White Pine news weekly mining review. [volume] (East Ely, Nev.) 1910-1920, 1919-01-26
GIANT A|RBOAT
NOW READY TO
CROSS THE SEA
Curtiss' Colossus Capable Of
Carrying Fifty.
FLIES 80 MILES An HOUR
Coast and West Indies Trade to Get
First Call In Aviation-curtiss' Ma
chine Was Built for Navy as subma-
rine Chaser, but Some Notifications
Could Very Easily Adapt It for Pas
senger Use.

Could Very Easily Adapt It 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 H.. Curtiss, inventor of the fly
ing boat and pioneer engineer in the
airplane industry. The prediction Of
tr%ansoceanic flight has been made be-
fore by men prominent in aviation, but
Mr.. Curtiss' 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 its power In
few words is to say it has carried so
men In sustained flight. Its lifting ca
pacity is five ons
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 modifi-
cations can be made. As constructed
the 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 Mr.. Curtiss for Rodman Wanamak-
err, 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, 11S
feet of wing spread. which carried II
men in Russia in 1914, Is also smaller
than the new flying boat. The Ca
prom triplane, 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 it 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 are withheld. From tip TO
tip its huge upper wings stretch 126
feet-only 10 feet less, by way of com
p~arison, than the height of the Brook
Ign bridge. From prov to tall she is
70 feet long, and from the gunner's
cockpit m the top wing to the keel Is
q distance Of % feet. The distance
between upper and lower planes is II
feet.
The vessel wal 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. O. 1.
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 50 miles an hour and
can rise to a height of 1000 feet in
ten minutes. Ordinarily her is
ave men, the rest of her weight carry
Ing capacity being used for bombs, am
munifion, fuel, water and oil. Two
pilots sit side by side. They a re-
lieve each other at will, and a chance
shot killing one pilot would not, there
fore, mean the destruction of the fly
Ing boat during an aerial engagement.
The large boat hull, hung underneath
the lower wing, is noticeably whalelike
In appearance, for 1t has been found
that this shape offers least resistance
to air and water and Is also the safest
In rough water.
Although nothing has been an
nounced concerning the power of the
three engines, a comparison with the
power plants of other huge planes In
dicates that each engine must furnish
more than 100 horse power. The 81
korsky, for example, with IA wing
spread of 11S feet, had four Argus
motors of 100 horse power each. The
first of Signor C%aproni's models, a BIZ
plane with wing spread Of 70 feet, had
three engines of 100 horse power. The
latest Caproni. when tested at Mineola
on September % last, was furnished
with three Liberty motors of unknown
power. This plane made a speed of
100 miles an hour carrying five men
and 1900 pounds OF lead.
Ocean No Barrier.
The transatlantic flight Is, of course,
a matter for the navy department to
decide, but although he would not dis
cuss Dossihlp Mans for its execution