ever, that there is a new type "Maurice" coming through, like the seaplanes, without a front elevator, which is to be considerably faster. Certainly the "herd of mechanical cows," as the M. Farman flights at Lilbourne were called, did good work whenever the weather permitted, but they had no real enemy to worry them. I gather also that they are troublesome to get off wet clay soil, for the steel strips at the heels of the skids dig in if the wheels sink a little, and if the machine is tilted forward to clear the heels, the long front skids act as ploughs.

her

The No. 3 Short comes into the same category as the H. Farman. The small steel struts make her look dreadfully fragile, and give her a look of lightness, which is, at any rate, appropriate, but the naval engineers have worked out strengths and are satisfied as to her safety, which is good enough for anyone. She is very fast, very easy to handle, and lands beautifully--when the pilot knows how-but she might be improved, like the H. Farman, for the use of the average pilot, by the fitting of a chassis of the R.E.P.-Vickers type, similar to that on the new H. Farman waterplane, and I am inclined to think that for landing across ridge-and-furrow, a better chassis still would be one with a central skid running right up to the nose of the fuselage with a single big-tyred wheel far out on each side, sprung like those on the first GordonEngland Bristol or the latest Avro. Numbers of machines of this type have been turned over and damaged by running into low banks or hedges at 15 or 20 m.p.h., or by the short skids sticking in a bump or hollow. The straight central skid would stop that, and would also strengthen the fuselage in a collision with a wall or building if it failed to stop in time. The No. 3 Short has a particularly comfortable nacelle, pilot and passenger each having a wind-screen to himself, so that the observer can write and draw in comparative comfort.

The S38 type Short is to the No. 3 more or less what the M. Farman is to the Henri, though the later 38s, with 80-h.p. Gnomes, can do something like 60 m.p.h. The up-and-back slope of the wing tips makes them very stable though it seems to give them a tendency to roll. Possibly this is also due to the raval pilots, who seem to let their machines roll about more than the soldiers do. Which is natural with people who "drill with the deck on the slew." The 38s also have the double wind-screens, and I am told that if the crew squat an inch or so lower in their seats the screens shoot rain right over their heads, and one can fly without getting wet. The naval pilots think most highly of both types of Shorts, and their performances on manœuvres have given the soldiers a very high opinion of these machines, which is thoroughly well deserved, for there is no more conscientious work or better material in any aeroplane built to-day.

The Caudron was not used a great deal, but what it did was well done. Its climbing powers are excellent, and though it is supposed to be slow it flies at 63 m.p.h.-officially timed. The fact that the warp is very slow in acting worries some pilots, and I believe the machine would be improved if the spars were locked solid and the flexible trailing edge were warped instead. The reason for the slow action of the warp is simply that when the spar comes down and extra pressure is put on the surface on that side, the flexible edge gives to it like a spring, as it is intended to do. As a result the machine is at its best in a "bumpy" wind, when the springy edge is brought into operation, and at its worst in a "wavy" wind when the machine is rolled about bodily. The work in the French machine is a trifle rough, but in the British-built Caudrons it is greatly improved. With certain minor alterations the Caudron would soon win favour. The Caudron spar, of sandwich construction, steel plate in the middle with wood behind and in front, is one of the best things of its kind.

The Bréguet, so far as manœuvres were concerned, had a "short life and a gay one. She was timed along Watling Street by her passenger to do one 15 mile stretch in 7 minutes, with the aid of a 50 m.p.h. wind, and she piled herself up gracefully near Northampton on Wednesday morning, owing to nobody's fault in particular, and did not appear again. There is undoubtedly a prejudice, and, I think, a deserved one, against the Breguet wing, the idea being that in flattening out after a dive the fuselage comes flat, but the wings, pivoting on the

one spar and depending on springs which may become fatigued, continue on the same path so that the machine does not come up in response to the elevator. Check-wires are fitted to the rear of the wing to prevent the trailing edge from rising too far, but these do not appear sufficient, owing to the flexibility of the wing. I am perfectly certain that the Bréguet will never find favour till the wing design is radically altered, and I believe that the best thing would be for the Bréguet to adopt the Caudron wing, but with steel struts and fixed spars. Another trouble is that the Bréguets have an unfortunate reputation for spiral nose-dives. This is apparently caused by the lack of vertical surface aft, so that in a spiral descent, if the machine begins to slip outwards, the side area of deep fuselage, engine, radiators, etc., in front checks it, and the tail "spins" round it, just as the R.A.F.'s experimental 100 m.ph. 100-h.p. machine with the circular fuselage spun round its head, and nearly killed Mr. de Havilland.

A New Point of View.

The Sopwith was laid up for a day or two with a strained chassis, but it did good work. It was considerably the fastest machine there, after the demise of the Bréguet. It is unneces sary to say much about it, beyond stating that its recent successes have evidently impressed the Royal Aircraft Factory to such an extent that the latest machines, to be known as B.E.Ss, which they are permitting the Royal Flying Corps to have built by outside firms, bear more than a family resemblance to the Sopwiths. From a purely military point of view I have rather doubted the value of the Sopwith for purposes of detailed observation, and in the course of a little trip with Mr. Hawker the other day I found it difficult at 2,000 feet or so to observe anything directly below without getting my head nearly blown off by the draught, until Mr. Hawker treated me to a sharply-banked spiral, but inside the cowl it is perfectly peaceful. I was, therefore, much interested when a Staff College officer, who admitted that he knew nothing at all about aeroplanes, told me that he liked the Sopwith best of all, because one could come on deck and make one's observations with sufficient accuracy, He and then retire into the cabin and do one's office work. apparently preferred the alternation of storm and calm, to the variable and irritating breezes which annoy both passenger and pilot in the B.E.'s, and envelop them from top to toe. The matter is worth consideration, especially where a fast machine is needed for long strategical reconnaissances.

