Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1911-08-25
TO PLY THE AIR
Over Lands And Sea-Our Aero
Amphibious Fleet Located
AT Annapolis
NAVY'S NEW FLYING ACADEMY
Win Develop Wondrous New Art OF
Flying -Hydro-Aeronauts To Be
Taught Art OF Water Flying

envy, opposite Annapolis. will teach
and develop wonderous new art of fly
ing-like monster water beetles, these
hydro-aeroplanes crawl from land into
water, glide on the waves at tremen-
dous speed, mount into skies, visit the
decks of ships and fly away again,
alighting where they viii. safer and
more delightful art than mere avia-
ton, ride the sea on buoyant keels $50
miles at a stretch The admiral of
this unique feet describes its use in
peace and war. 'Terra-Aqua FIELD
being established and student hydro
aeronauts to be taught new art of wa
ter gliding.
You remember the frolicksome wa
ter beetle that frisked hither and
thither upon the surface Of the old
swimming hole. then took to it's wings
and went likety-split through the
summer air, only to alight again upon
the water and repeat its aquatic per-
formances. Millennium upon millen-
mum man has been plagued by ambi
tion to fly like the eagle, but that he
might ever repeat these aero-amphi-
bious feats of the water beetle APP
pears to have remained beyond his
widest dreams and fancies until to-
day. The nucleus of a feet of won
drous contrivances rendering such
feats possible has just been acquired
by the United States Navy. July l,
the fiscal new year day of the Federal
Government, little appropriation of
SIS, 900 became available for the pur-
chase of three hydro-aeroplanes the
most wondrous distance eliminators
yet devised by the genius of man.
/ have just had an interview with
the admiral of this our first hydro
| aeroplane squadron. Capt. Washing
ton Irving Chambers. u. s. N, a
tried and trusted mariner, who, after
| securing the seven seas since he was a
lad, wishes to supplement this long
| nautical record with a career upon
the azure deep that foams and flows
| overhead The commander of the
vastest uper-dreadnaught blowing
| the aqueous sea is no prouder of his
craft than is Captain Chambers of his
latest water-be etle, the Triad.
This wondrou steed fits over the
| field, with feline tread on cushioned
feet. Up he scars of sudden, climb
ing the empyrean blue and circling
beneath the clouds till she elects to
| glide down and hover, dragonhy-wise,
over the sea. Now she touches the
wave crests, tossing up the spray with
her beautiful keels. She skins
| closer, plows up the foam, halts and
gently floats with wing tips spanking
| the ripple. Then off she flies again,
| lighting next beside a warship, which
swings out a crane to lift her upon
deck. And her skipper, having de-
livered his message, she is lifted into
the water to glide Off again over the
waves, into the sky or onto the land,
as she sees fit.
Such astonishing manoeuvers will
soon be cut in the air, in the water
and upon the shore about Greenbberry
Point, Md, where Captain Chambers
is now establishing our NAVAL Aero
drome and School of Aviation. This
spot lies just across the Severn river
from the Naval Academy at Annapo-
lis, and is ideally situated for the pur-
pose, there being upon one side a
miles width of water across the river.
and upon the other side a ten mile
stretch across the Chesapeake to Kent
Island, whence the ydro-aeroplanes
can skim the waters all the way to
Baltimore.
The instructors and students of this
new hydro-aeroplane school will mess
and berth upon the Naval Academy
ships in the Severn, and, as Captain
Chambers added, the Naval Hospital
at the Academy will be convenient
should its services be needed. " The
''terra-aqua field" at Greenberry Point
will, when cleared and filled. include
a block of dry land 1000 feet square,
upon which has just been erected a
naval aerodrome, containing three
hangers, a workship, an office and
several bunk rooms, all under one roof,
which is reinforced with rubberized
paper. Of the three big water beetles
that fill the hangers, two are of Cur
tiss make, and one is a Wrighta This
little squadron cost, all told, $14, 600.
The hydro-aeroplane has been a
matter of sudden evolution. After
some experiments at his school at
Hammondpsort. n Y, Glenn Curtiss
got more satisfactory results last
winter at San Diego, Cal. Pontoons
were placed under the frames of his
biplanes, and with such a device Ely,
one of his aviators, few from the U.
S. S. Birmingham and alighted upon
the water in Hampton Roads. And
McCurdy, another Curtiss aviator,
used the pontoon device when he flew
from Key West, hoping to reach Ha-
vana. One of the Curtiss machines in
the navy's new flying academy is of
this simple pontoon type, and in some
of the accompanying snapshots you
can identify it by the two long, cigar
shaped cylinders of sheet metal braced
just under the bottom frame, about
four feet beyond each aviator. In
other pictures is seen the later ma
chine, fitted with the 'hydroplane"-
a long, shallow, fat-bottomed boat,
closed in entirely on top and made
thoroughly alright. 1t looks like q
sneak-box, drawn under the aviator's
seat. Attached to it are wheels,
which are lowered when the machine
mounts its launching track to run on
land, or which are raised when the
hydroplane is in the water.
fC0ntinued !