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seaplane and a new airplane, each equipped with four engines, and to again try out his great tandem triplane seaplane. 

The Caproni triplane seaplane which failed was one of the most daring attempts ever made in aeronautics. Mr. Caproni carried out extensive experiments with this new tandem triplane at a cost of three and a half million lire. This represented practically his entire fortune. Interest in aviation had lagged to such an extent that an ordinary success would not have been sufficient to put him on his feet so he determined on this radical venture, feeling assured that if he succeeded in flying the tri-plane and in carrying a tremendous load that is would be sufficient to open a new era in type construction. He believed that he could utilize the planes that had been built for his triplanes during the war and intended to stagger them in such a way that the air flow from the leading planes could be utilized to generate lift under the lower surfaced of the planes behind. 

His experimental work was necessarily more or less meager and slip shod inasmuch as the greatest secrecy was maintained and the officials of the Italian Experimental Station could not be called in without divulging the nature of the work. He was so

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