The B.E.s were naturally exceedingly interesting to watch, as one sees but little of them at the civilian aerodromes. It has often been said in this paper that considered purely as flying machines, apart from detail design, they are among the halfdozen best in the world, and the way they flew on manœuvres thoroughly upheld their reputation. The one serious accident of the manoeuvres, which happened to a B.E. on the Monday, was, I gathered, due to a momentary lapse on the part of a very tired pilot, who relaxed his attention on nearing home after a three hours' fight with very bad weather, and if the consequent nose-dive had occurred a hundred feet higher up there would have been no accident at all. As it was, the heavy The acciweights being in front saved the lives of the crew.

dent is, however, an argument in favour of more inherent stability, though most pilots prefer a "tender" machine which gives them more control.

Since the first B.E's were ordered from contractors, various details of design have been altered, and the machine is considerably improved. Also those on manoeuvres which were built by the Bristol Company, and by Vickers, Ltd., were magnificent examples of the best class of British workmanship, excelling in every way those turned out by the Royal Aircraft Factory itself. The chief objection to the present type is that they are draughty, and that unless the pilot is very clever, they are difficult to land in a small field, as the tail is slow to come down if it is not dropped well before landing, and the machine runs a long way. Once the tail is down the steerable skid allows them to taxi with great precision.

In these and other fast machines a hand-operated brake. which may be either a wheel brake, or a claw which digs into the ground in the way used on almost all German aeroplanes, would be an advantage. In the latter case it should be well clear of the ground till put into operation, and it should be

about under the pilot's seat where it will have plenty of weight on it and still "trail," so that it cannot turn the machine over. If placed too far back it has too much leverage over the weight which it ought to be supporting and so loses its effect. Experiments with wind brakes, to slow the machine before actually touching the ground would be of value. The expanding vertical fin or rudder, patented, I believe, by Mr. Howard Flanders, has possibilities.

Unfortunately, I could not stay till the Friday, and so missed the entertaining sight of Colonel Seely's trip in a B.E.. Just why he, who could fly every day at Farnborough if he wished for real experience, should have chosen to disport himself before the King is not explained. The action suggests that undesirable quality known colloquially as "swank." I gather that an opportune petrol leakage, an unpleasantly bumpy wind, and an engine which was a trifle erratic, combined to produce a somewhat chilled Minister of State when he gratefully returned to what the late Sir Walter Scott-not I-calls "the vile dust from whence he sprung."

The Blériots behaved well throughout, but the opinion of observers on the tandems seemed to be that though the view downwards is perfect it is impossible to see ahead, owing to the wings cutting below the normal line of sight for mapreading. Consequently, the pilot has to do the navigating. Our naval Blériot at Lilbourne was frequently used by the O.C. No. 5 Squadron for his personal transport, and the pilot rigged up a pair of string reins by which signals were given to him from the back seat. One tug on right rein, turn to right gently, two tugs turn sharp, three tugs turn a circle to right. I asked what happened if the passenger kept on tugging, to which the pilot replied that he would probably land and ask the passenger what the several adverbs he thought he was playing at. tug to both arms meant go up, and two tugs come down. The system is quite good. Mr. Sabelli tells me that his observers in Turkey used to carry a stick and prod him on one side or the other, and that when they wanted to descend they hit him on the head. With an excitable observer, reins would be preferable.

One

suggests that there is really a need for a strong, wind-worthy, three or four seater with good lifting power,, but not necessarily fast, to act as a flying workshop.

Good points in the Blériot are its chassis and tail skid, which make it by far the best machine to land in a ridge-and-furrow country, as it can pancake safely, and practically stop where it touches. Unfortunately, the chassis, plus the open end to the fuselage, increases head-resistance enormously, so that the 80h.p. Blériot is not so fast as either the Sopwith or Avro with the same power. Still, its many other good qualities make it a machine which should always find a place in the Flying Corps. Probably nothing beats it for bomb-dropping, vide Mr. Sabelli's experiences in Turkey, or for detailed tactical observation, especially when troops are so hidden that they can only be seen when one is vertically above them, or actually looking back at their hiding place, say, at the back of a hedge or a line of trees. The single seater 50-h.p. Blériot is a good machine, but not fast enough for the work a single-seater has to do, and must be regarded solely as a school machine.

Dirigibles.

Lack of time prevented me from visiting the "White" dirigibles, "Beta" and "Eta," at Dunchurch, much to my regret, but I gather that, allowing for their limitations, they did good work. They made several night trips without being seen, although so low that they could see the men in the Brown camps eating their dinners. Also there is internecine strife in the R.F.C., because the "Delta" claims to have sneaked round the Chiltern Hills, and to have destroyed No. 3 Squadron's machines before they got off the ground, while No. 3 says that the "Delta" was never within four miles of their camp, and that their machines were all round and over her before she got back to her own country. If you go and talk to No. 1 (Balloon and Kite) Squadron about "a caterpillar browsing on the tree-tops,' and "the over-gorged creature's frantic efforts to escape"-for which phrases thanks to Mr. Charles Hands of the "Daily Mail"-you are likely to learn much about your own past, present, and future, but little about dirigibles.

However, despite their troubles the dirigibles got there and back safely. On Thursday evening the ill-fated "Delta" burnt out an exhaust-pipe, so that for a brief and very unpleasant

The enclosed nature of the country