The record-union., 1895-12-14

ship of this kind would only need a
good wind, and she could go anywhere,
either lacking or running before the
wind"
WOULD USE BALLAST.
But how would you keep your air.
ship from making leeway?"
With ballast" answered Mr.. Edison.
You could, of course, have a center
board. But L do not think that would
be necessary.
"A proper amount of ballast would
keep the airship upright and steady,
just as it does when a ship is in the
water. She would not then make lee
way She would sail edgeways, just
as all ships do at present in the water.
The balloons, in the form of mainsail,
jib and topsail, would form a big sur
face for the wind TO blow upon, and
would force her ahead while at the
same time keeping her off the ground.
I'm this way SquadronS and fleets
could navigate the upper air. We could
have yacht races. Who knows but that
the near future may witness races for
cup taking place on marked-out
courses of the sky just as we had the
Valkyrie and Defender this year racing
on the water? The thing is by no
means impossible.
II am no flying machine crank, but
has not occurred to those who are de-
voting serious thought and large ex-
penditure to the solution Of this prob
lem.
According to the plan which I have
mapped out, the one great obstacle in
all this question has been overcome.
That is the motive power. A balloon
cannot carry an engine strong enough
to drive it against the wind, and neither
can an aeroplane.
According to my plan no engine, ma
chine, spring, dynamo or motor is
necessary. All that weight is dispensed
with. We make the wind itself supply
the motive power. There are no fans,
screws or windmills, no propellers, no
wheels or other whirligigs
1.-THE mere blowing Of the wind on the
balloon drives the ship ahead in any de-
sired direction, and she can be steered
from the stern by an ordinary rudder
There would be less danger in such
navigation of the air than in yachting
on the water With an airship properly
ballasted and balanced there would be
no fear of capsizing, and sudden squalls
would be harmless
81 merely throw this out as a crude
suggestion, and leave it to others to
work up. 1t is apparent to me that the
possibilities of the aeroplane, which two
or three years ago was thought to hold
the solution of this problem, have been
exhausted, and that we must turn else
where.
Where else can we find a plan which
better serves the purpose than to dis
pense with weight and make the air
itself supply the motive power? Even
the most perfect motor, as applied to
the horseless vehicle, is too weighty for
a successful navigable balloon.
THE HORSELESS VEHICLE.
Talking Of horseless vehicles, by the
way" said Mr.. Edison, suggests to
my mind that the horse is doomed, yet
this animal shows a greater economy of
force than man, for 20 per cent. of the
energy of the horse is available for
work But the horseless vehicle is the
coming wonder
The bicycle, which ten years ago was
a curiosity, is now a necessity. It is
found everywhere.
Ten years from now you will be able
to buy horseless vehicle for what you
would have to pay to-day for a wagon
and q pair of horses. The money spent
in the keep of the horses will be saved,
and the danger to life will be much re-
duced.
viii these vehicles be run by cleo
tricity?"
Z don't think So" said Mr.. Edison.
AS it looks at present it would seem
more likely that they will be run by a
gasoline or naphtha motor of some
kind It is quite possible, however, that
an electrical storage battery will be dis
covered which will prove more economi-
cal, but at present the gasoline or
naphtha motor looks more promising.
"It is only a question of short time
when the carriages and trucks Of every
large city will be run with motors
The expense of keeping and feeding
horses in a great city like New York is
very great, and all this will be done
away with, just as the cable and trolley
cars have dispensed with horses.
You must remember that every in
vention of this kind which is made
adds to the general wealth by introduce
/ ing a system of greater economy of
force. A great invention which facili-
tates commerce enriches a country just
as much as the discovery of vast boards
/ of gold.