The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1919-01-10

chine Was Built for Navy as subma.
rine Chaser, but Some Notifications
Could Very Easily Adapt 1t for Pas
senger Use.
A flight across the Atlantic is as
sured in the immediate future. This
statement is made on the authority of
Glenn FL. Curtiss, inventor of the fly
ing boat and pioneer engineer in the
airplane industry. The prediction of
transoceanic flight has been made be-
fore by men prominent in aviation, but
Mr.. Curtlss' statement differs from
other mems because he adds he has
built the machine which can bridge
the ocean
1t may be that the honor of first fly
ing from America to Europe will go to
the United States navy, for Mr.. Cur
tiss' airboat, the largest and most pow
erful In existence, is a navy airboat,
or rather air vessel. The machine is
of huge dimensions. but the best pos
sible way of describing it's power in
few words Is TO say it has carried so
men In sustained flight. It's lifting ca
pacity Is five tons.
Because the Colossus is entirely the
property of the navy the inventor
would not say any more than that he
Is willing the attempt be made by the
giant aircraft as soon as certain modif-
rafinnS nan hn nnndn Ac aOnc+-,a%1
h Colossus is a fighting machine not
Intended primarily for such lengthy
flights as the crossing of the Atlantic.
Naval air officers at Baltimore some
days ago spoke guardedly of the posi-
bility OF a transatlantic flight by the
machine at Rockaway. They stated at
that time that the Rockaway plane
was the first of a series to be con
structed for transatlantic flight.
Dwarfs All Aircraft.
The America, wonder of 1914, built
by MI. Curtiss for Rodman Wanamak-
er, who was backing Lieut.. John Cyril
Porte, Irish aviator, in his attempt to
win the $4,000 prize offered by the
London Daily Mail, is dwarfed to in
significance by the great spread of the
Colossus. The huge Sikorsky, lis
feet of wing spread, which carried II
men in Russia in 1914, is also smaller
than the new flying boat. The Ca.
prom triplaIe, with seats for %, like.
wise Is dethroned as monarch of the
air.
Recently rumors have been heard
about the gigantic craft, but only now
is 1t possible, owing to the abandon
ment Of secrecy by the navy, to de.
scribe the principal features of the
Colossus.
The flying boat is a biplane fitted
with three motors, details and power
of which r withheld. From tip to
tip its huge upper wings stretch 12e
feet-only 10 feet less, by way of com
parison, than the height of the Brook.
lyn bridge. From prov to tail she is
20 feet long, and from the gunner's
cockpit on the top wing to the keel Is
a distance of % feet. The distance
between upper and lower planes is Il
feet.
The vessel was constructed by Mr.
Curtiss for the navy as a submarine
chaser, and armament-details with
held-was carried not only In the cock
pit on the top wing, but also in an
other cockpit in the prov. In the navy
she Is known as the Curtiss N. G. /.
Makes Speed, Climbs Well.
Speed and ability to climb rapidly
are of course essentials in submarine
chasing, and the Colossus has both
She can make so miles an hour ant
can rise to a height of 1000 feet II
ten minutes. Ordinarily her crew i.
five men, the rest of her weight carry
ing capacity being used for bombs, am
munition, fuel, water and oil. Two
pilots sit side by side. They can re
lieve each other at win, and a chanc,
shot killing one pilot would not, there
fore, meal the destruction of the fly
ing boat during an aerial engagement
The large boat hull, hung underneath
the lower wing, Is noticeably whalelik,
In appearance, for 1t has been fount
that this shape offers least resistanc,
to air and water and Is also the safes
In rough water.
Although nothing has been an
nounced concerning the power Of thu
three engines, a comparison with TIL
power plants of other huge planes in
dicates that each engine must furnish
more than 100 horse power. The 81
korsky, for example, with a wins
spread Of 11S feet, had four Argu
motors Of 100 horse power each. TIL