The sun., 1919-05-02
Navy Filters Announce Route
Is to Azores, to Portugal,
to England.
TOTAL is 4,514 MILES
Flying Boat NC-4 Delights
Pilots on Her Maiden Trip
Off Rockaway.

on Rockaway Point yesterday afternoon
on her maiden trip. travelling at better
than eighty miles an hour and delighting
her pilots with her speed and fiexibllity
Of control. a huge feet OF dreadnaughts.
super dreadnsushts and destroyers put
to sea to patrol the ocean lanes over
which the trio OF navy seaplanes will try
to fly TO Europe.
The greatness Of the undertaking was
revealed for the first time when Com
mander John II. Towers, leader of the
enterprise, made public the long route
by which the seaplanes will reach Eng
land-a route which zig-zags across the
Atlantic for 3,925 nautical and 4,5l4
statute miles, a distance greater than
the course between New York and
Copenhagen, Hamburg or London. The
American flying boats will traverse a
distance far more than twice that which
the British fiiers. Hawker and Rayn-
ham, will try to cover in one jump
Briefly the route selected by the navy
as being the most suitable for the frst
aerial passage across the Atlantic
stretches from New York to Newfound-
land. from Newfoundland to the Azores.
from the Azores to Lisbon and from
Lisbon to Plymouth, England. II was
generally known that the Azores route
would be selected by the navy because
the weight OF the great planes and their
four engines does not permit the carrying
OF a sufficient amount of fuel to cross
the Atlantic from Newfoundland to Ire
land in single flight. but it was not
definitely known until yesterday that
the flight would end in England.
Commander Towers made IL plain in
his statement that the navy considers
the Atlantic flight ~ from Trepassy
Bay, in Newfoundland. to Lisbon,
Portugal The stretch from Rockaway
TO Newfoundland and the stretch from
Lisbon to Plymouth are supplementary.
He summarizes the route as follows:
Naval Air Station. Rockaway, to
Halifax, Nova Scotia. distance, $40 nau-
teal miles; Halifax to Trepassy. New
foundland. $50 nautical miles; Trepassy,
Newfoundland, to Horta, Isle of Fayal,
Azores, 1900 nautical miles. II condi-
tons are favorable seaplanes will con-
tinue 10 Punta del Gado, Island Of San
Miguel, Azores, and stop there instead
OF at Horta. The distance from Horta to
Punta del Gado is $50 nautical miles,
and the total distance from Trepassy TO
Punta del Gado 1850 nautical miles.
Punta del Gado to Lisbon, Portugal, 500
NAUTICAL miles.
VIII Take Two ana . Half Days.
The actual transatlantic flight will be
regarded as from Trepassy. Newfound-
land, 10 Lisbon. Portugal. No effort for
undue haste will be made in getting to
Newfoundland, this part of the trip be-
Ing regarded as in the nature Of trial
fights. From Lisbon It is expected the
pilots will fly to Plymouth, England, dis
tant 7T5 nautical miles"
The actual time in the air during the
entire trip, which Commander Towers
estimates will be made at an average
rate OF speed OF IS nautical, or rs land.
miles an hour, will b 60 hours, or IN
days. Probably the success or failure of
tire flight depends upon the weather con-
ditlons during the longest stretch of the
course, the 1900 nautical miles stretch
ing between frigid Newfoundland and
the semi-tropical Azores. A strong wind
from the southeast would mean the ex-
hausting Of the gasolene supply and the
landing of the seaplanes.
Only on this lap will the three NC
boats each Weighing roughly 1900
pounds empty, carry their full load of
gasolene, ll,400 pounds. about 1900 gal
Ions AS the gasolene consumption at
d using speed is $50 pounds an hour. the
supply on hand would last for seventeen
and one-half hours. The cruising speed
OF the ships fully loaded Is seventy-two
land miles an hour, so that II the ships
were not continually losing weight and
gaining speed as they burned gasolene
AMI oil they could travel only 1850 land
miles on their full load of gasolene.
This would land them in the ocean 100
m. es short OF their destination. Com
mander Towers estimates. however, that
the swifter pace OF the seaplanes as they
approach their designation. with their
engines warmed to full efficiency, will
carry them TO Fayal and possibly $50
nautical miles beyond 1t to Punta del
GaGo His calculations are. of course.
maze without considering either the
5000 luck of a breeze behind them or
the calamity OF a head wind. The
Weather Bureau. which already is re-
ee'Nng reports by wireless from the
supply ships already speeding to New
foundland. the Azores and Portugal, is
expended upon to supply the essential
dati regarding winds and other weather
conditions.
Il is probably for this reason also
that the battleships and destroyers sailed
out Of New York harbor yesterday. 1t
Is important that these reports, covering
almost the entire Atlantic basin, be COM
plete and general The naval craft will
possibly weeks before the seaplanes leave
Newfoundland. As the NC-1 Is still in
process Of repair and rebuilding 1t Is
improbable that she will be in the air
much before Sunday or Monday. Allow
ing TWO or three days for testing of this
snip and for further tests of the NC-4.
'he hight from Rockaway can hardly
start before the middle of next week.
therefore the naval vessels will prob
aoly he at or near their stations by the
I.tne the flying boats land at Trepassy
Bay As much as ten days longer de-
pending on the weather, may elapse be-
fore the long flight TO the Azores is
attempted
Rear Admiral Rodman Leads Fleet
The batteship New York, flagship of
Rear Admiral Hugh Rodman, which
made an imperishable name for her
ser with the British Grand Fleet in the
norm Sea. sailed out with Admiral Rod
man aboard as the leader OF the marine
PttroL With her went the battleships
SClaH' Delaware, Arkansas. Oklahoma.
,,,'d'a and Mississippi. Forty-one de-
sToyers under command OF Rear Ad-
Hrai {. +. Plunkett, who sailed on the
hpGhester, also steamed away yester-
Inc big ships will be placed along the
tou's at places where their powerful
"Teess apparatus, big fuel supply.
cranes and seaworthiness will make
mem useful. while in betewen them the
epeedy little destroyers will weave UP
nd ao"n the course, ready to dash to
rescue at speed that can be ex-
seeued only by the seaplanes them
serves in the event OF the breaking OF
wing or the failure of two or more