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Aerial Transportation Aerial Lines Will Solve, Difficult Problems in Transportation For South By Alberto Santos-Dumont Honorary President of the Pan-American Aeronautic Federation (Copyright, 1916, by The National Editorial Service, Inc.) |
Ten years ago I piloted my very
primitive aeroplane for a few seconds,
covering a distance of less than 60
metres and the fact was reported all
over the world an a tremendous
achievement. Today I am traveling
through South America making plans
to establish aeroplane lines between
different points to solve difficult prob-
lems of transportation which restrict
the development of the resources of
South America.
The development in aeronautics in
the past four years, but particularly
In the past two years, has been tre-
mendous.
A few decades ago the world was
astonished by the development of the
railroad in North America. the rami-
fication of lines uniting distant cities
and facilitating travel, communication
and commerce. South America only
needs fast transportation to develop
its enormous natural resources with-
out fast transportation these resources
remain undeveloped. To build rail-
roads costs enormous sums. at times
over $100,000 per mile and it takes
years. Railroads are being built slow-
ly because there is not the promise
of continuous traffic which is needed
to make the railroad a paying proposi-
tion. Therefore the building of rail-
roads. while fast, considering the size
of the population of the South Ameri-
can countries, has been comparatively
slow.
The aircraft, particularly the large
and powerful aeroplanes that are be-
ing built and will be built in the com-
ing few years, bring the opportunity
for the South American States to
utilize the greatest invention of mod-
ern times in doing for then what the
railroad did for the United States.
Very soon we will see thousands of big
aeroplanes operating over the most
difficult and inaccessible regions of
South America, uniting cities, foster-
ing business and bringing civilization
to isolated communities.
An air line can be operated between two points. 100 miles apart, on short notice for what it would cost to build a single mile of railroad.
To those in South America who
have been forced to spend one week.
and at times longer, to travel over a
distance of 100 miles, the very thought
of covering the same distance in 100
minutes seems incredible. And yet it
is at hand. In some cases, owing to
the fact that the passengers will not
have to pay for their meals and sleep-
ing quarters for a week during their
journey, and will not lose days of
time. the air line will actually be much
more economic than the present meth-
ods of transportation; hence the air
line promises to be popular.
South America will adopt the air-
craft as a method of transportation in
the same way that it adopted the
wireless as the method of intercom-
munication. The establishing of wire-
less stations proved to be much
cheaper than establishing telegraph
lines in the South American countries.
The aeroplanes needed for aerial
transportation can be constructed
now: it is only a question of applying
them and the plans for the applica-
tion may take several months. But
when a start is made the development
will be swift and the results be
such as we can hardly foresee. Diffi-
cult problems of transportation will be
solved and the aircraft will become
an important sociologic factor. It will
turn the States of the western hemis-
phere into an integrally united, coop-
erating and friendly combination, al-
lied for their well-being in sport, trade
and commerce, as well as for strength
in time of possible war.
