Los Angeles herald., 1906-10-01
SIXTEEN BALLOONS
SAIL FROM PARIS
AERONAUTS TRY FOR GORDON
BENNETT CUP
Santos oumont Inaugurates Novelty
by Using Six-Horse Power vertl-
cal Propeller to Keep
Afloat
By Associated Press.

BY Associated Press.
PARIS, Sept. 3O.-Sixteen balloons,
averaging over 1000 cubic meters ca
pacity each and representing America,
France, Germany, Great Britain, Spain,
Belgium and Italy, sailed away from
the Tuilleres gardens in the heart of
Paris this afternoon in the. first COM
petition for the Gordon Bennett cup for
international aeronauts.
The contest was primarily long dis
tance race. The date had been care
fully selected when the. prevailing
winds are from the west, in the hope
of giving the aeronauts an opportunity
to break Jne record of Count de La
Vaulx, made in 1900, when. his balloon
landed in Korosticheff, Russia, having
covered a distance Of ,11S5, miles, in
35 hours and 40 minutes.
But today the wind was light, hardly
more than eight miles an hour and from
the east, thus making the Fhores Of the
Atlantic the limit of distance and rob-
bing the occasion Of its chance as test
of long distance aerial travelling. r
On this account the race was keen
disappointment to the aeronauts, who
had come from every corner of Europe,
The rules of contest, however, provided
that in case of unfavorable atmos-
pheric conditions the judges could at
their option make the test one Of en-
durahce to remain in the air.
Nevertheless as a spectacle the event
was brilliant success. 1t Is calculated
that over 100000 people saw the bal
looms as they sailed away.
A quarter of q million had gathered
inside the gardens, while the Place de
la Concorde, the bridges over the
Seine, the embankments of the river;
the housetops and every point of van-
tage for miles around were black with
people.
The terraces in the garden had been
reserved for invited guests. They were
occupied by prominent aeronauts OF
Europe as we'll as many distinguished
visitors from various countries, the
foreign diplomats here and the French
ministers of war and marine. The for
eign military attaches are especially in
terested in the event, it being regarded
as a great test of aeronautics and much
more than mere sporting event.
The start was preceded by the flight
of hundreds of trial balloonettes and
the loosing of 500 horning pigeons.
Each contestant is an experienced
aerial pilot, but contrary to expecta-
tions Santos Dumont of the two repre-
sentatives of the Aero club of America
proved to be the only one to inaugurate
a novelty.
For the purpose Of keeping afloat as
long as possible he has equipped his
car with six-horsepower vertical pro-
peller, with the object of lifting and
lowering his balloon without the dis
charge of its precious ballast The en-
thusiastic cheers of the multitude which
greeted the ascent OF Santos Dumont
showed that he was a favorite and quite
as popular as his French rivals.
Maj. Hersy, the companion of Walter
Wellman in the Wellman north pole
expedition acted as assistant.to Frank
p. Lahm, lieutenant OF the Sixth United
States, the other OF the men COM
petitors.
Each balloon carried sealed record
ing barometer to work for twenty-four
hours and number of envelopes to be
thrown every two hours in order to
mark the Individual trial. Food for
three days was also on board each car
Not the slightest accident marred the
start Each enormous balloon In turn
scared aloft amid the plaudits of the
crowd and sailed away gracefully to
the westward,
Tne full moon tonight will be of great
advantage to the pilots. In addition
to the cup which goes to the club OF
the winner and which is to be COM
peted for annually there is a cash prize
OF $1,000 to the winner, $266 to the sec
ond and $133 to the third.
There are In addition several other
prizes including the contessa Campel-
los cup for the best voyage, the Eng
lish team prizes for meteorological OBJ
servation. the gold medal endurance.
the Galois distance cup and the Santos
Dumont prize at greatest distance in
forty-eight hours.