The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-07-19
SOME GERMAN AIRsHIPs.
A Curious Story of Successful Aerial
Experiments in Switzerland.
F1oy, The Mean York YoLks-Zeif1ln1

A Curious Story of Successful Aerial
Experiments in Switzerland.
From the Nelc York Yolks-Zettung,
The rumor of mysterious airships which
we're seen lowering over the Russian from
confirmation from rather unexpected
quarter. According to the official report of
the department. Of public traffic In Sweitz-
erlaud, which has only been published
recently, the problem Of manageable
arships seems to have been solved, and the
secret is the possession Of the Prussian war
department.
Nearly year ago, according TO this re-
port, the Swiss embassy in Berlin trans
mitted a petition to the home department
for public highways and traffic, liz which
the manufacturing firm OF Klienstroff, in
Brsslau, asked for permission to conduct a
few aeronautio experiments In switzerland
The manufacturers explained that they had
made an apparatus initiating the flight Of
birds, for which the Prussian war
department was willing to pay ,000.-
ments were SO successful that the
machines could be used at once. These ex-
perilAents, however, could not be oondlct-
ed on German soil, because the danger of
detection by foreign spies was too great,
whereas the misty atmosphere OF Northern
Germany on cloudy days made the expert
ments all but impossible. The mountains
of Switzerland offered.far greater advsn-
tages, particularly in late autumn, when
the valleys and plains are shrouded in mist,
while the peaks Of the mountains stand out
in clear. cold sunlight, high above the sea
of clouds, rolling beneath them. Thus the
inventor of the new atr-ship, Herr Won
Prigaldsky, hoped to conduct his expert
ments unseen, on some remote mountain
peaks.
After some diplomatic delay, the Swiss
government decided to permit both the pre-
limiuary and the final experiments TO take
place on their soil. The Prussian officers
aud the inventor selected for a locality the
two peaks of the Napf and SAINTS, in the
comparatively little visited region near St,
Gallen of which Schaffel has sung in his
romance OF the monk, Ecgehard. On Sept.
% the apparatus was taken up the mountain
side, bridge~like structures OF wood were
erected on either peak, and con-
nection by wires was established. The ex-
periments began on Oct. 2, q MINDLESS day,
when the country below was hidden in fog.
They were viewed by Herr Won Prigaldsky,
the two officers of the aeronautic corps of
the Prussian rrmy, and by two civil en-
gineers of the Swiss government The Of
fetal report of the latter is couched in sus-
piciously vague terms:
The functions of a birds flight have
been 80 successfully grasped and reduced
to their most simple elements, the influence
Of gravity has been 50 accurately weighed
and considered, while the force OF the wind
on the slantIn0 surfaces of the propellers
has been used to such advantage, that the
success Of the new aeronautie process is but
a question of time. This is due chiefly to the
use of aluminium in connection with another
natalie substance, which has hitherto
remained unnoticed In the manufacturing
of similar machines. Thus 1t mas been pos
sible to manufacture electric accumulatorS
for this machine, which, relatively speak
ing. are almost three times as light az the
ligntest accumulators that have ever been
produced Nevertheless, the weight OF the
whole apparatus, which eau scat eight per
SONG at most, ia $50 Kilograms"
Ths first flight from the peak TO the other
took an hour and eighteen minutes. In the
beginninD the aronant had some trouble in
making the chip rise, but after he had sue
ceeded in this be was able to continue his
wav with great rapidity. On the following
DAYS the time Of the flight was considerably
reduced, so that in the end they could
cover the distance between the two
mountains in almost as short time as
a carrier pigeon. All in all, from Oct. TO
Oct. IA, the flight was performed eighteen
times until one Of the propellers got out OF
order, nd certain repairs became neces-
sary which had to be done at the works IN
Breslau. How TO make propeller which Is
sufficiently powerful without going above a
certain weight still remained problem. it
seems, when the experiments were dScon@
tlnued.
.,Dbrs IL nav 20 be RELIGIOUS do you think?''