The Washington herald., 1907-08-22

The frequent references in the daily
press 10 flying machines. airships kites.
and aiT-bicycles show that the trend Of
the universal mind Is toward a solu-
tioE Of that great problem. the naviga-
tion o. the air To every civilized na-
ton the problem is one Of great import
ance. Its uses in commerce have not
yet been deemed worthy OF consideration
but as a factor in war maneuvers it
promises 10 be Of incalculable value. AS
a means OF diversion and amusement,
enthusiasts declare aerial navigation will
soon leave automobiling and yachting
far behind. As there have been only M
ty-seven deaths TO aeronauts since the
invention Of the balloon in 17s3, the dan
ger is evidently less than in many other
forms Of locomotion. Many leading ma
tions now have their clubs or organiza-
tions devoted 10 this sport. The Aero
Club Of France. with headquarters in
Paris, has nearly 4oO0 members, and last
year had loo ascensions TO its credit.
The American organization is only two
years old, yet has nearly 300 members, is
one Of the eight clubs that are charter
members of the Federation Aeronautique
Inte-nationaIe. and has secured the next
international race for the James Gordon
Bennett Cup, the race TO be held IN ST.
Louis in October.
Santos Dumont, with the eager enthus-
iasm of youth, and the mechanician's
faith in the creations OF his own brain,
declares that navigation of the air must
go hand in hand with submarine navi-
CATION. By means of airships, he de-
clares, the slightest movements of
submarine craft may be followed. The
idea Of using balloons or airships in war
is not new. 1t is said that one Of the
earliest victories Of the French revolu-
ton was won by means Of observations
taken from a balloon, and this wonderful
invention was then only eleven years old.
Napoleon III used war balloons at Sol
ferino, they appeared in the civil and
Spanish-American wars OF this country;
England used them in South Africa, and
Japan had them as early as her war with
China. Napoleon gave a series of bal
loon ascensions in Egypt, in order to play
on the creduiity of the natives, and Gam
beta escaped by this means during the
siege Of Paris. Various national govern
ments are now trying to correct such de-
fects as weakness in structure. and the
inability TO carry heavy weights,
Ever since the day when Montgolher
saw his wife's pettic0at fall off the
clothes line, and fly up the chimney pro-
PEELED by hot air. so suggesting the idea
Of a balloon. scientists have been trying
10 solve the problem of a dirigible ma
chine for navigating the air. The plan
of burning damp hay. decayed meat,
and old boots" on a platform, under an
open bag. was soon superseded by the
use Of hydrogen. Practically little change
has been made in the structure Of bal
looms IN the past century. but in the mat
ter Of harnessing them TO cars and max
ing them subservient 20 mans uses, much
has been done. One inventor tried TO
steer gas bag by oars. Oliver, of Mains
bury. d monk OF a century or so ago.
tried a flying machine OF his own inven-
tion, using cloth and feathers He claim
ed he failed because he forgot the broad
tail feathers. Bells tetrahedral kite;
Lilienthars aerodrome, made after a sum-
mers life in q colony Of storks 10 study
their wings; Langley's aeroplane. driven
by a motor; Maxim's S,000-pOund bird Of
steel and canvas; Hennings compressed
air machine. and the Wright brothers
flying machine have all marked the pro-
cesses of evolution and variation through
which the idea has passed.
1t was a Brazilian monk who invented
the first flying machine that made a sue
cessful voyage Bartholomew Lourenco
de GusmaO was his name. He expert
mented with ii early in the eighteenth
century, and was promptly put to death
as sorcerer. His model was destroyed,
and it was not until 1852 that the upper
air was again navigated in a ship This
time it was by NJ. Clifford, of Paris, who
asCended in a cumbersome machine, com
posed Of a spindle-shaped balloon. and
a three horsepower steam engine, rotating
large screw propeller, Thirty-one years
later the Tissandier brothers used cleo
trlcity. and balloons in the construction
Of a successful ship.
In 1856. Dr. WOlfert attached a petro-
leum motor TO a big balloon and sailed
away from Paris amid the protests OF
friends who believed that the proximity
Of this motor to infammable gas could
mean nothing short of speedy and violent
annihiation. Then came Alberto Santos
Dumont, the daredevil son Of a Brazilian /
coffee king. who made trips over the
Paris housetOps, excursions 10 the parks. !
and calls on mis- friends in a tiny balloon |
affair which he closed up in a suitcase !
when he was through with it. He had |
an idea that he could travel overhead |
with the same ease that other people /
Travelled along the thoroughfares. The /
sight Of an AmeTican-made gasoline run !
about decided him on his motive power. /
and with plenty Of money and unlimited 1
pluck TO aid him, be set about making 1
and incidentally desuOying-airships. IN /
III ne was able to make a seven and one /
half-mile trip around the Elffel Tower /
in half an hour. For this he received |
the Deutsch prize OF $4,000. half of which 1
he gave to the poor OF Paris. and half /
20 his faithful workmen. Last month /
four army officers Of France maneUvered /
a steerable balloon 1000 feet above Paris, /
and f0urteen-year-Old boy of Columbus. /
Ohio, conquered the upper air on BIZ !
cycle airship, fitting the handle bars and /
pedals or his wheel TO a frame work, and /
a propeller, under large gas bag.
American inventors have kept close |
pace with the French. When Charles /
was perfecting his balloon filled with |
hydrogen, the first of its kind two Amer /
leans. Hopkins and Rittenhouse. of Phil !
adelphia, were making like experiments. |
The first American 10 make an aerial !
flight was James Wilcox. a Philadelphia /
carpenter. employed for this purpose by /
the inventors. He narrowly escaped death. |
An American named Jeffries was one of |
the first two men TO cross the English /
Channel in a balloon. This was in I7S5,
and be was allowed 10 60 with Blanchard