R .T HE first annual dinner of the Aeroplane Club ofGreat Britain and Ireland was held at the Savoy Hotelon Wednesday night, M r. Horridge, K.C., M.P ., beingin the chair. Among the company present, whichnum bered L 6O, were Cap t. Ferber, of the French

Army, Major Baden-Powell, Mr. F. W. W. Hutchinson,Mr. Roger Wallace, K.C., the President of the AeroClu b of the U.K., the Prince of Kapsorthala, Co l. H . S.Massy, C.B., Sir C. Champion de Crespigny, Col. MarkMayhew, and Major Templer.

CONTINENTAL " FABRIC/ON E of the most important branches of the aeronauticindustry is filled by the Continental Tyre Co., who havemade a speciality of the production of surface material,which is constructed on the same lines as their famousballoon fabric. Altog ether they have over 100 types ofmaterial in their standard range of patterns, and of thesethree in par ticular are at present specially designed foraeroplane use. Th e lightest weighs 120 grammes persquare m etre, and has a tensile strength of 85 0 kilogs.per me tre ; it is suited to the surface of experimentalgliders.

The next fabric weighs 145 grammes per square metre,and has a streng th of 1,000 kilogs. ; it is such as isused on the Farman aeroplane. Th e third and strongestaeroplane surface weighs 190 grammes per square metre,and has a strength of 1,350 kilogs.; this pattern is strong

enough for very big aeroplanes such as are not atpresent in existence.All the abov e-men tioned fabrics consist of a singlelayer of E gyptian cotton, an d have one surface treatedwith rubb er. Th e type of fabric employ ed for sphericalballoons has two layers of co tton a rranged diagonally ;it weighs 260 grammes per square metre, and has astrength of 620 kilogs. For airships, on the other hand,the two layers have their threads parallel, and the materialweighs 330 grammes per metre for a strength of1,5co kilogs. Th is latter is such as is used on the" Ville de Paris." In the balloon and airship fabricsthere is a rubber surface between the layers, andanother on the inside of the finished envelope. Th eoutsid e of the envelop e is coloured yellow, in order tobetter resist the decomposing effects of light.

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EX TRA O RD IN A RY CO N F EREN CE O F TH EFEDERATION AERONAUTIQUE INTERNATIONALE,.. HELD IN LO ND ON O N JAN UA RY 11TH AN D 12TH, 1909.(Officially com municated by the Secretary of the Aero Club of the U.K.)Federation Aeronautique Internationale.DELEGATES.

FRANCE.Count de CastillonSaint-Victor.M. Ferber.M. Pierre Gasnier.Count de la Vaulx.M. Ernest Zens.M. Paul Rousseau.BELGIUM.Baron Guy van Zuylen.Ademar de la Hault.Fernand Jacobs.

SWITZERLAND.Col. Schaeck.GERMANY.

Prof. Busley.Lieut.-Col. Moedebeck.Capt. Hildebrandt.Herr Stade.Herr Eschenbach.Herr Hiedemann.Herr Wurmbach.G. M. Herrmann.

H. Manns,de C. Schiitze.H. Oestereich.SPAIN.Col. Vives y Vich.Capt. Kindelan.

AERO CLUK OF THEUNITED KINGDOM.Ernest C. Bucknall.Yice-Admiral Sir CharlesCampbell, K.C.M.G.,C.B., D.S.O.Col. J. E. Capper, C.B.,R.E.Martin Dale.

Prof. A. K. Huntington.V. Ker-Seymer.C. F. Pollock.Hon. C. S. Rolls.Viscount Royston.J. T. C. Moore-Brabazon.AMERICA.Roger W. Wallace, K.C.. Clouth.

At the meeting of the Bureau of the F.A.T., consistingof R. W. Wallace, K.C., Count de la Vaulx, Prof. Busley,and M. Fernand Jacobs, at the Ritz Hotel, on Monday,January n th , 1909, in the absence of M. GeorgesBesancon, who was prevented from attending throughillness, Mr. J. H. L edebo er was elected to act asSecretary for the F.A.I, during the present Conference.In the absence of Prince Roland Bonaparte, Presidentof the F.A.I., Mr. Roger W. Wallace, K.C, took thechair at the Conference that opened at 2.30 p.m.The application for admission to the F.A.I, of theAero Club of Odessa, as representing Russia, was con-sidered, and it was decided to pos tpone th e admissionuntil the next Conference.The following official resolutions were passed :Gordon-Bennett Balloon Race.The International Conference, meeting to decide thewinner of the Gordon-Bennett Balloon Race, declares ;That, having taken note of the official award of theGerman Club, whereby Col. Schaeck was, exclusively ona point of law, declared the winner ;That, having considered the various proposals sub-mitted to the meeting, some of which suggested theannulment of the race, whilst others suggested that thefirst place should b e awarded to Mr. Joh n Dunville andthat Col. Schaeck should be disqualified, regretsThat the interpretation of its rules prevents this Con-

