Omaha daily bee., 1905-12-31
PLANS TRIP TO The POLE
Walter wsllmsn Will Attempt to Wake
Journey in Air,hip.
SASToS-DUsoNT TO ACCOMPANY HIN
Party VIII Consist of Five Men and
Keep In Constant Touch with
World by wireless
TeIeRrnphy.

CHICAGO. Dec. 3.-"Build an airship. go
ind the north pole and report by wireless
telegraphy and submarine cables the prog
ress of your Efforts.
This was the startling assignment given
few days ago to Walter wellman, WASH
ington' correspondent Of the Chicago Rec
ord-Herald, by Frank r. Noyes. editor-in-
chief of the paper. and the commission has
been accepted by Mr.. wellman As an as
sstant on this daring expedition Mr.. Well
man will have the services of Alberto
Santos-Dumont of Paris, who will have
charge Of the construction of the airship
and who will act as aeronautic director and
pilot OF the ship on its voyage toward the
north pole
The airship. the order for which has been
given, will be built by Louis GODDARD Of
Paris, under the supervision Of NJ Santos
Dumont. and will be completed by the end
of next April. No definite date has as yet
been decided upon as TO when the explorers
will start on their journey. but il is ex-
pected that everything will be in readiness
to get away next July or early in August.
After completion the airship will have sew
eral trials in or about Paris, and in June
all the paraphernalia for the journey will
be assembled in Norway. Early in July
headquarters will be established in Spitz-
bergen, where the explorers will await a
favorable opportunity for the dash to the
pole. which, according to Mr.. Wellman,
should the expedition meet with good run
OF luck, should be reached in less than a
week
Mr.. weIIman's Plans.
In announcing his acceptance tonight of
the proposed expedition, Mr.. Wellman said:
If did not believe the chances of sue
cess were greater than those of failure
| should not accept the commission. Mr.
Noyes acted upon sudden within or i'm
pulse when he gave me the order to try
and locate the much sought North pole,
as he had before him a report which /
had submitted to him as the outcome of
two visits TO the inner polar regions of
years yea Of study yo OF the problem, Of the
ton of airshp construction and naviga-
ton, the wind and climatic conditions 10
be encountered and all the multitudinous
spherical and meteorological factors in
Volved. In this investigation scores of
eminent experts and specialists were con-
suited. voluminous technical reports were
received and, finally a complete symmetri-
cal and at least promising project was
ingly practicable combination of the latest
development Of many of the arts for ac-
complish'0g the result in view.
The problem of reaching the North pole
by means of an airship does not require
high speed and the present state of the
art Of aerial navigation by gas-buoyed and
pose From an easily reached base of
operations in northern Spitzbergen we have
61 $50 rap miles ,o to go to the
voyage. If we take the whole at 100
miles. IL means but 100 hours of motoring
at twelve miles an hour. Santos Dumont
has repeatedly made from nineteen TO
twenty-three miles an hour with small
airships equipped with relatively small
motors.
Largest Airship Ever Built.
Tha frGhfr In, ,t,I,x
tain the North pole will be the largest
practicable airship ever built 1t will be
1875 1885,, feet long long and Its greatest diameter
will be $4,000 cubic feet. Inflated with
forae OF 5sc pounds. seven t tsoSsand
pounds will be the weight of the ship and
its equipment complete. leaving 5000
vided with three motors with combined
energy of seventy-horse power. II the
there are no delays. this ship can motor
from North spitzbergen to the pole in
forty-five hours
The airship will have an endurance ca
pacity in buoyancy sufficient to enable 1t
/ to remain twenty-five TO thirty days in
6 the air II Will carry $500 pounds Of gas
weather will be eighteen miles more than
equal to the distance from spitzbergen
Arctic ocean to Alaska As our airship
VIII be constructed II will be able to make
[ hcdu"dy against tWO-tnlruS OF all the
winds that blow even though they may
be squarely adverse, but IL is part OF our
project to motor only with favorable winds
and to anchor our ship to the ice and
lie TO" in all unfavorable winds OF We
locity exceeding one-half the, normal speed
OF our craft. The shin will be equipped
for safe anchorage in the highest winds
ever known In the Arctic regions. In fact
the ship will be subject to the will and
hand of the navigs tor lust like a steamship
upon the ocean. Besides the $500 pounds
OF fuel mentioned the ship will carry also
hve men, a comfortable car to live In
(Which is also a boat in case OF need food
and supplies for seventy-1ve days siedges
TO draw them over the ice and, in fact "A
completely organized and equipped sledging
party ready any moment should IL be
necessary to abandon the ship and take
TO the ice. If at the worst our ship of
the air carries US only to the vicinity
OF the pole, or two-thirds OF the way TO
Il, we have an alternative method of travel
by which We may reasonably hope to com
nlete our task and make our return to land
in safety. '
Wireless telegraph station
Al no time will our alrship be out of
touch with the surface OF the earth A
guide rope so-called, but in our case a
smooth tapering line OF steel il to drag