"We now possess aeroplanes which carry a crew of seven
and passengers to the number of thirty ; which climb to a height of ten thousand feet ; which travel at a speed of one hundred miles an hour ; and which can make a journey of twelve hundred miles without a stop." That being so, the operational side of the commercial air service presents the only remaining problems. "The air traveller of the future will have no desire to take part in a circus." He will want assurance, for example, that if he runs into fog he can count on making a safe land-fall. This assurance will be guaranteed by the provision of anchored airships above the fogs. The temporarily " wanderered " air-liner will get its bearings from the stationary airship, will set its planes to the proper gliding angle, and will so make its desired land-fall by dead- reckoning of course and speed. No doubt it will be fitted with at least three sets of independent engines, and it will carry at least two competent pilots and chief engineers to guard against any sudden failure of the human element.
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