Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-04-08

The long-awaited airplane flight
across the Atlantic ocean may be
accomplished before another month
is past Three governments hav e
been contemplating the flight, and
all three have made definite prep
arations for a start. France, Eng
land and America will race for the
honors.
A French aviator, Lieutenant
Fontan, is said to be at Dakar, a
cape in Senegambia on the north
west coast of Africa, from where he
will start flight to South America
across the Atlantic. Cape Dakar is
the native name for Cape Verde, the
westernmost point in Africa. Start
ing from a point just south of the
cape in the French colony of Sene-
gal, Lieutenant Fontain will fly 400
miles to the Cape Verde islands.
From there his route lies 900 miles
to the st. Paul Rocks, where a large
supply of petrol and other neces-
saries will await him. His final
fight will be $50 miles from St.
Paul Rocks to Pernambuco, Brazil
The entire distance of the fight
will thus be 100 miles. All along
the route escort ships will accom-
pany Lieutenant Fontan in his
French Caudron machine.
British Machine to Start,
Meantime, a secretly built two
seated, 12-cyIinder, Sopwith plane
with a 375-horsepower, Rolls Royce
engine. has been shipped to St
T1L
will soon start on trip to the coast
Of Ireland. The British navy had
this plane built in two months OF
high pressure work with the inten-
ton of using it for the first trans
Atlantic trip. This plane will at
tempt to win the prize Of $4,000
offered by the London Daily Mail
for the first machine to cross the
Atlantic. The Sopwith Aviation
company has already formally ell
tered the competition.
The British plane will have Harry
G. Hawker as pilot, and Lieutenant
Commander Mackenzie Grieve, r.
n, as navigator. Major A. Part
ridge, r. A. F., will act as starter.
Distance is 1900 Miles.
The distance between Newfound-
land and Ireland is 1900 miles, the
shortest lsstween North America
and Europe. 1t is expected that the
fight will be made in about nine
teen and a half hours at 100 miles
an hour. AS yet no provision for
naval escorts has been made. How
ever, the fusllage of the machine is
30 made as to support it on water.
A wireless outfit has also been IN
stalled In the machine.
Already a party of airmen and
meteorological experts from Eng
land are at st. Johns taking obser-
vations on air conditions. They ex-
pect to remain several months max
ing q study Of wind currents and
meteorological conditions generally
through the spring and summer.
Members of the party have been as
signed to visit various parts of the
island to TX on the most suitable
point for the observations.
While this work is going on and
while the Sopwith plane is nearing
Newfoundland, another plane, a fly
lag boat invented by Lieutenant
Colonel John G. Porte and built by
the British government, is being
sent to st. Johns to try the fight
across to England. Details of this
machine and flight are not yet
forthcoming.
VIII Try Dfrigibles.
Not satisfied with two planes for
the venture. Britain is now building
two rigid dirigibles, Each will be
800 feet IN length and have a ca
paeity of 100000 cubic feet. They
will be driven by six engines which
will generate 1900 horsepower, and
will have u lifting power of so. conn
pared with 80 tons, the largest load
ever carried by q plane. These
planes are not specifically named