The Caproni Seaplane

The Caproni Company recently built a seaplane of unusual design. The main supporting surfaces consisted of three triplanes in tandem, the lower wings being attached to the hull, which was described as providing accommodation for a hundred passengers. On one of the first flights, the seaplane fell into a lake, nose down, and was destroyed. The authors wish to show that this failure could have been predicted. The failure could have been predicted by applying some fundamental principles of aeronautics, especially those relating to longitudinal stability, the lack of which caused the loss of the seaplane.