The Sisseton weekly standard. (Sisseton, Roberts County, S.D.) 1892-1929, 1921-04-29
Storage Batteries
TIRES and TUBES
Telephone 1923
A .25-Ton Triple
Tandem Triplane
By WIN. H. HUNT, In the May
Popular Mechanics Magazine.

Popular Mechanics Magazine.
That the evolution Of commercial
ae(onautics il following closely the
iiaes OF maritime developments ia
qd1ta apparent to all who have given
the subject even passing attention.
TAe early airplanes OF limited power,
which by 4 supreme effort and under
skhHxi handling succeeded in
struggling aloft with three or fvc
passengers. may we'll belikened TO
the oar propelled open boats of the
Vikings. Likewise. the later ma
chimes. capable Of transporting 20
to 30 persons on 50 to lO0-mtse
dixaas. may be compared to the last
OF the sailing liners which crossed
the ocean in the phenomenal time OF
three weeks to month. Following
th6s line of thought the latest
product Of Gianni Caproni. one of
the most daring of the aerial en-
gineers. finds parallel in the
"Great Eastern" the original "ocean
kreyhound" and the largest ship OF
tts day. In the "Epocha," the most
gigantic heavier-than-air creation
that man has ever attempted to fling
free Of Mother Earth. nine great
planes of 100-ft. span present total
surface Of over 1000 SO.
It. On account of the wing arrange
meat the huge machine may be
called q triple-tandem triplane. as
three Independent triplanes are at
tached to the fuselage in tandem
formation. Eight 12-cylinder. 400
hp. Liberty engines drive the craft
at speed of 80 miles per hour when
their total 5000 hp is drawn upon.
AZ but part of this immense power
Is needed to sustain fight. it is only
In taking of, or in emergencies. thar
ell engines are used at once. >. Tho
passenger coach seats 100 persons
besides having space for reason
abie amount of baggage. Sleeping
berths fold up into the upper sides
OF the body and are so arranged
that they lie crosswise, instead of
ealwlse. when let down.
Net alone in point of size and
power is the design daring one.
Another departure from the conven-
tional is that 1t is tailless. the slight
loss OF stability on this account be-
ing more than compensated for by
the immense wing area. The elimi-
aation of tail elevating wings has
necessftated equipping all the planes
with ailerons-movable tips.
As may be supposed, such an i'm
Mense craft requires huge rudders.
-Four Of these occupy the full verti-
cal distance. between the planes Of
the rear group. However, after all
q said. enormous proportions and
clever tricks Of design do not neces-
CARLY imply excellence or practical
bility. The question that invariably
arises in the mind Of the world is,
'sWlll It work." In this caes the
aHswer is an unqualified Eyes" The
big machine has made two success
ful trial flights over Lake Maggiore.
on the shore Of which it was built,
ono on March 2 and the last March
I. On these trials only IN tons Of
ballast and the pilots were carried.
Ar before stated, this gigantic ap-
paratus is the heaviest weight that
has ever been launched from the
earth. It is therefore not surprising
that some dificulty was experienced
n handling Il.
Nar-visioned and indomitable as
every true originator. signor Caprpni
= not resting content with having
realized the "Epocha." He has be-
gun the construction Of another ma
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