The Covington leader. (Covington, Tenn.) 18??-current, 1919-06-19

OF AAl AttC 4NfHA4AVAa HAhA~A 80 -N=4
men have yentured to dream since
the Wright brothers first rose from
the earth in a heavier-than-air ma
chine was realized this morning when
two young British officers, Capt. John
Alcock and Lieut.. Arthur w. Brown,
landed on the Irish coast after the
first nonstop flight across the At
lantic ocean.
Their voyage was without accident,
and without Unforeseen incident, so
for as can be learned, 1t was a
/ straight-away, clean-cut flight,
achieved in Is hours and II minutes
from Newfoundland to Clitden,
Ireland, a distance Of more than
4 1900 miles.
But the brief and modest descrlp-
ton which comes from the airmen at
4 Clifden tells of an adventurous and
amazingly hazardous enterprise. Fog
and mists hung over the North At
lantic. and the Vickers-V imy biplane
! climbed and dove, struggling to eXtrl-
cate herself from the folds OF the
) airplane's worst enemy
7 She rose to 1900 feet, swooped
: down almost to the surface OF the
sea, and at times the two navlgators
' found themselves flying upside down
only 10 feet above the water.
!, Before coming to earth near the
1 Clifden wireless station Alcock cir
e cled the wireless aerials, seeking the
best spot to reach the earth, but no
e suitable ground was found, so ne
+ CHANGED it in bog. !,
It The wireless staff rushed to the aid
It of the aviators. They found Brown
r dazed and Alcock temporarily deaf
d ened bv the force of the impact. AS
It soon as they were able to be escorted
= to the wireless station they tele'
graphed the news to their friends
$ then had breakfast.
IS "That is the best way to cross the
lie Atlantic" said Lieut.. Brown, after
e, he had eaten. !,
g The landing was made at 9:4(
o'clock. British summer time. Ia
n taking the ground the machine strucl
m heavily and the fzselage plowet
K into the sand. Neither Of the occu
ct pants were injured.
Ie Much of the flight was mad
d. through the fog, with an occasslona
drizzle. This hampered the airmel
t. considerably during their journey
it To Capt. Alcock and Lieut.. Brow
lie, goes the high honor Of having mad
the first nonstop air passage OF tn
lel Atlantic. the achievement going
M ~ 1:4 80 Craat RY.ita ain
The Atlantic had already bee.
ne spanned in an air journey, howeve
nd the feat having been performed b
og American naval officers in the sea
he plane NC-4 with stop at the Azort
nd en- route from Newfoundland to Lii
bon, Portugal the journey beginnln
Nav Is and ending May ~.
BAL Less successful, but no less DARN
ung than the achievement Of the Vlcker'
e Vimy pilot and navigator was tt
Il recent flight by two other Britls
Il airmen. Harry G. Hawker and Lieu
g Commander Mackenzie Grieve. Y
6 Nav 10 they covered more than ha
8 the distance across the Atlantac, D.
= fore being forced to alight IN init
8 ocean. For nearly week they wei
e given up for lost, but finally turnt
e up safe on board a small craft whl(
& took them almost to Ireland betol
8 the news Of their dramatic rescue WI
& relayed ashore by British destrooye
: The successful flight Of the BIRTHS
g airplane and the American seaplal
: were made in pursuance of dltferel
g nhases of experiment in the pro
= lens of the air. Elaborate precal
8 tions were taken to guide the Nc
= and her companion filters by destro
g ers placed at frequent intervals, Il
= flight being not so much to make
3 record as to establish the practlc
8 bilitv of cross-ocean traffic by a
e under conditions Of comparatly
8 safety The attempt of Hawker al
z successful flight Of Capt. Alcock al
= Lieut.. Brown were made for a prl
= Of $4,000, offered by the Lond.
g Daily Mail The idea was to ma
: a contribution of moment to the pra
e teal side of air navigation, but t
= appeal to the competitors was IN
= small measure to the sporting !
StlncC, Cne IIlSIo LuiaihS
e chances Of being irretrievaoly &c
& at sea if anything happened to the
= machine.
8 A comparison of the records sho'
= that the NC-4 with five men cover
Ri 215O nautical miles in rs hours,
= minutes, while the Vickers-Vin
g plane flew with two men, 1850 ma
= teal miles in 16 hours, IL minut
& The achievement Of the British av
= tors sets a new record for distar
= covered in single flight, the lol
8 est single jump of the NC-4 hayi
= been approximately 1900 miles, frt
lNIIs Newfoundland to Horta, IN
- Azores.
Ll Clifden, Ireland, where the Woke
III Vimy biplane completed its wond
al full flight from Newfoundland, is
I'll miles northwest of Galway and
-Th L