The Nenana daily news., 1919-05-31
THE TRANSATLANTIC FLIGHT.


 airplare N CA sped away into the east. over the Grand Banks and the broad Atlantic. it entered upon Q course not only carefully charted, but patroled by rescue and repair ships all the way 10 the Por,u- guese coast.
 Looking upon the cruise not as sporting venture, nor as an al tempt merely 10 win for the United States the honor of the first trans atlantic air flight, but as an under taking for the advancement of sci ence and seamanship, the American navy placed its own vast resources a the disposal of the aviator, and enlisted those Of other government departments in an effort to assure the safety of the crew and to re- duce to 3 minimum the element Of chance in the project.
 I fotilla of destroyers, reinforced by battleships, whose more powerful wireless equipment was intended to pick up messages from the flyer in case the radio sets of the smaller vessels failed to function. formed a chain of communication across the Atlantic while the planes were proceeding to their base. The fleet remained on station until the bird men passed. the destroyers 50 close together that an hours steaming would bring one of them to the alighting place of the aircraft in case it had been forced to descend. Mother ships. tenders and other naval units. al intervals along the course. had mechanics, tools, extra parts and gasoline aboard. ready tc give aid which would make possible resumption of it's journey by plane put out of commission by slight defects
 The patrol fleet, in wireless con- tact throughout it's length and ln touch with the United States weath- CT bureau, as well as ships of vari- ous nationalities cruising in the middle Atlantic. kept the aviator; posted on weather conditions in the areas they were approaching, alsc cooperating with the navigate! aboard the plane in directing the flight
 Give us no luck. good or bad and the trans-oceanic voyage shoul. be made without trouble,' sai, Commander John H. Towers, chic. of the expedition, commenting be fore the ''hop-off" on the complete ness Of the navy's preparations We are not undertaking the i'm possible. we are not banking oI chance We are attempting a figh wholly within the mechanical possl bilities of the \ c planes, hopin! to demonstrate, without reckles risk of life or valuable property that an air cruise to Europe is practical proposition"
 One of Commander Towers broth CT officers declared that a ne1 branch of the science of navigation was growing up around the NJ planes, thus making the flight q undertaking expected to contribut materially to the advancement 0 the profession of the sea Gian strides have been made in deve opment of the steering and weathe charts used on the flight, and th crew expected to accomplish wortt while results in the experiment above blue water.
 The naval aircraft, the N C. NC-3, and \ C-4, huge flying boat which ascend from ''take-off" the water and Hand" also on th surface of the sea, are driven b Liberty motors, four to a plan and aggregating 1,600 horsepowel They are of the biplane type, wit wing span of 126 feet, lengt over all 69 feet, and length of hu A feet The craft weigh 15,10 pounds, with navigating and wir; less equipment aboard, but withou crew and fuel The total fyin weight is s,50O pounds
 The planes have a dual contrt