Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1920-03-09
MERICAN NAVY
BUILDING HUGE
PLANES To FLY
ACROSS OCEAN
Two Mammoth Flying Boats
Being Prepared for First
Flight Across the Pacifict
Is the Announcement.
FIRST LEG OF JOURNEY
2,091 NAUTICAL MILES
Entire Distance, From San
Francisco to Hongkong,
7,616 Nautical Miles, -Four
Stops Are On Program

tsY 1oRHis1 JOURNAL spEcIIL LaAsGp wiEsl
New York March S.--The United
States navy is preparing two giant
flying boats for the first flight
across the Pacific ocean. it was an
nounced tonight by the Manufac-
turers' Aircraft association. which
said two boats nearly twice the
size of the NC-4, which made the
first transatlantic flight. have
Teen planned and that construction
will begin soon.
The proposed route lies from San
Francisco to Hong Kong. China, u
GIG nautical miles. Stops Will be
made at Honolulu, Wake Island,
Guam and Manila. The first leg
of the journey from San Francisco
to Honolulu. 2,09l nautical miles IS
the hardest and the association
says that the new boats can nego-
tate the distance easily in neu-
tral wind in twenty-four hours.
The association claims to have
reliable information that Great
Britain also has begun construction
of great multi-engined boat,
nearly the size of the proposed
navy giant, for a trans-Pacific
flight. The distinction of being the
first to cross has therefore resolved
into a friendly race between Great
Britain and the United States.
The Pacific flight has been
made possible, the association says,
by a new American invention of
Edison Gallaudet, of East Green
Wich. r. l., whereby three liberty
engines are coupled to one eighteen
foot propeller, each engine being
seared down to permit the propel-
Ter to function at its maximum Ell
ficiency. The new boats VIII nave
three power plants, each contain
ing three high compression liberty
engines, or nine motors TO each
ship.
The association announced that
detailed plans OF the new boat pre-
pared by Mr.. Gallaudet and naval
instructors have reached the navy
neuartnent. II was stated tilat
Commander II. G.. Richardson,
credited with having been one OF
the original designers of the Nc
boats. IS the designer of the new
features in the trans-Paciflc boat
hull. other naval constructors nave
designed the wings and part of the
hull. The power plant was design
ed by Mr.. Gallaudet.
The new boats will be tri-planes
with a wing spread of lao feet, as
compared with 1861 feet OF the
NC boats. Each will have wing
area of about six thousand feet ana
carry a crew of sixteen. The hulis
will be siXty-seven feet long,
twenty-five feet longer than the
INC-4. The cruising radius is esti-
mated at 2,100 nautical miles. near
ily twice that of the NC craft.
Three high compression motors
will drive each of the three giant
gropellors. Each unit of three mo-
tors will be installed in a separate
nacelle, making possible repairs
while in flight, something which
the association says has been hlth-
erto impracticable.
Each nacelle will have accommo-
dations for an engineer during
flight. Each propeller will be driv-
en- by two motors with one in re-
serve. If one motor fails, the en-
e,neer will be able to use the re-
serve motor while he repairs the
crippled engines. 1t Is estimated
that enough gasoline can be carried
to permit a cruising radius of q
500 land miles. Under the plans
prepared the craft can carry a load
of ten or eleven pounds to the
square foot of wing surface. or
thirty tons. more than double that
| of the transatlantic boats. Inc
! tri-plane will have speed capacity
of eighty-five knots.
Provisions to cut down wind re-
sistance and making the craft as
light as possible win be brought
bout by the closing in the nacelles
and constructing the wing struts
and spars of duralumin, the metal
of which dirigible skeletons are
made. This is said to mark ne"
departure in airplane construction.