The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1919-06-16
ATLANTIC
FLIGHT IS
SUCCESS
Vickers Biplane With British
Grew Flys 1880 Miles
and Lands in Ire
land.
THROUGH FOG AND sLEET
Sixteen Hours, Twelve Minutes Con-
tinuous Journey Through tho
Sky from America to
Europe.
THROUGH FOG AND sLEET

rJJntted Press Leased Wire Service.l
GALWAY, ireland, June 16.-Tne
men who, battling fog and sleet, made
the first direct flight across the At
lantic ocean from New Founoiand to
Ireland. start for London today where
thew will be received as heroes.
CAPTAIN John Alcock and Lieut. A.
w. Brown. declared they felt much re-
freshed after a nights rest here and
that they were steeling themselves
for the ordeal of facing cheering
thousands upon their arrival in Eng
land.
The vickers biplane, in which they
! flew the i 800 miles over stormy
sea in sixteen hours, twelve minutes,
lay in bog near here, where Al
cock came down under the impress
sion that he was landing IN Deauu-
/ full meadow.
The machine was so badly dam.
aged in landing that all thought OF
/ Alcock flying in it to London was
given up today, 1t was stated: Inc
plane will be taken apart and snippea
| to the Vickers plant, while Alcock
and Brown continue their Journey oy
train and boat, leaving at three p m.
today and arriving in London early
tomorrow morning.
After the landing, hundreds OF
people from Clifden fiocked to the
scene, eager to obtain souvenirs.
Sentries barred the way, but scores
managed to run the blockade and
wading through ankle deep mud,
;thronged around the machine, tear
ing bits Of fabric from the wings.
/ The first men to sight the Vickers
machine approaching Clifden after
its Journey from New Foundland,
were an Australian soldier on his
honeymoon. who was gazing out OF
hotel window, and farmers boy
tending hogs. The machine suddenly
loomed out of the morning mist and
circled over the town, whereupon the
two who had seen 1t spread the word
and crowds began to gather.
| Alcock circled until he saw the
iaerials of the Clifden wireless sta
ton. Then he dropped to the earth,
fouite near the tower. The wireless
generators were nearly as astonfshed
as the town folk as the aviators
climbed wearily from their airship.
One radio man quickly improvised
an autograph album and ran out,
presenting it to Alcock for his i'm
mediate signature. He signed and
remarked:
! 'Now If we only had shave and
f! bath we'd be all right"
| That's the way to fly the Atlantic,
! Brown said, cheerily, with gay ges-
ture toward the machine.
In a more formal statement Alcock
| said:
/ 81 believe the secret Of long dis
tapce flying under the conditions we
| encountered is to nurse the engines.
| never opened the throttle once. The
machine has an ordinary speed or
ninety miles an hour and with the
wind behind us we managed to aver
are 12O. wore electrically heated
clothing"
On their way across the sea Alcock
and Brown communicated with each
other by means Of notes and signals,
they said The sun pierced the clouds
only few times. Weather condi-
tons were very bad.
| A few hours after landing. Alcock,
smartly attired in British navy
lounge uniform, smoking a cigarette
| and glancirg through sheaf of con-
gratulatory kilograms, smiling told
the United Press:
YES, I'm glad we did It We got
m against hell to begin with and con-
ditions remained like hell practically
ali the way over. Five hours after the
start we unsuccessfully tried to climb
from the clouds and reached a height
of 1l.OOO feet. That wasn't the first
Of our troubles. They began when half
an hour after starting the armature
shaft OF the dynamo generating cleo
tr,citv for the wireless was fractured
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