The gazette-times. [volume] (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925, 1914-07-23
Transatlantic Flying Boat Ready for
Its Great Voyage.
August Popular Mechanics.

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Its Great Voyage.
August Popular Mechanics.
Early last February Mr.. Rodman
Wanamaker unfolded his audacious
scheme, long ruminated and now ma
ture, to bridge the Atlantic by aero
plane. He had closed with Mr.. Cur
tbs. the hydro master, for a craft to
win the Lord Northcliffe prize for the
first fight from the New World to the
the Old within 70 hours. Preferably
two men should drive her from New
foundland to Ireland between dawn
and dark on summers day. But
on this condition he would not insist;
for even with no restriction the en-
terprise seemed sufficiently difficult,
if not hazardous. The details he
would leave to Mr.. Curtiss and his
technical associates.
Once taught the air lane, whole
fleets of ocean fliers would promptly
follow. Live fellows in New York
would fit to London Friday nights,
and, after Sundays dinner, fit back
to business. This metropolitan pro-
pinquity should assimilate and unity
all peoples. War should be forgot
ten. The globe so shrunk should at
length crib but single homogeneous
family, forever tranquil and prosper
GUS. So figured Mr.. Wanamaker.
The generous optimist would hasten
the millennium.
The idea of soaring meteorlike
from continent to continent, without
stop and in a single summers day.
had Mr.. Wanamaker's approval and
the worlds applause. The project
was magnificent If somewhat ven
turesome. Impossible it could not
truly be called; for had not Ger
man recently flown 16 out of the II
or IS hours required for favorable
voyage? The chances seemed fair
for the voyage, fair for rescue in case
of premature descent.
But less dramatic, less difficult
program was presently proposed and
soon adopted. A stanch flying boat
with two men and gasoline for con-
tinuous voyage of day and a night
should sail for the Azores, and thence
with replenished tanks, sweep
straight to Europe. The longest stage
would thus be under 1900 miles, or
very little more than the worlds rec
ord for a nonstop fight OF one man
in a land aeroplane. 1t would be
feasible to alight at any moment on
the sea, except in a considerable |
storm, make adjustments of the pro-
pelling system, and proceed without
So, after mature coun-
sci with their confidential associates
Mr.. Wanamaker and Mr.. Curtiss
agreed upon this second plan, and |
determined to push the work to a |
finish as early in the summer as
practicable.
The sea flier as finally built looks
lige resplendent red whale with
biplane wings jutting out from its
sides. The forepart of the hull is the
cabin with closed turretlike hood,
having celluloid windows around and
above it to give clear view of the
world, the sky, and the craft itself.
The rear tapering part of the hull
carries the tail plane and rudders
exteriorly, and interiorly is compos-
ed water-tight compartments. The
central part of the hull contains the
gasoline tank from which the fuel is
pumped up to the smaller supply
tanks situated beneath the upper
plane. The air boat measures 72 IT.
across its upper plane, 46 TT. across
Its lower, "a #. from stem to stern,
where the vertical rudder is hinged,
spreads about 7S0 So. it. of winged
surface, weighs, with two men and
supplies for 1,200-mile voyage,
about 5000 lb., is propelled by twin
screws driven by two 9O-hp. engines
placed between the planes, on either
side the plane of symmetry, and is
designed to fly at 60 to 63 miles an
hour for about one day and night
continuously. The details of con-
struction are multitudinous, ingen-
lous, novel in part and carefully cal
culated, and finally tested by syste-