Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-09-26
WOMEN AERONAUTS
Ballooning is All the Rage
With Paris Fashionables.
TAKE MANY CHANCES
AMATEURS WHO HAVE BROKEN
ALL PROFESSIONAL RECORDS.
The Ladies' Cup and Its Holders
A Night Trip Up in
the Air.


How many yards?" inquired the Coun-
tess Chandon de Brailles.
Naturally thought that they were talk
Ing of a gown; so that when the young
duchess answered. Just 1000 yards!''
could not help expressing my astonishment
They smiled indulgently.
We are not talking of a gown but bal
LOOM" they answered 1T will hold OOt
cubic yards of gas, which makes balloon
Of good mddling size. to take up the
duchess and one passenger
Germaine Lapeyres balloon. in which
she won the Ladies cup, cubed but SOt
yards" remarked a young girl. Made
moiselle de Salignac-Fenelon.
"Mademoiselle Pinch's 'Aero-Sport' Is
no larger
And the 'Femina Of Magdeleine Sa.
vale, who now owns the cup, held but 9Ot
cubic yards of hydrogen on the decisive
occasion" added the youthful duchess.
All this talk astonished me extremely
Who are these delicate and lovely young
society maids and matrons, to talk of cap
tanning balloons?
Up-to-Date Sporting Life.
The answer to this question concerns a
whole side Of social-sporting life in Paris
Up-to-Date that had no shadow Of exist
ence prior to the year 1899.
In itself 1t makes astonishing story.
Prior to 1899 all French ballooning was in
or the balloon corps of the army. The lat
ter kept all their experiments a secret.
When the former were approached by an
outsider-Who wished to take a balloon trip
as a perilous adventure-they made an ex-
pensve mystery of 1T, asking as high AS
1900 francs ($240), plus an agreement to
pay damages should there be any, for sim
gle afternoon.
THE organization Of the Aero Club
changed all that very rapidly" a short,
slender
sporting club ever had more immediate and
complete success. We admitted the profess
sionalS We needed them, and they soon
came to see that they would need US. Now
they make more money in constructing our
balloons and by instructing our new mem
bers in their navigation than they made in
the old days. In everything else We have
actually surpassed them. In the first year
of the Aero Clubs existence the Count de
la Vaulx, in his 'Centaure,' reached the
Bay of Aiguillon, $50 miles from Paris, in
twelve hours. Three months later the Aero
Clubs first cup was won by Maurice Far
man and GuStave Hermte in the 'Planate'
in a trip of 3SS miles"
THAT is the Count de Castillon de St.
Victor" whispered my friend. You are
too modest to mention your own exploits,
monsieur" she called out to him. did
you not land in Sweden before all thatP"
Yes but it was not before. l came down
at Westrum in September. 1899, after trip
of twenty-three hours in the air..
About SO miles from Paris
All Records Broken.
How the Count de Castillon de ST. Victor
held the AeroClub's cup until the famous
long distance balloon races of the late Paris
exposition; and how 1t was taken from him
by his friend, the Count de la Vaulx in a
thirty -six-hour trip from Paris to Korosti-
chef RUSSIA distance of l 193 miles as
the bird fiies-is ancient history. Within
four years ballooning has become a sport
the Aero-Club have broken every one of the
professional records-for long distance,
short distance, high altitude, low altitude.
They have invented and practiced balloon
handicaps; and they have made ballooning
thing no more strange than automobiling.
There is not a day in Paris you cannot see
one or more Of the great spheres in the
air.
You know that we have our own Balloon
Park" said the young Duchess dues.
What is a Balloon Park?"
1T consists Of the Aero-Clubs grounds
and building for the housing of ,ne mem
bers' balloons. 1t has a hydrogen-generat-
ing plant and connections with the St.
Cloud gas mains for those who prefer or
binary illuminating gas. There are en-
ployees constantly on hand to fill our bal
looms for us, take them out and make them
ready. Otherwise where should we keep
the 'Srius?'
What is that?''
Her husbands balloon" answered my
friend.
And the one you are now building is to
be your own? l said, still not quite realiz-
ing the full meaning of the facts Are
there many ladies like yourself who own
balloons? What is the ladies' cup?"
who was the first lady to go balloon
ing?' some one asked.
The Ladies' Cup.
wife of the Lebaudy airship captain. Or
else Madame Jacques Faure. AS soon,
however, as the ladies' cup was offered
I ne ladies cup is what Its name implies, a
cup to be won and held by lady balloonists
year after year. Its first winner, Mile. Ger
maine Lapeyre. on June q. 1902. covered
sixty-five miles She held the record just
three days! Then Mile. Pinch made 151
miles and held the record five days! Then
Madeleine Savalle stayed in the air long
enough to descend go miles from Paris.
That was on the LIST day of July last. Since
then the ladies' cup has been competed for
but unsuccessfully-by Madame Henriette
de Lonny Madame Maguel, Mademoiselle
Lima de Vita. Mademoiselle de Louge, Ma
demoiselle Berthe de Nyse, Mademoiselle
"@ And Madame the Duchesse a.
Uzes nee de Luynes!" exclaimed that sport
ing young aristocrat with laughter. Yes.
1 tried for 1t in the Sirius taking my hus-
band with me for ballast. I had no luck.
being forced to land about seventy five
miles from Paris"
How did. it happen?' urged the others.
Actually one might fancy that the bevy OF
young matrons gathered round her clam
ored for a piece of fashionable gossip In
stead of tale of condensation. dilation.
air currents, electric storms and the tech
meal handling of ballast!
ut was only last week." said the duchess
'"Three days more and Mademoiselle Sa-
vale would have held the cup long enough
to be declared the champion of the year.
1 wanted to try for 1t, though the Sirius
is only cotton balloon, considerably patch
ed and heavy with coat on coat Of varnish.
Wait until | get my new one!'
what shall you name it?''
A Night Trip.
1.-THE Luna I think. AS wished to
have all the chances in my favor. decided
on a night trip. So took my husband
"a good idea!' murmured the others,
wisely.
1--WE mounted in the air above the Aero
Club grounds at 8:1z n m At first TIA Wind