The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-05-17

into the air, and the propulsion of this
heavy. air impeded matter horizontally
at more than mile a minute speed for
hours at a time.
The huge wings of the craft are the
principal means of sustaining fight.
These wings, twelve feet wide, stretch
from tip to tip a distance of 1875 feet.
making n great unbroken plane so large
and moving so fast under the impulse of
the propellerg corkscrewinz through the
air that when tilted slightly upward.
as It is with the machine in flight, II
rides over rather than glides through the
air The lower wing. too. ninety.four
feet from end to end and OF the same
width as the upper is n lesser but Just
as necessary supporting surface. Be
tween them is n gap OF fourteen feet in
the centre and twelve feet at the tips
They are bound together by struts or
supports OF n peculiar oval shape, so
formed that they pass through the wind
with the least possible resistance, and
by wires slender but many times
stronger than their size would indicate.
Details of the Machine.
Between the two wings. perched on
these struts. are the four motors, tan
dem arrangement OF the centre two.
with the forward engine driving a trac-
tor or pulling propeller and the motor
behind whirling n pusher propeller and
on either side OF these two a single
motor driving a tractor propeller. Be-
low the motors, its upper body inter-
rupting the sweep Of the lower wing. is
the hull, longer than the body OF a
good sized motor boat and considerably
wider. 1t Is precisely fourty-four feet
and nine inches long. according to the
painstakingly accurate dimensions made
public by its naval constructors.
Stretching out behind. connected
strongly with upper wing and hull, Is
the tail, its elevators and rudders al
most as big as the wings of a speedy
little scout plane. In the very shadow
of the huge upper wing. however, the
planes making up the guiding surfaces
seem punny and feeble things to guide
the huge flying boat. The tail Is raised
high above the surface OF the water. for
the leaping waves would rip Its var
nished fabric to tatters II II was within
their reach. From the rear end OF the
rudder to the front OF the hull is a
matter of sixty-eight feet and-again
the painstaking accuracy with which the
constructors planned her is shown In the
odd lengths-three and one-half inches.
Empty OF fuel and OF men the flying
boat with its powerful wireless instaila-
ton and the complicated navigating in
struments necessary in the new science
OF aerial navigation, weighs 1900
pounds. Entirely loaded. the flying boat
weighs 2s,500. Thus. of her gross or
total load there is available 13,40O
pounds for fuel. men. food and the like.
This 13.400 pounds is termed her useful
load and 1t Is the largest useful load
man has ever raised without ropes or
earth-hating hydrogen from the face
OF the globe.
The 13.4O0 pound load is divided
among crew. fuel. oil, water and sup
plies. The flying boat has in her hull
nine tanks Of gasolene. each with a ca
pacity OF 200 gallons In the upper
wing is another, smaller tank holding
ninety gallons for use in case OF emer-
gency-in case head winds exhaust gas
olene without winning mileage. or a tank
leaks, or the flying boat strays from its
course and flies miles out Of its way.
These tanks hold a total OF 1880 gallons,
which weigh approximately 1880
pounds. This leaves a little more than
ton for the five or six men of the
crew. oil. water to cool the engines. food
and spare parts for the engines.