ference from giving retroactive effect to the decision ofMay 27th, 1908 ; further regrets.Th at, having before him the proposition put forwardin a perfect spirit of sport by the Aero Club of theUnited Kingdom, Col. Schaeck should have expressedhis willingness that the first prize should be awarded tothe Aero Club which had protested against him, provided

that he himself were awarded a place in the race, andto accept the division with Mr. Dun ville of the sum of12,500 frs. This attitude is deplored by the Conference,which neve rtheless confirms the classification of theGerman Chib.The Definite Settlement of the General Regulationsof Dirigible Balloon and Aviation Contests.The regulations drawn up and presented by the AeroClub d e F rance were provisionally adopted. A com-mittee, consisting of Count de La Vaulx, Lieut.-Col.Moedebeck, Prof. Huntington, and M. Fernand Jacobs,was appointed to consider these regulations, and reportthereon to the next conference of the F.A.I.The Settlement of the General Rules for the Gordon-Bennett Aviation Cup for 1909.The rules drawn up and presented to the Conferenceby the Aero Club de France were provisionally approved.The following special conditions apply to the contestfor the present year:The contest to be held round a circuit (without a re-en trant angle) having a perim eter of from 5 to 10 kiloms. ;the total distance to be accomplished by each competitornot to be less than 20 kiloms. from the starting post tothe finishing post. Machines will be allowed to come tothe ground and start again during their circuit.

Prizes of 48,000.On the proposal of the Aero Club de Belgique theConference approved the creation of an Internatio nalprize, amouming to ^4 8, 00 0, devoted to dirigibleballoons and flying machines.Th e Aero Club of America proposed that this Confer-ence of the F.A.I, should approve the creation of acommission empowered to discuss with the various clubsthe question of International law, of the rights of indi-viduals and the State, such as the regu lation of traffic,so far as this concerns aerial navigation; the commis-sion to consist of th ree mem bers from each affiliatedClub, to include one military representative, one navalrepresentative, and one legal representative.Gordon-Bennett Balloon Race.It was unanimously decided to postpone the close ofentries for the Gordon -Bennett Balloon Rac e fromFebruary 1st to March 15th, 1909, and the Swiss A eroClub was empowered to negotiate with the SocietaAeronautica Italiana with a view to holding the nextConference in Switzerland in connection with theGordon -Bennett Balloon Rac e instead of at Milan aspreviously arranged.

Luncheon to the Delegates.Mr. Frank H. Butler entertained the Delegates to lunchat the Royal Automobile Club on Tuesday, Jan. 12th.Banquet to the Delegates.

Mr. Roger W . Wallace, K .C., Chairman of the A eroClub of the United Kingdom, entertained the Delegatesat the Cafe Imperial at the close of the Conference.Amongst the speakers were Count Wrangle, the SwedishAmbassador, Sir David Salomons, Count de la Vaulx,Prof. Busley, Col. J. E. Capper, Col. Schaeck,Lt.-Col. Moedebeck, and Mr. F. Jacobs.

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J A N U A R Y 16, 1909.

C O R R E S P O N D E N C E .* # * The name and address of the writer (not necessarily forpublication) M U S T in all cases accompany letters intended forinsertion, orcontaining- queries. ' ,

- , THE USUAL THING. ; ,, 'To theEditor of FLIGHT.

S I K , I am sending you herewith a cutting from a leadingLondon contemporary of to-day's date, in case it should haveescaped your notice. Is it not disgraceful that such articles shouldfind their way into the press? It is owing to this attitude thatEngland was so far behind in the early days of themotor industry.As you are making a point of counteracting the habit of scoffingagainst this new industry, perhaps youmight think it worth while torefer to the article in your paper.Yours faithfully,January 7th . - H O W A R D T. W R I G H T .The following are a few typical extracts from thearticle in questionan article, by the way, which we areglad tosee was promptly "exposed" in the Morning Post,the dayafter it had appeared in the evening paper:

" There is quite a boom at present in aeroplane matters."Of course, it is always nice to see people enthusiastic aboutnewundertakings in which they think they are interested." Such indulgence in Utopian speculation may be amusing as apastime, but, tomy mind, it will be long before one can regard theaeroplane otherwise than as a means for experiencing a novelsensation." The space an aeroplane occupies provides prohibitive limita-tions. It makes its use n large cities practically impossible, andmore or less confines it to the parks and property of wealthy land-owners. Even in warfare, where so many important claims aremade for the aeroplane, the lowelevation of flight of the latter, andthe excellent target the driver would make for themarksman, almostrestrict the use of such an appliance to night time." / understand that the Aeronautical Society has acquired astretch of ground of considerable area for experimental purposes." Nodoubt during the coming year it will become fashionable tojourney out there to witness experiments by scores of enthusiasts,many of whom will fail even to leave the ground."[As will be seen, there is a good deal of " I " about it,

as well as much haughty patronage, for which the poorpioneer in a new field should, of course, be humblygrateful. But probably, in a similarly superior strain,ere long, when all the real hard work has beendone, this self-same writer will be found graciouslyconsenting to derive some pecuniary benefit to himselfout of the valuable assets built up by those he nowseeksto ridicule. ED.]AN APPRECIATION. -To theEditor of PLIGHT.

