The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1914-06-04

and is making daily flights over
St Petersburg, it's four big engines
driving two 24-foot propellers that
enable the machine to carry 1t per-
sons at a high rate of speed. Inc
whole machine weighs two tons, says
the St. Louis Dispatch.
The significance of this is more
than that a giant aeroplane has been
made. It lies principally in the fact
that inventors have apparently over
come one of the arguments Of those
who said the aeroplane could never
be more than a rich mans toy, be-
cause it could carry only two or three
persons at time.
All the details of the new machine
are not easily obtainable. For a
long time the greatest secrecy has
been maintained in st. Petersburg
by orders, it is believed, of the war
department. Until recently no pic
lures of any part of the mechanism
were permitted to leave the country.
Naturally this mystery has helghten-
ed worldwide interest in the dread
nought.
The builder is Russian named ST.
korski. Before the present model
was completed he made a slightly
smaller one that carried IL persons.
Announcement of it's exploits was re-
ceived with wild enthusiasm by the
Russian people, who believed their
nation had outstripped the world in
aviation and that it had invented
war machine that would make It's
armies invincible.
The first model, at it's try-out. lift
ed II persons 10 feet in the air ana
circled them around an airdome at
height of 100 feet. Its four engines
made a tremendous roaring.
Encouraged by this success Slkor-
ski went to work Immediately upon
an even bigger model, in which some
of the defects of the first one were to
be corrected. 1t was not only to
have seats for 20 persons, but was to
have sleeping cabins in which part OF
it's crew might rest while the other
half was running the machine.
The new model was even more
successful than the first one. 1t was
named, the IIya Mourementz. 1t had
four motors of 100-horse power each,
two in front and two behind. The
inventor declares that any two OF the
motors will keep the aeroplane aloft
at q fair rate of speed. 1t is known
to have run on three motors while
some disorder of the fourth was be-
ing repaired by the crew.. ,.
Public interest, increased doubt
less by the air of secrecy, focused
the attention of the whole of st. Pet
ersburg upon the floating car. 1t IS
watched by thousands on its almost
daily flights over the city. Sikorski
has declared he will soon be able to
make a 1000 mile fight from St.
Petersburg to Sebastopol, by way Of
Moscow, with a full quota of 20 pas
sengers.
A special workshop had to be con-
structed for the manufacture of the
parts. Of these the most remarkable
single piece is the propeller. 1t is "a
feet long-so long, indeed, that 1t
takes seven men, each stretching out
his hands until the finger tips touch
the fingers of the next man, to meas
ure it's length. 1t weighs 24O pounds
and is capable of withstanding pres
sure of 2,O00-horse power.
In comparison with this machine
the biggest aeroplane elsewhere in
use is nothing but a toy. The motor
of the average American biplane has
but 4O-horse power, while each of the
four motors of the Russian dread
nought weighs two and half times
as much. Each wing is so feet long
or about three times the length OF the
average American biplane wing. Its
total plane surface is about lSo
square yards.
The complete independence of each
of the motors was shown in recent
fight of Sikorski's airship. AS II
scared over St. Petersburg one OF the
engines became frozen and stopped.
The aviators did not think of ending
the flight just on that account. They
calmly thawed out the engine as they
flew and, when it was in working Or
der again, started it up as If notn-
ing had happened. This flight lasted
more than an hour and half.
In common with all other Euro
pean countries Russia is perhaps
more interested in the aeroplane as
war machine than anything else. Rus