The daily times. [volume] (Wilson, N.C.) 1902-1936, 1919-03-24
IN
OVERSEAS FLIGHT
Proclaims Armed Alliance
With the Proletariat of
Russia
STATE OF WAR PENDING

New York, March 24.-Frank H.
Russell, General Manager of the
Curtiss Engineering Corporation OF
Garden City, gave his ideas Satur-
day of the mechanical conditions
under which airplane builders must
work to accomplish the transatlan-
tic flight.
He points out the necessity of in
suring the success of the flight be-
fore it is begun and of building a
machine that will not be a freak
but scientific achievement. He
says it must carry it's own fuel,
must be able to follow the regular
trade paths. Otherwise, he says, it
may win the 10000 pound prize,
but the real credit will go to the
NAL conditions.
Assuming that the plane will be
a flying boat, as a land machine
would be helpless if it had to de-
scend to the water. Mr. Russell
says that the type can be fixed be-
cause:
"The fight is purely a physical
matter, like the transcontinental
trip OF an engine or motor car. Gas
oline is the great problem, and
since we know that every gallon of
gasoline weighs about six pounds
and know how much weight air
planes of different sizes will carry,
we can make some very accurate
calculations.
"The maximum that any airplane
will safely carry as load, (includ-
ing crew, oil, gasoline, food, &c.,) is
the amount of it's own weight said
Mr.. Russell 'In other words, the
load of a machine must not exceed
SO per cent of the total weight to be
carried. If we start out with the
90-horse power motor, and ask
what it's performance would be, we
will find certain conditions dictat-
ing it's performance.
''The maximum distance to be
flown in crossing the ocean is ac-
knowledged to be 1900 miles, AL
low Is per cent for drift, &C., and
we have the equivalent of 1000
miles. At 100 per hour, which is
certainly high rate of speed, 90
horse power motor would require 20
hours supply of gas. Consuming
about gallons an hour, the motor
would thus need $50 gallons of it's
total supply, or, in pounds, 6.1x1S0,
or total of 1,116 pounds. This
would make the airplane weigh
about 5000 pounds, which is too
heavy load for 90-horse motor
to carry economically.
ga 50-horse power motored ma
chine might lift the required load,
but two facts prevent it's doing so in
any practical manner. The first is
that space is not available in the
machine for the gasoline. The sec
ond is that the head resistance
which would be occasioned if it
were loaded on would not permit
successful flight. A 400 horse pow
er Liberty or Curtiss K-12 engine
requires thirty-six gallons of gaso-
line per hour. And this reviVes the
question of weight, as 5000 pounds
of total weight would have to be
carried, obviously an impossibility.
Gwen the three motored type Of
mammoth flying boat would not be
altogether feasible. In round fig
ures, $4,000 pounds Of gasoline
would have to be carried. This
could be done; the N-C-1 can carry
a load of more than $4,000 pounds,
SO that $4,000 pounds would not
pass the SO per cent. load limit pre-
viously discussed, but difficulty
heretofore unmentioned would
arise.
Suppose one motor should cease
| to function. TIE trip1e-motored
| airplane would be in the saaa
sition as the St