The record-union., 1896-07-19

three-masted ship with side paddle
wheels to assist the propulsion af-
forded by the sails. This is the con-
ception of a gentleman named Q. Fran
els.
! The bird idea is very popular with
aeronautic theorists. w. F. Quinby Of
| fers picture of himself in which he is
seen in the act of managing outspread
| wings much in the manner of a man
who rows boat In another patent a
| cigar balloon is propelled by six
oarsmen with winged oars, which col
| lapse automatically on the backward
[ stroke. Thayer is the name of the in
ventOr whose air ship is sustained aloft
| by whole flock of kites, while drag
behind steadies it. If travelling over
water the drag is a boat over land it
is a loaded wheel-cart; over ice, it is a
sledge.
There are several patents which in
volve the use of explosives fred in the
rear for the purpose of propulsion. One
of these requires rockets. A corkscrew
spiral fin, and is supposed literally to
bore its way through the air, the whole
contrivance rotating Yet another de-
|
crosses by sucking air in at the bow
and forcing it out at the stern. Many
of the notions described repeat them
selves in different forms in the records
of the Patent Office. The familiar
parachute, by which aeronauts descend
in exhibitions, was patented in 1902.
A UNICYCLE FOR ITS PROPELLER.
/ A remarkable kind of boat has a tubu-
lar mast, to the upper end Of which
is attached balloon. Gas is supplied
to the balloon from tanks in the boat
Thanks to this contrivance. it is impos-
sible for the boat to sink, even though it
should be filled with water Another con-
trivance is a cigarshaped balloon pro-
PEELED by means of a sort of unicycle
The operator sits in saddle and works
the pedals, thus causing fans to revolve
| General Hutchinson Of the British army
has patented a balloon that has the
form Of a very long cigar, with a metal
tube for backbone to keep the machine
rigid. Another inventor named Lomax
has obtained exclusive rights recently
in what he calls a "cable airship." 1t is
| made of thin sheet aluminium, and car
ries palace car fitted up in most luxuri-
Gus fashion. The cable on which it
travels is suspended on T posts, and
lofty supports are to be provided where
rivers are to be crossed. The machine is
run by a powerful storage battery, and
is expected to cross the continent in a
day.
The employment of living birds in
connection with machines for aerial
navigation is suggested in more than
one patent. Marius Michel proposes to
harness a whole flock of trained pigeons
to a triangular framework, from which
the car is to be suspended. The birds
are to be guided by reins. Another
Frencfman named Wulff prefers TO har-
ness his birds so they are obliged to fly
in certain direction. When he wishes
to turn, he has only to change the ad
justment of the harness. Those inven-
tors who eschew the balloon as means
of support usually rely upon revolving
fans placed horizontally. The fans are
expected to uplift the aerial vehicle.
There is no question that they ought to
do it, but somehow they don't seem to
be in practice. One patentee offers
kite Of vast area, within which sails re-
volve, a basket being suspended be-
meath. Another, named Lamboley, has
a giant mechanical bird. the body of
which is occupied by the aeronaut, who
waves the wings with his arms
A DEVICE FOR CROSSING THE
CHANNEL.
A very interesting aeronautical con-
ception is a womans. Her name is
Margaret Martin, and she proposes to
run balloon line from Dover to Calais.
A rope is to be suspended for the en-
- I;-+o o%o -. -
above the sea, passing over puleys at
either end. This endless rope is to be
run by steam, carrying passenger air
ships. Another English inventor would
employ cannon in his balloon car for
the purpose of projecting a harpoon-
like grapnel into the ground when it
Is desired to anchor. He would take
along with him also q number of inflated
canvas bags, to keep the car afloat in
case of descent into the sea. One style
of war balloon is so arranged that ex-
plcsive bombs may be conveyed up the
rope by which it is held captive and
dropped into a fort. There is a kind of
balloon that can be illuminated from
within by electricity for signaling, the
current being furnished by a storage
battery in the car or by a wire from the
ground.
Decidedly strange is the scheme for
taking photographs by means of rockets.
The rocket is projected over the place
which is desired to be photographed
an enemy's Notifications, for example
and on exploding it liberates camera
and a parachute The camera makes
the exposure and then is drawn back by
a string, together with the parachute,
which sustains it.
CONFIDENT OF SOLVING THE
PROBLEM.
The confidence entertained by the in
ventors in the practicability of their fly
ing machines is utter and absolute Not
long ago an old gentleman who had just
got patent on new-fashioned pair of
wings, decided to make public trial of
them before leaving Washington. He
started to soar with them from stone
abutment twenty feet high on the south
side of the Patent Office, but landed on
his nose on the sidewalk below and dam
aged himself considerably. 1t would be
a mistake to suppose that aeronautical
lunacy is new. In 1910 q Jesuit named
Francis Lana proposed to make four
copper balls each twenty-five feet in
diameter and thinner than tissue paper
They were to be rendered buoyant by
exhausting the air from them, and it
was expected that they would carry
1900 pounds. AS late as 1915 Joseph
Galien, a professor Of philosophy, con-
tended that it was practicable to collect
the rarified air from lofty mountain
top and inclose it in a vessel mile in