Los Angeles herald., 1905-03-01
BULLET LATEST
AERIAL WONDER
NEW AIRSHlP DESIGNED BY
ANGELENOS
Graft Larger Than the Arrow, With a
Gas Bag of the Capacity of
10000 Cubic Feet-Trial
Trip Soon


pleted in Los Angeles and within a
short time will soar through he
Southern California air on her maiden
trip The Bullet" as the new shin
has been christened, was designed and
built by Messrs. Haddock and Trombly
at their machine shop. S2O5 South Main
street.
l.. B. Haddock is well known in Los
Angeles as an aeronaut, having made
many ascensions and parachute leaps
here, and Trombly is machnist and
engine builder.
The Bullet is much larger than any
thing of the kind which has been seen
in Los Angeles, the frame being fifty
eight feet long. This frame follows
the general shape which all airship
builders have used of late years, though
it has some points of difference.
The two bottom stringers are given
a good rocker or curve so that the pro-
peller is raised close up to the bottom
of the gas bag. The top beam is
straight for almost it's entire length,
but is sprung down slightly at the
ends.
Cross Section Triangle
A cross section taken at the center of
the frame will give an equilateral tri-
angle three feet nine inches to the bag
The three linear stringers are trian-
gular timbers of Oregon pine one and
half inches to the face. The ribs
are spaced every three feet and are of
soft pine. The entire frame is dag
onally braced between all ribs and OH
the bottom with heavy piano wire. AL
together the frame weighs ninety-four
pounds, and considering it's size and
weight it is remarkably stiff
The engine, which was built by
Trombly, is an innovation even for an
airship motor. 1t is a two-cylnder
air cooled motor which devolves strong
seven orse-power brake test and
drives the twelve-foot propeller at $50
revolutions per minute. The cylinders
are opposed and cause little vibration.
While this motor is essentially d high
running at something over 2OOO revolu
tions a minute, still 1t can be operated
at slower spe j when this is necessary
or desirable.
Another feature of this motor is that
il consumes such a small amount of
fuel, even when developing its full
power. that enough oil can bn carried
for a four hour trip. Energine will
be used instead Of gasoline, as it is
more powerful, and therefore not so
much of 1t has to be carried and so the
weight is cut down. The motor COM
plete weighs but eighty-four and half
pounds.
Novel Construction
The propeller shaft is piece of
hollow steel shafting and is rugged in
Il manner never before tried. At close
intervals are steel bearing rings,
through which the shaft runs Three
small steel rods are fastened into each
OF these rings and then run through
the three linear stringers. The out
side end is threaded and by means of
a nut the shaft is turned to the center
and held straight and firm. The loss
of power from friction is more than
made up by the fact that the shaft
runs straight and smooth.
In the front end of the frame where
the shaft runs through the joining
block of the three linear timbers
long bali bearing has been fitted, which
takes up the motion impaired to the
shaft by the rapid revolving of the
Just forward of the point
where the shaft connects with the en-
gine is another ball bearing joint which
takes up the weight put onto the shaft
by the pull of the engine. The power
is connected to the shaft from the
motor by a double gearing which gives
the propeller one revolution to about
four for the engine. These gears are
ingeniously arranged and take up lit
Ito room.
Eighteen Thousand Feet Of Gas
The gas bag, which has Just been
completed by Haddock, is built of
pongee silk, vanished several times.