Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-06-29
AIR SHIP OF
BRITISH FIRM
TO CARRY 81
PASSENGERS
Latest English Flying Machine
Can Develop Speed of 80
Miles Per Hour; Weighs
1912 Tons.
BY FORBES w. FAIRBAIRN.

BY FORBES w. FAIRBAIRN.
(staff Correspondent Universal service.)
London.-Eighteen and one-half
IONS shooting through the air at
90 miles an hour! That's the record
designed to be achieved by Britain's
newest master of the air-the Tar
rant triplane-which was wrecked
on its maiden trip, causing the death
Of one. 1t is a monster airship-
the worlds largest-and was de-
signed by w. G. Tarrant and con-
structed by the Tarrant Aircraft
company of Surrey.
1t really is a flying giant. Its
dimensions are greater than any yet
attempted for heavier than air craft.
Originally designed to bomb Berlin,
and any other cities scheduled for a
similar greeting, it was converted
INTO peace carrier. Why the great
plane wrecked itself is a matter still
puzlling the experts. But the ex-
pertinent will not be abandoned.
Ntnety-two passengers will be
carried by this monster in flight.
1t stands 81 feet above ground. 1t
reminds the spectator of various
things-a huge fowl, submarine,
ar. Atlantic liner and a flying
machine. Its fusilage is 76 feet
long. and the interior has not. a
single wire or span to obstruct
the view. Looking at it from the
front. the three tiers of wide spans
Of wings might stand for three
decks of an ocean liner.
Armistice Saved Berlin.
Two of these giants were under
construction by the air ministry dur
the last months of the war.
Each would have dropped 10 bombs
OF 500 pounds weight. Three and
ard one half tons of explosives in
one single release of the bomb
rack lever. That's the fate the
arnlistice saved Germany's capital.
The triplane has an advantage
over the biplane, insofar as it
economies on the spread of the
wings. The span of the largest
plane of the Tarrant machine is
1J1 feet, which in itself involves a
very considerable strain on the
joints. To gain the lift obtained by
three planes out of two only, the
span would have to be increased
to III feet. To drive this great
bird there are six engines which
develop in the aggregate 5000 horse
power. The fusilage when con-
verified to peace usage was sixteen
feet wide, against the original width
Of 10 feet. =,
It has been possible to gain all
necessary strength in the fusilage
without the use of any cross-sup-
portcrs or struts. Circular girder
rings spaced at distances apart
with lighter rings between with
longerons running the entire length
OF the body do the work, and there
is a clear walk from end to end of
the 76-foot interior. Seats for two
pilots are raised we'll within the
nose, advanced II feet before the
olanes and the propellers, thus CIV
ing an unobstructed view For
fighting purposes each pilot would
have had light machine gun by his
side. A gun pit advanced still fur
Their into the nose has accommoda-
ton for two more guns, and gun
stations are made on the top wing
10 fire over the tail, and below to fire
under the tail. Although eight guns
would have been carried, on the
raids during the war.
Immediately behind the pilots
seats is an engineers room. Here
are the various levers and mechan-
ism for working the engines. The
engineer can take vocal instructions
from the pilots in starting. thepi-
lots by this method being left free
to control the flying. However, they
they exercise a masterful control
over the engines and have levers
w. which the throttles can be sep
erately adjusted. The engineers
,oom is very cramped, thanked as it
is by the main gasoline tanks with
others overhead. Their combined ca
pacity is 1000 gallons. Supplement
tary for the Atlantic flight. The
average speed with six engines go
ing was designed to keep maxi
mum of 90 miles an hour.
Hauled Out on Trucks
The triplane is too huge an at
fair to be hauled out of its hangar
by ordinary means, and the weight
J rests on trucks running on special
line out to the flying ground from
which it takes off.
Apart from the immense spread
of the planes, the most imposing
feature of the giant are the engines
Four of the propellers are two
! bladed 12-foot tracefoot screws
arranged in line between middle
and lower and middle and upper
planes, respectively. The other
two are at the back of the planes
and are, four.bladed propellers OF
10 feet diameter. The starting
system is operated from the
engineers department.