The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1876-10-12
A Monster Balloon.

may remember on the Champ de Mars
a captive balloon of large size. This
was the first captive balloon that had
been maneuverd by means of steam
engine, the balloon itself having been
1866 cubic feet in capacity, and
capable of rising upwards of 800 feet
above the ground. This was at the
time considered a great aerostatic
triumph, and was due to M. Henry
Giffard, the inventor of the we'll
known "injector,' from which inven-
ton for many years past he has been
in the enjoyment of handsome for
tune. The organizers of the Philadel-
phia Exhibition asked Mr.. Giffard, we
believe, to construct similar balloon
for the great Centenary display, but
the wealthy Frenchman would not lis
ten to the proposal, as he wished to re-
serve an aerostatic surprise for the
visitors at the next international EX-
hibition of Paris. M. Giffard has de-
1873 which will far surpass 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 We're sub
mitted to the Commissioners of the
Exhibition by NJ. G. Tissandier, who
Loe Of 1pfn
of construction. ,fhis new balloon
will be formed of resisting material
solid, absolutely impermeable to hydro
gen gas-manufactmed of alternate
sheets of linen and caoutchouc, pro-
tected externally by several layers
of varnish and coated with white
paint to diminish the effects of the
suns rays. This balloon will have
capacity of nearly 100000 cubic feet,
and will form an immense sphere-the
greatest ever constructed, the diameter
Of which will not be less than 112 feet.
By means of system of valves it will
be managed with the greatest ease.
When moOred to the ground the bal
loon will form monumental dome
166 feet high, exceeding by fifteen feet
the height of the Arc de Triomphe.
The balloon itself will weight $500
pounds, and to join the pieces together
of which 1T is composed will take near
four miles of sewing, with twenty
two miles of thread. The car of the
balloon will form a gallery fifty feet in
circumference. A circular spacein the
center of ten feet in diameter will be
reserved; in the center of this space
the cable, powerful rope of ten
inches in circumference, will be joined
o the upper circle by means of an
apparatus which will constantly indi-
cate the ascending power of the bal
loon. This aerial machine will be
held to the earth by eight cables, at
tached to iron rings fixed securely in
masonry, and will be suspended above
a vast conical basin. The car will be
reached by two movable gangways,
and from forty to fifty persons will be
taken on board at each ascent. The
cable will descend to the bottom of the
conical basin, and by means of secure
system of wheels will be carried along
a tunnel to be worked by an engine
of 200-horse power. This cable will |
be 1,73O feet in length. The captive
balloon will be placed in the center of |
a circular enclosure 1888 feet in diam
eter. 1t will tower above the beauti-
full 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 ma
chine strong enough to resist all posi-
bic contingencies; the cable that fixes
the balloon to earth will be 50 strong
that hurricane could not snap it.
An elaborate but easily worked appa-
ratus will fill it with hydrogen gas.
With this balloon, then, it will be pos
sible to raise more than 100000 visit
ors 900 feet above the earth during
the continuance of the Exhibition.
They may contemplate from that
height, SURPRISING that of eleven Arcs
de Triomphe, the fine tableau of the
city of Paris and its surroundings; and
they will be able to see that the scenes
described by aeronauts are not exag-
gerated pictures. The steam captive
balloon will be located in the center of
The Exhibition great park, between the
Palace and the Jena bridge. M. Gift
fard proposes to construct this enor-
nous machine entirely at his own ex-
Dense; it will cost several hundred
thousand francs-an insignificant sum,
however, compared to the fortune of
he inventor of the "injector. "-Lon-
tom Times.