The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1875-11-04
sCHROEDER,s SHIP


A DESCRIPTION OF THE WORKING APPARATUS
WHAT THE INVENTOR SAYS HE CAN Do
HOW THE NORTH POLE Is TO BE DISCOVERED
correspondent of the Cincinnati Com
mercal says that the skeleton of Schroeder's
air ship, in course OF construction at Balti-
more, is made of double o wire, brsced
lengthwise by single o wire. The ship itself
is eighty five feet long nine feet high, and
eight feet wide. ana in shape resembles a
long steamship hull, with the exception that
the fore and aft projections extend about
seven feet from the body of the ship. The
iron shaft runs leDgthwise, the pushing pro-
peller being attached To one end, and the
pulling propeller to the other, in
order that they can be worked to the
best advantage, and TO allow the ship to
turn around on its own pivot in the air.
U ndernesth are two rudders, one fore and
one att, for steering purposes. On making
the ascent, the pulling propeller will be put
in motion, assisted by the pushing propeller
and rudders, and thus the inventor conf
IDENTIFY expects to be able to go whittier
soever he will. The ship is attached to the
balloon by J, 496 ropes, situated az equal dis
tances apart, in order TO preserve as exact
balance as possible. The capacity of the
balloon is 265 9l9 cubic feet. Hydrogen gas
/ will be used, and this substance is so light
that it is calculated tn 1t one cubic foot will
have lifting power OF one and three-quarter
ounces, thus making the lifsing power Of
the balloon about % 900 pounds, or nearly
fifteen tons. 1t is probable that the balloon
will be
! INFLATED TO ITS FULL CAPACITY,
inssmuch as the extreme rarefaction of the
air al great attitudes tends to withdraw the
outside pressure from the balloon, and the
hydrogen inside, thus relieved OF the out
ward pressure, will expand the more read l.
flxy hnraf hal R.nf
estimating the capacity al an amount less
than that given, the balloon will easily have
a lifting power of ten tons, while the weight
of the apparatus, the gas, balloon, netting,
ship and machinery is but 800 pounds, or
two and two-hfths tons. The balloon is
fastened to the ship in such manner that
it can not sway to and fro, so that it is
impossible for the balloon to get out of a
perpendicular position. The ship has two
masts, fore and sfI, which reach up to the
| equator of the balloon. On the top of each
mast large wire cap is fastened to the net
ting perpendicularly, and the balloon itself
is fastened to the netting all around its
equator. In case of an explosion the lower
part OF the balloon asoends, tails into the
netting, and half of the balloon form a
large parachute. The balloon descends for
a short distance with great rapidity, when
| the air presses up u aderneath, the parachute
spreads out, and the descent is made more
gradually. The steering apparatus and
propeller are set In motion, the rotary
movement commences, and the balloon
goes down In circle
LIKE AN EAGLE sPREADI NC HIS WINGS.
The balloon is made of cambria muslin,
of which Is, 900 yards have been used in its
manufacture, and the length Of the rope
used is nearly twenty-one miles. The pull
ing and pushing propellers are worked by
crsnks, four men at each crank, and work
in the lower currents about three hundred
and fifty revolutions a minute, increasing
the number OF revolutions with the in
crease in height Aided by the pulling and
pushing power, the inventor claims that he
will be capable of making the ship stand
still in the air over any given point. Prac-
ticsl use will be made of this advantage by
taking photographer along, for the purpose
OF securing Photographic views of GER
tain sections of the country. From a certain
height in the air he says he can see the
bottom Of any body OF water, no matter
how deep. The Photographic views which
he proposes to have taken will be chiefly
useful to the typographical corps. Mr..
Schroeder says that his experience has
proven to him that in the higher stmos-
pher6s approaching the North Pole, where
the lower currents increase In cold the upper
currents increase in warmth, and he is there
fore confident that he is capable of sailin &
over this region, and finding that for which
millions have been spent and MANY valuable
lives lost-a passage to the open Polar Sea.
The first ascent will be made In about two
weeks.