Abstract
THE Air Ministry has recently authorised the construction of two new experimental aeroplanes, one for high-altitude and the other for long-distance flights. The high-altitude machine will presumably be used for exploring the question of flight in the stratosphere, which is usually taken to mean that region in space above a height of 28,000 feet. There are plenty of aircraft in existence capable of reaching heights greater than this; the present record is 47,356 ft. held by the Italian pilot Donati, but no attempt has yet been made to deal with the possibilities of economical flight at such heights. The ultimate possibilities in this respect are much greater speeds owing to the reduced resistance of the rarified air. It will be necessary to carry superchargers to supply the required oxygen for the combustion of the engine fuel, appliances for breathing and heating, air-tight cabins or special suits for the occupants, and propellers the pitch of which can be changed to suit the different air conditions. These extras will have weight, which will reduce the fuel-carry ing capacity of the machine, and it is not impossible that this requirement alone will limit the practical utility of stratosphere flying.
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High-Altitude and Long-Distance Flights. Nature 135, 335–336 (1935). https://doi.org/10.1038/135335b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/135335b0