The New York herald., 1922-01-01


ing and maintaining the supremacy of the
air.
To-day NJ Breguet is devoted to the work
of peace his energies being directed toward
the development of the science to which he
has devoted his life Throughout the
twenty years that he has given to research
work and actual construction, M. Breguet
has been a partisan of the metal construc-
tion of all heavier-than-air machines. His
first venture was with a helicopter, con-
structed entirely of duraluminium.
The leviathan, which is nearing com.
pletion and will be given it's tests late this
month, is NJ Breguet's latest word in con-
struction. Built entirely of metal, there is
not single piece of wood or cloth to be
found except for the propeller. 1t will
weigh 13 tons, its wing surface totaling
ESQ square meters.
The power plant of this plane consists Of
four motors, synchronized and at the same
time acting Independently. so that II one
motor breaks down the other three will
continue to function uninterruptedly and
without causing the plant to tilt. They will
generate a total of 1850 horsepower and
will move the plane at speed Of from 250
to 300 kilometers an hour. The plane will
carry crew Of seven men, twenty pas.
sengers, ton of baggage and four tons of
fuel and oil.
Wide Cruising Radio
And Carrying Capacity
1t will have cruising power in the pro-
portion of $500 kilos of merchandise or
passengers to 600 miles; 1000 pounds to
I nr dc 10
the distance across the ocean from France
to the United States.
Preliminary tests of the motor have been
made and the 1880 horsepower power
plant Is running with the precision of a
watch. Each part. before it is added to
the body of the plane, is given thorough
tests. which. while not harming it, provide
conclusive proof that it can stand it's share
of the strain imposed by flight duration.
Beside the new plane in the workshop
stands the skeleton of one started by NJ
Breguet shortly before the armistice which
was intended to make nightly raids over
Berlin, carrying two and a half tons of
bombs. Work on this has been discon
tinued. however. for continued study
showed that a machine with power plants
located in separate cabins on either side
of the main cabin would provide greater
security and stability than If the two or
four group motors were placed in the main
fuselage with only one propeller.
Capitaine vuillemin, French "ace" who
gained fame by being the first man to fly
from the heart of France into the heart of
Africa. and afterward crossed the Sahara
by air, has been selected to pilot the
leviathan in all its tests and later in it's
attempt to cross the Atlantic. Security is
one Of the keynotes sounded by M. Breguet
in his preparations for the construction of
the new series Of palatial air liners with
which he hopes to conquer for France the
aerial passenger traffic of the world.
There is no doubt that aerial loco
motion will become the least dangerous
among the most rapid forms of travel" said
M. Breguet. "All of the unsafe features OF
the present construction can be abolished.
The metal construction Immediately elimi-
mates two of the greatest dangers. fire and
tearing of tho cloth covered fuselage
Mechanical solidity can be obtained by a
good construction. The increase in the
number OF motors and their location in
cabins, where they can be easily reached
during flight, should make impossible falls
due to breakdown OF one motor.
Security depends also to a great extent
upon the landing fields. Aerial ports, level
and free of obstacles, are increasing In
number, and II Is noticeable that acci.
dents due to faulty landing are becoming
more and more rare The danger of fire
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