The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-07-08
WENT UP ON A KITE.
NEW MODE OF AERIAL NAVIGATION
EXPECTED TO BE A SUCCESS.

The New Vessel Is Remarkably Steady IN
peeted From It-Patterns of the Kite
ordered For an Observatory.
About year ago Charles H. Lamson S
experiments with his mammoth alrsnip
at Rigby park, Portland, Me-, attracted
general attention. This exploit was re.
garded then by Professor Eddy and other
experts as the most advanced scientific
airship experiment attained up to that
time The experiments then made were
with dummy, Since that time Mr.
Lamson has been working steadily and
recently, by personal ascension on his
airship, demonstrated that he has every
reason to hope that before long he will
attain with his invention phenomenal
results in aerial navigation.
On the occasion mentioned the most
wonderful part of his experiments was
the steadiness of the ship while i'll mid.
air, and this great feature of the Lam
son ship was again made evident by the
recent trials Lamson asserted year
ago that he would one day demonstrate
the feasibility of his plan of aerial nav.
igation, and when the latest trials were
over the critics who watched them
agreed that he had gone a long way to-
ward making his claim good.
AT the last attempts which were
made at Falmouth Foreside Lamson as
cended to a height of nearly 100 feet on
one of his airships, He went up easily
and came down all right after spending
time enough up aloft to look about him
and feel the novel sensation of kiting
through the air. Mr. A. Lawrence
Rotch, founder and director of the Blue
Hill Meteorological observatory, near
Boston, went TO Portland, accompanied
by his two assistants, Ii. H. Clayton
and 5, p. Furguson, to spend the day
with Lamson and test some of his newly
constructed kites, The steamer was tax
en- for Yates Landing, where Gen
eral j. NJ. Brown had given the use Of
his big hayfields and barns near the
shore. The day and wind were favorable,
and many tests were made of the lifting
capacity of the various forms of kites to
find those having the greatest efficiency
for carrying the weight of self register
ing instruments into the upper atmos-
phere. The visitors were pleased with
the performance of two patterns and
have ordered them for the use of the OBJ
servatory. Through Professor Langley,
who is greatly interested in this work.
the observatory has received an appro-
priation from the Smithsonian institu-
ton at Washington. They have now
several miles Of steel piano wire and an
engine or steam winch for winding it
in, and they hope to send up their in
struments to the unprecedented height
Of five miles, using one of Mr.. Lam
sons kites as leader.
Later the same day the mammoth
ship was brought out and very success
fully launched. 1t was allowed to re-
main up several hours. 1t was Oh this
kite that Mr.. Lamson made the ascent.
He was delighted with the novel expe-
riepce and the easy motion of the kite,
and while it was deemed advisable not
TO go higher Mr.. Lamson would have
enjoyed trip still nearer the clouds.
Only three or four other men have gone
up with kites, and some of them have
been raised from the ground by tackle
after the kite was sent up In this case
the rider started from terra firma with
the kite itself, running along the ground
as the kite was drawn forward to give
it the initial force. This kite may be
taken as fair illustration of what the
experts who saw the tria! declared will
be the coming airship New York Sun