Frederick Erastus Humphreys

“ Another time where advantage might be taken of the speed of these machines is when officers of high rank might desire to give personal supervision at a distant point of the line or to go form one point to another for a council of war. ”

“ In flying over rough country, any accident is liable to cause serious consequences, especially if the flyer is low down, as it may not be able to avoid trees, houses, trolley wires, telegraph poles, etc. ”

“ The present flyer can glide down without motor at an angle of from 1 in 5 to 1 in 7.
The next question is: ‘What use are these things going to be?’
From a military standpoint, the first and probably the greatest use will be found in reconnaissance. A flyer carrying two men can rise in the air out of range of the enemy, and, passing over his head out of effective range, can make a complete reconnaissance and return, bringing more valuable information than could possibly be secured by a reconnaissance in force. This method would endanger the lives of but two men ”

“ A person looking at water can see down into it only when the angle of the line of sight with the vertical is less than about 50 degrees. In other words, a man at a masthead 100 feet high could not see a submarine until it was about 125 feet away; a man in a flyer 3,000 feet directly over a ship could see a submarine approaching within a radius of 4,000 feet of the vessel and by circling around could greatly extend the zone of protection. ”

“ In addition, it must be remember that if because of a storm the flyers can not be used the Army is no worse off than if it had none, and the cost and number of men used is insignificant. One officer, ten men and two wagons are a full equipment for a flyer. ”

“ Probably a large amount of damage could be done to the personnel of the enemy when in mass, or in a raid to the storehouses and depot, by projectiles dropped from a flyer. That any could be done to fortifications or ships is doubtful. ”

“ A flyer is only sustained in the air by the reaction due to its speed, and whenever this is lost the flyer will drop. However, this is never totally lost, as the same force that causes the descent can be used as a motive power to keep up the speed. In other words, if the motor stops, the machine is pointed down at an angle until the component of gravity in the direction it is going is equal to the push required. ”