The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-10-14

He Hopes to Have a Balloon That
Can Re Readily Steered.

IAN be Hendtiy Steereu.
From the Paris Edition of the New York
Herald,
The desire, the longing to soar, Is as
old as humanity Itself. aud lnnumerable
attempts have been made 10 reach this
much desired goal
AS was to be expected, the first attempts
were all in the direction of initiating the
natural fight of birds. The old story Of
Daedalus and Icarus is an example of this.
and history teaches that until our time no
change was made in the manner of these
experiments calculated to bring about
practical solution Of the problem.
All the earlN, experiments were in the
direction OF the construction of an exact
reproduction OF the flying apparatus of
bird. The inventors set to work with the
greatest enthusiasm 10 study the mechan-
ical part of the art Of flight, in the hope
that they might discover some motor
which would combine the greatest force
with the greatest flghtness.
Another idea which, for the time being
has come nearer giving practical result
seeks TO attain the power OF steering the
ordinary balloon by trans orming 1t into an
airship. one of the leading representatives
of this idea Is Count Won Zeppelin, VINO
is at present building an airshlp, and who
hopes shortly to undertake a trial trip
with IT, The earnest character of Count
Won Zeppelin, man of unusual resolution
and perseverance, allied 10 excellent scien-
tfhc knowledge, excludes any idea of fan
tastc experiments and gives guarantee
that we have to do with well-weighted
plans founded on technically well-grounded
designs
Count Won Zeppelin is descended from an
old Wurttemberg family, and, as Is the
custom in most German families, embraced
a military career. He distinguished him
self in the Franco-Gerrnan war Of 1870,
and earned for himself a nigh place in that
conflict lie belonged to the general STAFF
OF the WurttembeTG army, and on July 20,
1880 commanded an important Teconnais-
sauce in the enemy's country and c1ptur-
ed Lauterburg. Such he left the cervtee,
with the rank of major general, ne mas
lived In Ebersberg, on the lsodensee.
man of Count Won Ieppelins energy
could not long remain inactive. lie de-
voted himself 10 scientific studies. and was
particularly attracted by the study of mil
itary balloonlng. which Of recent years
he's assumed such Importance in the Ger
man army. His aim was TO construct
Siderable airship, aud he mas for years de-
voted himself 10 the solution of the prob
lem.
After many years OF research and ex-
pertinent, especially with view of in
venting light yet powerful motor, Count
Won Zeppelin finally made a discovery
realm Of practical construction His first
experiment was the construction of a pow
erful air propeller, which he attached TO
a boat driven through the water by its
action in the air. This action was so pow
erful that in an experiment on the River
Inn the boat obtained high speed. Thus
il was proved that the action OF a screw
In the air was sufficiently powerful to full
fill all the demands Count Won Zeppelin
made on it.
Count Won Zeppelin, on the strength Of
the success of this experiment, founded
a limited liability company foe the adj
vancement Of aerial navigation. He chose
the Lake Of Constance as the scene OF
his experiments.
The body Of the airship, which he Is
building there, is cylindrical In shape. The
extremities OF the cylinder are conlcaL
Near each end Is a steering apparatus,
which keeps the balloon in horizontal po-
siion. The steering Of the balloon in a
vertical direction is carried out by a third
apparatus on the sides Of the balloon. The
ballast is composed Of water contained in
vessels placed on a rod so that they can
be pushed backward and forward, thus
changing the center Of gravity at Will
Four propellers, resembling those used
for ships placed two on each side Of the
cylinder, set the balloon in movement. The
speed Is reckoned at ten yards a second.
The force is furnished by two Daimler
motors, which are fastened under the bal
loon. ] am, however, unaware OF the
means by which the force Of these motors
Is conveyed to the propellers.
Between the motors, which are placed at
the end of the cylinder Of the alrsnip are
the cars for persons or goods. A ladder,
placed horizontally, allows Of communca-
ton between the parts OF the airship.
The airship Is expected to reach a hight
Of 100 yards, with load of 1900 pounds,
and TO remain in the air about week