The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1876-09-30 00:00:00

A MONSTER BALLOON.

Visitors to the Exhibition of 1867 may remember on
,the Champs de Mars a captive balloon of large size.
This was the first captive balloon that had been
maace avred by means of a steam engine, the balloon
Itself having been 176,660 cubic feet in capacity, and
capable of rising upwards of 8001 t. above the ground.
This was at the time considered a great aerostatic
triumph, and was due to AI. Henry Giffard, the inventor
of the well known "injector," from which invention,
for many years past, he has been in the enjoyment of
a handsome fortune. The organiz,r3 of the Phila-
delphia Exhibition asked M. Giffard, we believe, to
construct a similar balloon for the great Centenary
display, but the wealthy Frenchman would not listen
to the proposal, as he wished to reserve an aerostatic
surprise for the visitors to the next International
Exhibition of Pad.. M. Giffard has devised the
construction of a balloon for 1878, which will far sur-
pass any effort hitherto made in this direction, and
which will, no doubt, be one of the most popular
attractions at the forthcoming Exhibition. The plans
were submitted to the Comouissioners of the Exhibition
by M. G. Tiseandier, who has just pubhshed some of
the details of construction. This new balloon will be
formed of a resisting material, solid, sholutely
impermeable to hydrogen gas, manufactured of alter-
nate sheets of linen and caoutchouc, protected
externally by several layers of varnish, and coated
wi6ll white paint to diminish the effects of the Eilla's
rays. This balloon will have a capacity of nearly
710,000 cubic feet, and will form an immense
sphere, the great( Bet ever constructed, the diameter
of which will not be less than 112,t. By means
of a system ef valves it will be managed with
the greatest eaee. When moored to the ground, the
ball,on will form a monumental dome 1661 t. high, ex-
ceeding by 151 t. the height of the Arc de Triomphe.
The balloon itself will weigh B,Boolh, and to join the
pieces together of which it is composed will take nearly
four miles of Bowing. with 22 miles of thread. The car
of the balloon will form a gallery 50ft. in circumfer-
ence. A circular space in the centre of 10ft. in
diameter will be reserved; in the centre of this space
the cable, a powerful rope of 10in, in circumference,
will be joined to the upp.x circle by means of an appa-
ratus which will constantly indicate the ascending
power of the balloon. This aerial machine will be
held to the earth by eight cables, attached to iron rings
fixed securely in masonry, and will be suspended above
a vast conical basin. The car will be reached by
two moveable gangwajs, and from 40 to 50 persons
will be taken on board at each ascent. The cable
will descend to the bottom of the conical basin, and by
means of a secure system of wheels will be carried
along a tunnel to be worked by an engine of 200-horse
power. This cable will be 1,7301 t. in length. The
captive balloon will be placed in the centre of a
circular enclosure 3331 t. in diameter. It will tower
above the beautiful gardens, and will form the most
elevated dome in the Champ de Mars. The greatest
precautions will be taken to have every part of the
great machine strong enough to resist all possible
continencies ; the cable that fixes the balloon to
earth will be so strong that a hurricane could not snap
it. An elaborate but easily worked apparatus will
fill it with hydrogen gas. With this balloon, then, it
will be postible to raise more than 20J,010 visitors
1,660 f t. above the earth during the continuance of the
Exhibition. They may contemplate from that height,
surpassing that of 11 Arcs de Triomphe, the fine tab-
leau of the City of Paris spid its surroundings ; and
they will he able to see that the scenes described by
aeronauts are not exaggerated pictures. The steam
captive balloon will be located in the centre of the
Exhibition great park, between the Palace and the
Jena-bridg.e. M Giffard proposes to construct this
enormous machine entirely at his own expense; it will
cost several hundred thousand francs—an insignificant
slin3, however, compared to the fortune of the inventor
of the "injector."