Evening journal., 1896-08-21
LhMSON'S BIG AIRSHIP.
Practical Experiment In Aerial
Navigation In Maine.
THE RESULT FAIRLY SUCCESSFUL,
q Dummy Man Carried Up Six Hundred
Feet-Tho Ropc Broke, and the Airship
FIoated on Gracefully and Came Down
without Injury to Any One.

Feet-rhe Ropc Broke, and the Airship
FIoated on Gracefully and Came Down
without Injury to Any One.
PoRTLANp Me-, Aug. 21.-Charles r.
Lamson performed feat here, practically
demonstrating that large airship OF kite
capable of carrying man can be iloated
successfully and steadily. He raised his
ship with a dummy man on it 600 feet.
The retaining rope broke when the ship
was at that altitude
Had It not been for this break Mr.. Lam
son would have sent up a man to navigate
his ship. As it was w. A. Eddy OF Bay
onne, n. j.. an authority on aerial expert
'ments declared that Lamson's achieve
ment was the greatest step toward solving
the problem OF aerial navigation Of the
age. Two records at all events Lamson
made He flew the largest kite or airship
ever flcated He carried by aheans of this
ikte the heaviest weight to the greatest al
titude on record.
Mr.. Lamson has been an experimenter
In kite flying and construction for long
time. He has been in constant correspond
ence with Lilenthal and other noted au-
thorlties for many years. The kite which
mnde the flight is an invention OF Mr..
Lainson and is called "the Lamson air
ship"
The kite, when in the air, resembles two
largo oblong boxes parallel to each other
and attached TO each other In the middle.
1t took 10 men to carry the kite OF ship
into the field from which 1t was to be sent
up. The retaining cord was large braid
/ ed window cord tested TO a pull OF 500
pounds. This was made fast to huge
reel, and four men attended Co It. About
/ 400 feet of the rope was run out along the
| ground, and at signal from Mr.. Lamson
the ship was released. 1t quiyered a mo-
ment and then steadily rose skyward.
Seated on the car Of the ship was a dunn
| my weighted to 100 pounds. The ship carr
ried 1t without any peroeptible jar II rose
to an altitude Of 900 feet and was rising
steadily when with a sudden gust Of wind
snap went the rope, showing what tre-
mendous pressure was brought upon IL by
the soaring Of the ship. The ship floated
out a half mile and descended AS easily
and gracefully as 1t went up. Had man
been In the car he would not have been
harmed in the slightest.
Followed Harerave's Ideas.
Mr.. Lamson in the construction OF this
ship has followed some of Mr.iHargraves'
ideas. TIE point of similarity between
this kite and Hargrave's is in boxing the
ends and making It double-that is, with
two boxes OF 'oells, - as Hargraves calls
them, with a space between. This style OF
Kite has great stability when In the air,
and when floating freely always settles
gently, like parachute.
Mr.. Lamson built his airship after Har-
graves general plan, but added Improve
ments of his own TO mako It more man
/ 10, A., tl,n nr,1n In ha flrul
place, the rear cells were hinged on pivotl
near the center, so that their angle of in
clination In reference to the wind and G.
one another can be changed at will
The passenger, by manipulating lever
can keep the nirship on an even keel max
IL rise or fall and direct its course In com
ing down. Lateral steering can be accom-
pllshed by changing the weight 10 eith6
side Of tho center, the aerial vessel thei
turning toward the side where the weigh
is greatest.
Each pair OF wings is like the wings o.
q bird They are also ribbed foro and Of
and covered so that the stream Of air cal
have its full lifting effect following th'
curve from front 10 rear and preventing
al shakiHg or Tapping of the fabric
Mr.. Lamson's plan of joiDting th'
aeroplanes or aerocurves makes IL possible
20 nttaoh the flying cord on a bowsprit
This makes IL much easier TO float tn
great kite than by Hargrave's plan. Mr.
CLAYTON Of Blue Hill observatory estimat
cd that the kite would pull at least so
pounds IL u were hung as Hargraye ad
vises, but by Mr.. Lamson's arrangemen
the strain on the cord is greatly reduced
so fhat a few mon can handle it in ordi
nary winds.
Launching His Airship.
A heavy windlass loaded with sandbaQ
, held the 1000 feet Of cord. All that wa
necessary to launch the airship was to rails
its forward end little and take a shor
, run, when it sailed up into the air Ike
, balloon.
r Tho ship presented novel and beaut
p ful appearance as 1t scared GRACEFUL
/ above the heads Of ], 300 people, who stoo
, gazing With open mouths at this strang
monster OF the air. Nobody, to see tn
kite on the ground, would ever imagin
that It would fly in midair, but Lamso
A demonstrated the. fact that it would. MI
. Eddy and other authorities said that yel
. terday's performance exceeded aRythin
5 that Lilienthal or any former leader /
d this work had done.
i Mr. Lnmson was disappointed at tn
T. collapse Of the rope, but was pleased q
Ie the success OF the experiment. He said;
IS 1.-THE performance of my airship sati
nes me beyond all question that the shi
in its present form VIII always ascend
q fair breezo and will remain flying an
Q length Of time under favorable atnosphe
h io conditions; that Kite of this size wi
'o sustain and carry a man all night, an
- that the latter can regulate the directio
T. Of tho kite in the air and descend.
re not mean that he can propel the kit
Is This remains to Be discovered, but mea
that, taking advantage Of the mir current
he can guide the ship to very large e.
tent. BY means of the guiding lever
can regulate the course up or down and
m shifting his weight he can curve 70 Il
K right or left. "
caosized Far out at Sea.