The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1878-08-01

the question whether a mans dream is
fifty years ahead of his time, or only
five or ten; and many as there have
been who have wrecked their lives and
fortunes upon the dream of aerial navi-
CATION as q practical means of locomo-
ton, ever since the brilliant Berger9
wrote his voyage TO the moon, a ro-
nance from which Montgolfer took
the hint Of the first balloon, the idea
that upper air travel will some day
supersede coaches, railroads, and steam
boats, has always had its enthusiastic
supporters. Its latest exponent is Mr..
F. w. Schroeder, formerly a lieuten-
ant in the United States service, but a
German by nativity.
The air-ship in which Mr.. Schroeder
purposes to make this trip will not be a
large affair, comparatively speaking.
The gas-bag will be ninety-one feet
long and twenty feet in diameter, in
the form Of a cylinder pointed sharply
at each end, 80 as to offer the least
possible obstruction to rapid motion.
The strongest silk that can be obtained
will form the basis of the receptacul-
um, lined within with an i%mpervious
rubber coating, and besmeared exter-
nally with a coating of linseed oil.
Mr.. Schroeder thinks such n bag, once
inflated with carbonic acid gas, will re-
main inflated for months. Over this
will be thrown a roof of stout canvas,
which, in case of accident, is so ar
ranged as to gather air and break the
descent. The gondola beneath is tied
all the way round to the edges of the
canvas by means of stays and guy-ropes.
1t is nineteen feet shorter than the bal
loon itself, nearly pointed at each end,
and four feet deep at the middle-a
simple boat composed of thin strips of
white pine, strengthened with a strong
framework.
At n end 1.-THE stern) is a delicate
rudder; at the other, which is the bow,
a screw propeller, driven by an electric
engine of one-half horsepower, at the
rate of from 1000 to 1900 revolutions
per minute, pulls the ship through the
thin atmosphere at from 40 to 65 mile.
an hour. The open space between til,
car and the balloon is 90 feet high. A
pair of gigantic wings, convex above
concave beneath, occupy a part of thil
space. A single flap of these powerful
engines of elevation will, Mr.. Schroe.
der calculates, lift the balloon 80 feet In
the air. Their strokes can be made as
rapidly as once every second, thus lift
ing the ship 1000 feet In half minute.
Once at this altitude, which is not
nearly so appalling rs it appears when
observed from beneath, the propeller
comes into action, and the long air yes
sci moves at the rate of a lightning ex
press. This method Of lifting has beer
adopted after due consideration AS on,
Of the necessary factors of a system o
1 aerial navigation, in which there is M
exact balance between the buoyancy
of the gas-bag when fully inflated ani
the weight Of the gondola and its pas
sengers. Left to itself consequently, thu
ship would not ascend, and when moi
in motion it must be maintained at any
given altitude by the slow tapping oil
the wings: The propeller has two lon.
gitudinal blades, each 5 feet long by 6
feet in width; the rudder is 6 feet long
by 5 in width-an iron network cover.
ed with canvas. Brass hoops encircle
the gondola at intervals of two feet.
Mr.. Schroeder thinks he will be able tc
turn the sharpest corners or beat hi.
way against the strongest air-current.
with perfect ease, and quotes a similar
but less complete ship constructed upor
his model, now in operation with aero
nauts in France, Which answers all tn
conditions of high air navigation, mel
making Roadway against strong cur
rents, and turning the sharpest angle
with wonderful exactness and celebrity
While talking with this man of so,
balloon ascensions in his quiet quarter,
at No. 1926 East Fourteenth street, on,
naturally breathes in a Whit Of his owl
enthusiasm, and pictures the man Of
the twentieth century living at the Cat.
skills, or in the recesses of the High
lands, and starting for the city at 6
O'Clock in the morning in his own lit
tie air-ship, arriving at 10, and going
home in the afternoon in the same man
ner. Then comes a new literature
that of bird's-eye views; and possibly
the newspapers will serve their sub
scribers by means of a staff of balloon.
lists, each out-traveling the fastest, rail
way express by twenty to thirty miles
an hour.-N. Y. Times.