The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1919-04-02

The long-waited airplane flight
across the Atlantic ocean may be &C
complished before another month is
past. Three governments have been
contemplating the flight, and all three
have made definite preparations for
start. France, England and Amert-
ca will race for the honors.
A French aviator, Lieutenant Fon-
tan. is said to be at Dakar, a cape in
Senegambia on the northwest coast of
Africa, from where he will start a
flight to South America across the
Atlantic. Cape Dakar is the native
name for Cape Verde, the western
most point in Africa. Starting from
point just south Of the cape in the
French colony of Senegal, Lieutenant
Fontan will fly 400 miles to the Cape
Verde Islands. From there his route
lies 300 miles to the st. Paul Rocks,
where a large supply of petrol and
other necessaries will await him. His
final flight will be $50 miles from ST.
Paul Rocks to Pernambuco, Brazil.
The entire distance Of the flight will
thus be 100 miles. All along the
route escort ships will accompany
Lieutenant Fontan in his French eau
dron machine.
British Machine to Start.
Meantime, a secretly built two-seat-
ed. twelve-cylinder, Sopwith plane
with a 375-horsepower, Rolls Royce en-
CINE, has been shipped to St. Johns.
Newfoundland, where 1t will soon start
on trip to the coast of Ireland. The
British navy had this plane built in
two months of high pressure work
with the intention of using it for the
first transatlantic trip. This plane
will attempt to win the prize of $780,
900 offered by the London Daily Mail
for the first machine to cross the At
lantic. The Sopwith Aviation COM
pany has already formally entered
the competition.
The British plane will have Harry
G. Hawker as pilot, and Lieut.. Com
mander Mackenzie Grieve. r. N, as
navigator. Major A. Partridge, r. A.
F., will act as starter.
Distance is 1900 Miles.
The distance between Newfound-
land and Ireland is 1000 miles. the
shortest between North America and
Europe. 1t is expected that the flight
will be made in about nineteen and a
half hours at 100 miles an hour AS
yet no provision for naval escorts has
been made. However, the fusilage of
the machine is so made as to support
it on the water. A wireless outfit has
also been installed in the machine.
Already party of airmen and me-
neurological experts from England are
at st. Johns taking observations on
air conditions. They expect to remain
several months making a study of
wind currents and meteorological con-
oh, 1n
and summer Members of the party
have been assigned to visit various
parts of the island to fix on the most
suitable point for the observations.
While this work is going on and
while the Sopwith plane is nearing
Newfoundland, another plane, flying
boat invented by Lieut. Col John c.
Porte and built by the British govern
ment, is being sent to St. Johns to try
the flight across to England. Details
of this machine and flight are not yet
forthcoming.
Will Try DirigibIes.
Not satisfied with two plans for the
venture, Britain is now building two
rigid dirigibles. Each will be 500 feet
in length and have capacity of 3,000,-
600 cubic feet. They will be driven
by six engines which will generate l.
500 horsepower. and will have a lift
ing power of eighty, compared with
twenty-nine tons, the largest load ever
carried by a plane. These planes are
not specifically named for the trans
Atlantic flight. but their size and
strength make observers conclude that
they can be used for no other purpose
The next nation to be considered is
America.
1t has been reported that Lieut.
Commander Patrick N. L. Bellinger
commanding the air station Of the
Fifth naval district, United States
navy, has been selected to act as pilot
in a transatlantic fight to be begun
soon. Lieutenant Commander Belling
err flew over Vera Cruz, Mexico. in
1915, while Mexican snipers tried to
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