Chapter I: Front Matter

FLYING THE ATLANTIC IN SIXTEEN HOURS

FLYING
THE ATLANTIC IN
SIXTEEN HOURS

WITH A DISCUSSION OF AIRCRAFT IN
COMMERCE AND TRANSPORTATION

BY
SIR ARTHUR WHITTEN BROWN, K.B.E.

ASSISTED BY
CAPTAIN ALAN BOTT, R.F.C.

_WITH TWENTY-ONE ILLUSTRATIONS FROM PHOTOGRAPHS_

NEW YORK
FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
PUBLISHERS

_Copyright, 1920, by_
FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY

_All rights reserved, including that of translation
into foreign languages._

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

I SOME PRELIMINARY EVENTS 1

II ST. JOHN'S 15

III THE START 32

IV EVENING 47

V NIGHT 55

VI MORNING 65

VII THE ARRIVAL 75

VIII AFTERMATH OF ARRIVAL 84

IX THE NAVIGATION OF AIRCRAFT 93

X THE FUTURE OF TRANSATLANTIC FLIGHT 108

XI THE AIR AGE 136

ILLUSTRATIONS

Capt. Sir Arthur Whitten Brown, K.B.E. _Frontispiece_

FACING
PAGE

The Late Capt. Sir John Alcock, K.B.E., D.S.C. 14

Feathering the Wings--Setting Up the Flier at
St. John's, N.F. 30

The Last Touches--Adjusting the Bracing Wires 30

It Was Hard to Find an Aërodrome with Sufficient
"Take Off" 44

Sightseers, If Left to Themselves, Would Have
Wrecked the Machine 44

The Transatlantic Machine--A Vickers-Vimy
With Rolls-Royce Engines 56

A Special Kind of Gasoline Had to Be Used 70

All Aboard for the First Trial Flight 70

The Vickers-Vimy Transatlantic Machine in the
Air 84

The Last Square Meal in America Was Eaten
Near the Wings of the Machine 84

The Late Capt. Sir John Alcock Just Before
Starting 98

Shipping the First Direct Transatlantic Air Mail 98

Hot Coffee Was Taken Aboard 104

Slow Rising Nearly Caused Disaster at the Start
of the Great Flight 104

Lucky Jim and Twinkletoe, the Mascots 120

The Transatlantic Flight Ended With a Crash in
an Irish Bog 120

Chart of the North Atlantic Showing Course of
the Flight 136

The Men Who Worked Without Glory to Make
the Flight Possible 136

The Vickers Aeroplane Works at Weybridge, England 154

Comfort Can Be Enjoyed in Air Travel To-day 154

FLYING THE ATLANTIC IN SIXTEEN HOURS