New-York tribune., 1900-07-08
Won ZEPPELIN'S AIR SHIP.
A SUCCESSFUL VENTURE IN AERIAL
NAVIGATION.
MODELLED AFTER RENAUD's La FRANCE. But
VASTLY LARGER

VASTLY LARGER
The successful voyage Of Count Won Heppeiih
airship early last week directs attention afresh
to one of the most fascinating departments OF
modern experiment, and one which may ere
long bear fruit Of much practical Importance
By the simple drifting Of balloons in 2tmos-
pheric currents men have been carried hundreds .
Of miles in safety This, though, was not na:i- .
CATION in any true sense Of the word. At best .
it was a matter of chance and previous calcu4a- /
ton. It is only a few years since anything like
/ a successful attempt has been made TO propel
an airship in a horizontal course regardless OF
the direction and force Of the wind.
! During the last two decades experiment has
been conducted along two general lines. The
| more daring and revolutionary plan has been
to initiate the bird il securing support merely
/ by outstretched wings whose front edges were
/ inclined upward at q slight angle. Ten or twelve
/ years ago s. = Langley and Hiram Maxim IN
dertook elaborate researches into the funda-
mental principles involved. and then made prac-
teal tests cf their theories by building models
/ Maxim tried a large machine at his country
home in England in 1884 and 1889 and Langley
/ experimental with much smaller one in 1898
and 1896.
| Maxim used five pairs OF wings, one above an
other. These were narrow, but of great lateral
| extent Langley tried only two pairs and placed
| one forward and the other aft Both men en-
pIoyed screw propeIlers. Maxim put them aft
| and Langley amidships- Both inventors
| achieved marvellous triumphs in the lightnass
of their engines. Maxim getting a horsepower
! for every ten or eleven pounds of weight, and
| Langley enc for every six pounds The average
locomotive Eives a horsepower for each 80
pounds,
MAXITS AEROPLANE.
Maxim demonstrated the lifting power Of an
aeroplane that is moving forward. and also
showed that his propellers would impart
lOcity Of twenty-five miles an hour TO his ship.
The machine was mounted a railway track,
and it was on this that the speed was developed.
Means had been provided for preventing am rise
off the rails; but in his latest trial Maxim
Mortified to see his ship pull away from the
track 1t rose slightly in the air, and then de-
scended unexpectedly, becoming badly damaged
in consequence. Since that time the inventor
has not pursued the investigation. Langleys
"aerodrOme" was a mere toy. but it flew in the
air for about half minute when launched and
kept right side up with care" during that time.
The Smithsonian savant renewed his expert
ments in 1898 under the inspiration of the Var
Department. but accomplished nothing further.
While Langley and Maxim were testing ma
chimes that had been equipped with motive
power L4ilienthaI. Chanute, Pitcher and Others
were trying small aeroplanes without motors.
These men always accompanied their machines
p
for distances that rarely exceeded one hundred
feet. Their chief aim study the arts Of
steering and maintaining stability. a great deal
of valuable Information has been secured by
these two sets of experiments but as yet the
engine driven aerOplane cannot boast of a sue
cessful flight through the air with passengers
The other general plan of procedure is to st.s-
tain an atrship with gas. but TO modify the los
ervoir so that it will encounter the least pcs
sill me
zontally. The "dirigibe balloon of Renaud
and krebs, of the French Army, resembIed a
huge cigar or sweet potato. To the gas bag was
secured on the under side light, stiff frame
that would support a small engine and screw
propeller. With an airship of this kind. named
La France. Renaud and Krebs in 1885 attained
a velocity of fourteen miles hour. Since that
time a great many experiments have been made
in Europe. notably under the auspices of the
German and Russian departments The
more significant of them were limitations and
notifications of the French ''dirgible balloon
AN INTERESTING SUCCESS
Count Won Zeppelin's craft belongs to this
same type. but it is enormous affair and
though it is possible that the protector might
have improved on his work in certain details he
has proceeded in Intelligent manner Con
struction was begun about year ago on the