The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-07-17
FLIES THROUGH
THE UPPER AIR
Amateur Balloonist Tells of His
Experiences.
AUT0ING MORE DANGEROUS
WILL GIVE EXHIBITIONS AT THE
PORTLAND FAIR.
AUToING MORE DANGEROUS

A thin-faced young chap with pair
OF those peculiar cold, glinting grey
eyes that invariably betoken absolute
ignorance Of fear-this is George T.
Tomlinson, who sails among the clouds
for sport.
He is an amateur balloonist just as
some men are chauffeurs for pleasure
Just now he is on his way to Portland
with an airship which he is going to try
out at the big fair.
Aerial navigation isn't as dangerous
as automObiling he said, and yet
people are afraid Of it. They ought to
try it, just for it's own sake. 1t is the
royalest of sports
But" he was asked, isn't a man apt
TO come down pretty hard sometimes"
lie smiled slowly. Not a bit of it,"
ne said. Il never got more of a Jolt
than could give myself by sitting
down in that chair over there" pointing
10 one of the big wicker-seated rockers
that make the Knutsford lobby a pleas
ant place for loafing.
I've been at it seven years" he went
on, answering another question and
never got hurt"
Unlimited possibilities in that way
were limited at by his skeptical auditor.
me gray-eyed young man took UNI
bragg.
How can you get hurt" he queried,
when there's nothing around you but
air? Why, with an auto. for instance,
you've got fences and bitches and cows
and all sorts of things to bump into.
In the air you have IL all to yourself"
Unless You should happen to drop"
was suggested.
y OH can build your basket high
enough To prevent that" said he. with
trace of irony. Anyhow. you're not
gong to fall out. And when it comes
- the sport Of the thing, why, it is sim
ply beyond description. Just try it
once when you get the chance"
How He Got Start.
How did you come to go into it?''
L always wanted to-" he said land
one time at a county fair / saw the
che professional aeronaut was
the1 him to take me up with
him. I made aScensions for him
just for the fun of it, YOU know. And
finally I persuaded him to go up one
morning and to take a voyage. 1t was
my first experience in this way. We
Travelled 10 miles and crossed over
lakes and rivers. Then L became infat-
uated with the sport.
For IL is sport. American people
have been scared by the parachute de-
scensions. Now. in France, they don't
have that sort of thing and people are
beginning to realize the possibilities in
this way. Some day we viii, and then
We will have the grandest of all pas
times"
He was asked about his airship.
1 think, said he, that il will be a
success. But 1 have not tried il vet
L just got it done, and I shipped it on
ahead. 1 became imbued with the idea
and Charles b. Knox, the geIatine man
utacturer. backed me. built the boat.
x 1t does not go, Wen try another. If
IL does I'll go ahead to improve it
am beginning with the idea of creeping
first, then walking Some day 1 shall
make a success of the thing.
1T is "a dirigible balloon. It's biggest
bulk IS ahead of the center, like an egg.
1t has high speed screw. just the OPP
posite Of other airships. ] believe that
is a good feature"
He was going ahead with enthusiasm
now. and talking fast, but the listener
interrupted again.
Isn't it a bit risky. trying a thing
of that sort for the first time in place
like the big exposition"
81 should like to have tried it out
alone first he admitted. but it doesn't
make much difference. only if it doesn't
go through nicely people won't under
stand any technical reasons-anv little
improvements it needs"
But he was told. that isn't the
point. SupDoStng you were to get
ditched or whatever you choose to call
It. i'm a place like that. What them
oh he said. reflectively. We'll. 7
don't know, I never had any real acct
dent vet. Besides. those things aren't
so bad. Last year at the st. Louis ex-
l'ts-AIlVAA W do III a SNdllOudIN DdllOOn
and it burst. The big bag formed a
regular parachute and we came down
very nicely. We were uD only a few
hundred feet"
When the listener got through reflect
ing over the suggested possibilities, he
was asked:
Up Three and a Half Miles.
How high is the furthest you ever
ascended2"
Three and one-half miles. 1t was
5TCIIJerful. But that is by no means
the record y D~rty of four German
professors recently went uD seven and
One-half miles
How long have you stayed. er,
aloft?' was asked.
He showed a big gold medal bearing
the legend of the Louisiana Purchase
exposition. He had stayed in the air
two days and had Travelled over parts
of three states while he did it. He went
on and told of the gIOries Of moonlight
above the clouds. the pleasure of going
up, up. up, without any feeling of mo-
ton, with absolute silence all about
you.
THAT is one OF the pleasures we won't
get in airShiDs," he said regretfulIv
There Will be the rushing of the wind
and the noise of the wheel. Ballooning
gives YOU a feeling Of sublimity that
no other known sport can bestow''
Mr.. TomlinSon has sent his airship
on ahead. He viii go right to work
putting it together as soon as he ar
rives in Portland. He left for that city
last evening.