Abstract
THE first attempt to cross the Atlantic by aeroplane will go down to posterity as one of the milestones in the progress of aviation, and there seems little reason to doubt that this feat will soon be accomplished. The two main factors affecting the result are the trustworthiness of the engine and the state of the weather. The best engines of to-day are capable of running for periods considerably longer than that required for the crossing, and, although it is impossible to say that a given engine will accomplish a twenty-hour run without mishap, the chance of failure due to engine breakdown is by no means exceptionally great. On the other hand the weather is extremely difficult to forecast, and very little information is obtainable as to the conditions prevailing at a height of 10,000 ft., even though the surface conditions are fairly well known. Every possible provision will be made for the safety of the aviators in the case of a forced descent at sea, but the element of risk is naturally a very serious one, and we can but admire the men who are so ready to face it.
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The Atlantic Flight . Nature 103, 147–148 (1919). https://doi.org/10.1038/103147a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/103147a0