WORLD ACHEIVEMENTS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 1, Issue 46, 7 August 1939, Page 6

WORLD ACHEIVEMENTS

WILL THEY BE WANTED It seems only yesterday that we Avcre all interested in a great scheme for floating islands in, the 4tlautic. Our ideas were not as ambitious then as now, and though the Atlantic had been flown more tha,n once, it was still a risky business (though Oorriga.n has shown us that it can, be done without too much fuss); and we ex. pected that for years to come Atlantic flying would mean at least ;rao or two halts en route. That, of course, meant floating islands on w.hich to land. Hence„ till quite recently there was much talk of building immense landing stages anchored to the bottom of old ocean and so constructed that their centre of gravity was far below the surface of the sea. As far back as 1934 enginee-s wore tojnng with this notion. Schemes Avere drawn up—and very clever they were. One idea was to build Avhat irright be called a floating stepningJ stone in mid.Atlantic which should be about 1500 feet long and about HOO feet wide. This gigantic raft was to rise in three storeys to o v er 100 feet above the surfa.ee of the water, the whole structure to rest on 32 pillars wi'th their "foundations" 40 feet below the sea-ltevel. These again were to be immense chambers or air_ reservoirs or ballast tanks goina down 20S feet below the surface, it was demonstrated that the biggest waves of an angry sea would fail to disturb the floating rafts. The idea, of counse, was to make it possible for giant 'planes to fly from England to the first raft re« furl, and then fly on to the second, there, after re-fuelling, to make the last hop to New York. Now, however mechanics are concentrating on vastly Ivgger and more efficient machines, and it seems likely that such uower and range wiil be achieved fCaledonia has show'- 1 , th.-so ix>s-abilities) that the regidnr Atlantic se'-v : c" will be done at one hoj) from the first.