The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1919-03-24
GUARD SECRET OF
S[APlANE FLIGHT
Key Is hooked in Breasts of Eight
Navy OfiiCcrS--Iwo Thousand
Mile Trip Proposed.


Washington. March 2s.-Eight navy
officers have the key of the big secret
| OF the proposed seaplane flight across
, The Atlantic. The secret made posi-
BILE ,000-mile sustained flight two
months ago. The method Is depend
/ ed upon to bring success to the 1000
mile attempt How the 1000 mile
Journey was accomplished Is the Sc
cret which has never been revealed.
The eight officers who share the
secret are: Captain N II. Irwin, Com
] mander John H. Towers, Commander
( II. C. Richardson, Lieutenant-Com-
mander T. IL l. Bellinger, Major u
L. Smith. NJ. c., Lioutenant-C
der c.. De Chavalier, Lieutenant-Com-
mander Il. H. Byrd and Lieutenant
Junior Grade Barrel, of the Reserve
Corps Captain irwin disappeared
about week ago and it Is supposed
he ia rnasuueradng somewhere about
Rockaway Beach, looking after the
n. G.. /, which is TO be the leader, II
= is said, in the squadron of N. C.'s that
will turn the trick. Before Lieutenant
Rellinger came to washington ne
had been testing q nearly complete
n c.. but he refuses TO state what
} speed it developed.
Officers in touch with the work say
that they are no longer worried over
fine tri-daily reports that an English
man or Frenchman has started or Ii
about to start from Europe to this side
or vice-versa. The only thing they
fear is that England may send over
one of the immense dirigibies, de
scribed officially by Admiral Sims al
being 625 feet long and capable oi
making 5000 miles without stop.
was stated today that the United
states has no Girigible capable of 6
= f.000-rnile flight.
The navy experts plan to use sea
planes. often known as hydro aero
: planes. They have not the slightes
: doubt of their success in being tn
first to cross, barring some astonish
- ing feat like that of Bleriot, when h
: dashed across the English channe
from France.
The signs of the coming event viii
be open TO everybody. If the English
or French government Is behind 1
transcontinental flight there will b.
probably three weeks preparation a
sea These will consist Of stat4onin,
torpedo destroyers and maybe
: mother ship somewhere on the Alta
mite at points which can scarcely es
cane observation. The same Will b.
true OF the preparations by the nav,
department.
{: The chances for surprise ar
= these:
= That some daring flyer startin
= from England in an east windstorn
. should launch his machine and trus
"a to Providence for the rest: win Tn
4 oriIary maximum speed, of eight
: miles an hour he rnlEnt get tnroug1
= with the assistance of favorin
o wind. The navy officers, however, sa
that the chances are very slim tina
0 the feat will be performed In this hit
!, or-miss providential fashion.
Il The capacity of machines an
8 their exploits up to a very recent dat
= has been distance flight of abou
e known only to the navy. of about 49,
miles per hour. That Ia double tn
i rate at which most machines go whel
= they are on "a long distance flight
Y The experts say that the flight Il
= squadron formation from San Diego t
3 New York with many stopping places
n as recently performed by army flyers
t did not add anything to the advance
4 ment of long distance flying.
The navy enterprise includes "safet,
l first" consideration. One of the off
GERS said today that at no time woul'
= any one of the machines to be use
be out OF touch of some ship OF tn
= navy. The wireless of the trans
l Atlantic flyers will be effective at rs
mics ana IntlF Eduto-pilolS6 az I U
|. miles at least. That means that the
! lean communicate by wireless any
: where inside of a circle of 500 mile
/. diameter and by telephone in cir
Gle of 800 miles diameter.
They will fly In direction know
to the navy department. so that tn
placing OF ships approximately alon
that line will make any serious acct
dent next to impossible.
Until today none~of the officers ha
! considered the subject of feeding tn
\ flyers.
THAT liz n very small NATTER on
TOT them said rive 40 not expect {
be In the air as long as a day, but 4
a be sure about it. we probably vii
| take two days rations, Those vii
be the regular navy ration.> and "
expect to have a lot of that to spar
! when we land somewhere on the othe
side