The Celina Democrat. (Celina, O. [Ohio]) 1895-1921, 1917-10-12
HaIpLanSHying ma
cline With 3, 50OhOrJe-
607uer meters, SaCy7f-
cing high speed TO
YeafcarJ1ngp09cer::
United States zOiX
AeUeL0p SCie1ce along
similar lines at once
THOUSAND gignptlc

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- marshaling his raiders into the "
shaped formation in which wild geese
travel on the wing and then a swift
Hight across the 275 miles that sep
arate the nearest point of the English
coast from the famous Kiel canal, the
rush of dropping bombs, the crash of
explosions on the earth beneath, the
crack of antiaircraft guns, and the
flash of antiaircraft Searchlights, and
then II turn-abOut and a dash for home,
with the Kiel canal and the German
fleet n ruin and n wreckage In the
rear!
This Is the picture which Henry
MoodhHuSe, one Of the governors of the
Aero Club of America has visiOned
from an inspection of the photograph
and the engineering prints of the new
6OO-horse power Caproni triplane. The
craft Is the biggest yet employed by
Germany or the allies, and yet 1t is
less than fifth as big as the machine
which Italy has under construction,
and of which all details are concealed,
except that it is to have motors gen
Grating between 1900 and $500 horse
power. One-half the size of this mon
Ster, an airplane driven by three mo-
tors, each of GOO horse power, is al
ready constructed. and news of its op-
Grafton against Italy's Austrian foes
is expected daily.
Italy is new at the business of avia-
tiun. Two years ago she had fewer
than 100 men employed in the indus
try. Today she has thousands and, on
the authority of Howard Z. Coffin,
chairman of the aircraft production
board, Italy has outdstanced her enc
mics and her allies in developing new
types of aircraft.
Maj. r. Perfetti, head Of the special
Italian commission for aerOnauticS in
the United States, is an ardent advO-
cate of the huge warplane and ac-
counts which he has been able to sup
ply this government of Italian success
in this kind of construction have done
much to divorce aerial experts here
from their allegiance to the small.
er. The extra weight-carrying capacity
Of the great machines is the especial
argument in their favor and could a
thousand such as the Caproni be con-
structed, manned, armed and loaded
with bombs, aviation experts cannot
see why the dream of destroying the |
Kiel canal and the German fleet might |
not be realized, were the entire thou |
sand to combine in a single raid.
The present 6OO-horse power Caproni
is a triplane with two fuseages or
bodies and driven by three Fiat or
lSotta-Fraschini motors any one of |
which has sufficient power to keep the |
craft aflOat even were the others to be |
disabled. The machine is of both the |
tractor and pusher type, for two pro-
pellers are mounted in front and one .
in the rear. The plane carries So
called useful load of 4,40S pounds |
which assures fuel for six hours, to-
gether with a crew of three men, three !
guns, and 2,750 pounds of bombs. 1t
has a speed of close to So miles an
hour and IS capable of climbing $3.50
feet in 13 minutes, $500 feet in q
minutes, and 10000 feet in 81 min
utes.
This seems slow in comparison to
the Spads which climb 10000 feet in
five minutes or less, but a Spad is sim
ply flying motor with sustaining
strength barely sufficient to support
the aviator and a gun. The Caproni Is
rs big as a trolley car. Its wing span
is more than 100 feet. It stands 21
feet in the air and it is nearly 80 feet
long.
The only aircraft which compares
with it in size is the British Handy
Page machine. which, with two $50
horse power Rolls-ROyce motors, car
ried 81 passengers, and has wing
spread of 9S feet, and the Curtiss and
Gallaudet monsters made in this coun- !
try. The huge Curtiss triplane air {
cruiser. with which it was hoped to
cross the Atlantic ocean before the war {
turned the thoughts of aviatOrs into
other channels, is a possibility as a