Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1890-11-15
EVENING, NOVEMBER Is, 1890.
Tae Air shin.


Machine for aerial iaavsga ion MAJ he
Siyile.l into t.,ree ciasses: /. Flying ma
clines not attached to gas envelopes.
Il Balloons depending entirely upon
4 q currents OF the atmosphere for their
movement Ill Air ships consisting #
gas envelope and car containing ma
c inery for operating propeller wheels
70 drive the ship againss the wind or to
cause it TO rise or fail To which class
5 all the successful air ship Of the future
belong? And what effect will the gem
eral introduction of the air ship (in the
near future) have upon the railroads and
steamship lines now in existence. are
questions to which the recent unfartn-
nate experiences of aeronaut Hogan
lend additional interest The expert
ments heretofore made with the fying
machines of Darius Green" and others
have not been sufficiently successful to
lead us to look for the solution tf the
problem by machinery constructed to
drive sails, wings. or propellers, and to
which no gas envelope is attached. IN
the National Museum at Washington is
the original steam engine, and recon-
structed car, and sails, for which Thomas
Stringfellow obtained the first prize at
the exhibition of the Aeronautical
Society of Great Britain at Crystal Pal
ace, London, in 1864. The engine
weighs only 10 pounds, and by the in
genious arrangement of wings, sails. and
propeller wheels the machine, attached
TO and sliding along a wire, was made
TO fly from one end of the exhibition
hall to the other. The idea Of combin-
ing the flying machine with the balloon,
in the opinion of modern aeronauts. con-
tains one element of hope for the future
for successfully navigating the atmos-
phere. To insure absolute safety the
practical air ship must be constructed in
the most substantial manner. 1t must
be provided with life boats in case an
accident occurs near deep water. 1t
must have full complement of para
chutes, so that officers or passengers can
be dropped off when it is necessary.
1t must have light but powerful engines
to drive the vertical and horizontal pro-
pellers, with reserve set to put in serv-
ice in case of accident-and must be
provided with ample generators to man
ufacture gas en- route. The envelope
which shall contain the buoyant gas
must be rigid in shape and design so as
to give the least resistance possible TO
head winds 1t must be air tight-inl-
pervious to moisture and not reasonably
affected by heat or cold. It must be
divided into compartments, SO that in
case the envelope is damaged only por-
tion Of the gas will escape.
Recent progress in constructing boilers
and engines OF the Copeland" type
gives great encouragement to the aero
naut who requires the lightest possible
engine for his air ship A four horse
power Copeland marine engine weighs
27 pounds, occupying a floor space 10
inches square, and is only 81 inches high
over all and with boiler for petroleum
fuel, 20 inches in diameter aud "a inches
high, weighs very much less than the
average man. The motorcycle Copeland
engine is so light and powerful that at
tached to tricycle., with fuel and water
for a four hours trip, the whole machine
weighs little more than 200 pounds, built
to carry two passengers at a speed of 8
or 10 miles an hour upon ordinary car
riage roads The perfection recently
reached in constructing thin steel tubes
Cess than 1-16th of an inch thiclx) several
inches in diameter which will stand a
pressure of 700 to 1000 pounds square
inch enables the aeronaut TO carry with
him large quantities of gas in highly
condensed form to be used in operating
steering machinery and for other pur-
poses To this add the service which
light electrical machines can do toward
moving valves and performing other
duties OF a like nature and we can form
some idea of the advantages that the
aeronaut Of the present time has ovev
his predecessors. With the present con.
dition Of mechanical science there is no
reason why successful machine could
not be designed, and if series of ex-
periments were inaugurated by practical
men who should devote only as much
thought and money to the subject as has
been given to one matter Of interest to
the railway service-the perfection of
the car coupler-there is every reason to
believe that an air ship could be con-
structed, and, after some experience,
could be manned by a crew in whose
hands passenger would be as safe as on
o transatlantic steamship on the bolster
Gus ocean-an air ship which could with
reasonable certainty be made to rise and
fall to any desired altitude and remain
in the atmosphere for any reasonable
length of time
With our present understanding of the
subject it is not probable that any sys-
tenn of air ships can compete success
fully with railways or steamboats, for
travelling very short distances. The
dreams of the most enthusiastic aero
nauts have led them only to hope to
construct an air ship that shall pass over
long distances quickly The dangers and
difficulties of landing safely have never
yet been overcome, and it is not prob
able that local lines" viii be pro-
jected until after some success has been
reached in this direction, although some
system by which an electric air ship
floating 10 cx 100 fact frona fha ground