Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-08-22
OFFICIAL KITE FLYING
systematic Work Resulting From Co.
Operation in Europe.

: From the New York Tribune
Ihe hrst permanent station for kite fiy-
ing IN Europe. and the first in the world
established under governmental ausnica.
IS that at Viborg. in the extreme nortbern
part Oh Denmark Pioneer work in sound
ing The upper air with meteorological In
S'i ui'iehts which were carried up by kites
was zone at the Blue Hill Observatory
MAI bosloh out that is private institu-
'oii' II ~ worthy of note that the greatest
attitudes yet reached by this method fabou,
three miles, We're attained there. Some
What extended experiments have been made
IN the United States. too under the direc
tion OF the Washington bureau and while
, these may be renewed in the future they
49, Iii',er'o peen brief. temporary and
more or less disconnected At Vibors pro-
VISION mas been made for more continuous
exploration. the governments, of, Denmark
sweden ana France cooperating in the
Schefne. delegates of international reputa-
tlon In weather science from these conn
tails. fi ''''' NC
The most important building at the sta
,ioh IS tower thirtythree feet high
mounted on Circular rails so that IL can he
Iotated easiiys. and left open on one side
ND Mo. maI1sS from which direction. the WING
10 leeward. Thus the operator can 81
within. where the windlasses are. and
watch his kites. The latter, of course
tdhe tIeII INES down the wind
Ihere are two windlasses, controlled bv
eleetrc motors one being held in reserve
LOT immediate use in case the wire m the
other breaks while in service
from an account which NJ Teissaren,. ia,
Bort. the director, contributes 10 the Iatas,
NUMBER OF The United States Weather
review 1t appears that systematic WORK
mas Deen carried on since last August An
eHort IS made to fly the kites by night as
well as by day and the staff is divided into
three sections, one relieving another every
eight hours The value of the data Obtain
ed Is believed to depend largely on the CON
uhuity OF the observations Hence il is de-
slrable To have self-recording barometers.
thermometers and registers of humidity
ana "lnd force tell their stories as often
as possible. For this SPECIAL service All
tour types of instrument are combined in
one ana this is placed in the outermost
Kite. Uusually two or more kites are sent
up lahoem. the greater the number the
isner the elevation reached. What the
meteorologiSts want to study is the sit,la-
uon IN the upper parts of highs" and
lows as these drift over the country
ana a compare 1t with that at the surface of
the earth at the same moment. Light on
the structure and cause of storms cold
waves and other phenomena may be TINS
obtained, and accuracy of forecasting en-
HANGED
The great majority Of the ascents have
been to heights of 800 or 600 meters or
In the vicinity of a mile: but occa sronaIIy
the Kites go up 5000 or 1000 meters The
pends partly on the elevation of the kites
and partly on the angle which the string
forms with horizontal line. On an aver
age the length of wire Is 30 per cent
greater ti,an the height attained The du-
ration of each ascent is mainly dictated by
the strength OF the wind. AS soon as the
predetermined amount of wire is run ont
the windlass is set TO hauling it in. A
fresh instrument is substituted for the
other one (the removal of whose records
takes time) and the kites are started up
once more.
In case of breakage. time Is required for
repairs; but there is always at least one
extra instrument on hand. The apparatus
Is SO adjusted in a basket that it win not
suffer harm unless it gets a heavy fall.
A letter is attached to this Offering a re-
ward or seven francs (about 81 4O) to the
finder for bringing 1t back. Then il a kite
gets away there Is chance of recovering
the property. Such luck has been enioyed
even when kites have drifted over 100 miles
from the station. Once within twenty-four
hours three instruments fifteen kites and
nearly nine miles of wire were lost in high
winds. The more valuable part of the an
paratus was afterward found