S I R , I have just seen the first number of your new journal,F L I G H T , and would like to congratulate youon the happy selectionof this name in connection with the important subject ofaerostation.The word " Flight " is terse and comprehensive ; and, in ponderingover the subject of flight, mymind reverts to the earliest recordedbeginning of things : when " There was light." And in thatmarvellous account in Genesis of the sequence of Creation, each inorder : earth, water, air, and the denizens thereof, we at last cometo man, who had the power to evolve to a higher plane from hisprimitive condition as a defenceless creature, clothing himself withleaves andskins as a protection against the elements, cold and wet ;defending himself against the animal world. Onwards, throughTubal-Cain's time, devolving weapons and tools to provide his food,and requirements for tilling the soil and hunting wild beasts.Struggling with his fellow-men, each striving to gain what the otherhad laboured for. We trace his weapons from the Flint Agethrough various periods, in the shape of spear-heads, knives andarrows, with corresponding protection in shields and armour.Then comes "villainous salt pe tre" explosives, mines, guns,citadels and ironclads, to the present century, when we find menarmed to he teeth with Titanic weapons, both of offence and defence.Then, suddenly, we arrive at the dawn of another periodthat of"Flight." And what may his not mean? Either universaldestruction or universal peace. Clever writers, like Wells, havepictured horrors that cannot be contemplated of " flight " asameansof war. AndTennyson :

" Heard the heavens filled with shouting ;"And there rained a ghastly dew,From the nation's airy naviesGrappling in the central blue."We , however, can hope otherwise; for in the Old Bcjok thePsalmist asks for " the wings of a dove " in order that he might be" at rest." So, let us in this new year consider F L I G H T as theharbinger of peace and goodwill towardsmen.

Wishing you every success with your new venture.I remain, yours faithfully,January 8th. H E N R Y E D M U N D S .

PROGRESS IN FLIGHT.To the Editor of FLIGHT.

S I R , I n Mr. Jack Humphrey's letter I read the words, "Whatof Voisin ?"May I still ask what of him ? Mr.Jack Humphrey seems veryupset with him because he does not deliver some propellers heordered, and then in the next paragraph says he can do, and isprepared to do,everything that they can in France.Why, then, does he not make the propellers himself, since he isprepared to make machines for other people in England, Englishmade?I suppose a propeller is one of the little details they know moreabout in France ? Yours truly,J. T. C. M O O R E - B R A B A Z O N .

AN ENGINE FOR MODELS.To the Editor of F L I G H T .

S I R , R e f e r ri n g to the letter of Mr. Eldridge in your issue of lastweek, it would be interesting to have particulars of your corre-spondent's requirements : power required, and howmany cylinders,& c. Yours faithfully,Jan. 9th. W. O. S.P. S.I amdelighted with your paper.

HOLYHEAD TO DUBLIN BY AEROPLANE.To the Editor o/" F L I G H T .

SrR,Mr. Wilbur Wright has succeeded in flying a distance ofalmost eighty miles.This is more than sufficient to cover the streak of water betweenHolyhead and Dublin, and the idea has occurred to us that asuccessful flight between the two places would excite an immenseamount of interest, and incidentally afford an exciting experience tothousands of Irish people who would foregather in Dublin to see thefirst of those who attempt the trip successfully alight in the PhoenixPark.

The idea, we feel sure, would prove attractive to aeroplanists,and if sufficient inducement were offered, no doubt Mr. Wright orsome other flyer would make the attempt.We should be glad to contribute ,100 to a prize fund to the firstwho accomplishes this feat during the year 1909, in the hope thatother Irishmen, and especially those interested in the vitally impor-tant question of aerial flight, will join, and soprovide a sufficientlyalluring total. Yours, &c.,M E C R E D Y , P E R C Y AND CO., LTD.Motor News Office, Dublin.

> ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS-W.M. (Rotherham).We will endeavour to take thematter up; and shall also be glad to receive detailsof your machine when you are able to furnish them.S.J. (Hirnant).Any particulars you care to send usabout your idea will be treated with strict confidence.We shall be happy to give you ouradvice and opinion.L. N. N. (Stockwell).We note your views and will bearin mind your wishes.C.C. (Holloway). We much appreciate your congratula-tions. Your letter hasbeen forwarded as requested.H.H.G. (Putney)Many thanks for hearty welcome.The time is, we fear, barely ripe for carrying out yoursuggestion, but at the same time we are fully mindfulof our mission.W.O.S. (London, EC.)We very much esteem yourex-pression of satisfaction. Any information concerningyour own machine would be very welcome.

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