New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-07-24
Planes with $500 Pounds
and Ocean Flight Now
Seems Assured.
START EXPECTED
BEFORE AUGUST Is
Trials TO Be Made To-day to
Show Exact Amount of Weight
That May Be Carried.

TEv Telegraph ~ Tho Tribune
Hammondsport. y. y. July 23.-Th
America planed tonight with 2.6oo
mounds. breaking the worlds weight
lifting record by about 400 pounds. It's
load wa more than 800 pounds greater
than that which Lieutenant Porte mad
intended 10 carry on leaving New
foundland on the first lap OF the trans
atlantic flight.
az made a great showing said
Lieutenant Porte. "All doubts about
the America are over. 1t showed to-
night With its third engine that It
could life more than any one eN'
pected"
The successful trial tonight makes
il almost certain that the America
will be shipped from New York on
August and that the transatlantic
fight will begin before August 10.
"The America is capable of dong
moro than it did tonight" said Glenn
II. Curtss. who was at the helm dur
ing the trials. 81 purposcly throttled
down the third engine while ! was
planning and it kept its great load on
the surface without any difficulty. |
cannot see any reason why the Amer
lea should not be shipped from New
York By August /. We have few
things TO talk about concerning IT,.
nut only one or two important
changes will be necessary
The morning and afternoon trials OF
the America were failures. IL was
discovered. however. that the trouble
was that only four Of the six cylindera
OF the third engine were working and
the third propeller was falling far
short Of rs normal speed.
Needed More Weight.
Af'or this mad been corrected Mr..
Cmtiss got aboard the America in the
evening with George Hallett. the as
sistant pilot, and Henry Klecker, SUI
perirtcndcnt of the CurtiSs factory.
The America was carrying $50 gallons
Of gasolcne. Weighing about l.536
pounds. 1t had aboard also about %
pounds OF engine oil.
After ploughing through the water
for about q mile. Mr.. Curtiss turned
to get the benefit Of an eght-mle
breeze. speeded up and had the Amer
lea planning within few hundred
yards. As he came back to shore at
the hangar. Curtiss shouted from the
Americas cabin: more weight.
can't hold her down with this"
John +. Kiley waded out to the
America with two sacks Of cement.
weighing about ffty-fve pounds each.
George Robinson, weighing l75 pounds.
got aboard also. The America started
up again. and was soon planning and
skipping over the surface Of the water.
Returning, Curtiss again shouted for
more weight. and Kiley waded out with
four more sacks Of ballast.
Curtiss again took the America out
about half a mile. and planed back
with it. He wanted still more weight,
and two more bags of sand were
slowed away in the cabin Of the
America. Then it planed again. Dark
ness and fog put an end to further eX-
periments.
To Carry 1859 Pounds.
Lieutenant Porte said that he eX-
pected to carry on his flight TO the
Azores the following load: Gasoline.
800 pounds; two men. 3l3; engineec,
l76; instruments and food, 100; total.
2.3S9 pounds.
With 1900 pounds of gasolene. Lieu
tenant Porte expected to fly twenty
four hours He said last night that
he thought the gasolene on the Amer
lea could be increased by 200 or 300
pounds. thus increasing his margin of
safety by three or four hours.
A small tail plane will be added to
the America. While Mr.. Curtiss was
able to make the America plane with
out much difficulty, the air boats tail
showed a tendency to stick to the wa
ter. and it is thought that the extra
plane will make it climb out of the
water much more easily.
In order TO establish an official
weight lifting record for the America,
DR.. A. +. Zahm and VI. A. Hoyt, officials
of the Aero Club, who are in Ham
mondsport. will be asked to take charge
of the trials tomorrow and everything
that goes into the airboat will be
weighed carefully.
The great Sikorsky machine. which re-
Gently carried sixteen passengers, now
holds the weight lifting record. Ac-
cording TO Lieutenant Porte it has
flown with a weight of slightly more
than 200 pounds.