Evening journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1888-1932, 1907-01-17

the most resistance. and the higher you
mount the less resistance there is. When
your s;atuscope warns yon that Il Is wise
60 descend bit you put your hand up to
n little white bag at one side Of the car
and pull the rope end you find therein.
This is the valve rope. AS soon as you
pull it a certain amount OF gas escapes
through the opening OF the valve doors
at the very top OF the balloon. and you
Immediately notice that you begin TO fall.
The descent does not cease, although Il
modihes. when you close the valves. Your
next step TO stop the descent Is to take
a little wooden spoon and ladle out your
sand ballast until you notice that the bal
loon floats steadily. But suppose In the
meantime something has happened maxi
ing Il imperative that you should get
down TO earth Just as quickly as possible.
You put your hand up to a little red bag
on the other side Of the basket and give
a hard yank at the rope-end you find
therein. This rips a segment which is
sewn in the side Of the balloon aud per-
mlts the gas to dissipate with much
greater rapidity than the valve. Should
the gas escape entirely the envelope will
form a perfect parachute and deposit the
passengers with very little Earring upon
the ground. There you have the story
Of a balloon pure and simple. Such a bal
loon costs from $500 to $500. There are
about IS to 20 OF these balloons owned
by amateurs throughout the United States.
II you are a member Of the Aero Club OF
America you will insist that every ANA
teur shall have on board an expert pilot
This pilot is licensed by the Aero Club
Of France. He is put through an I'M
usually rigid examination, and Is sup
posed to have some acquaintance with the
treacherous wind currents which are adj
mittedly largely uncharitable as yet. The
man who knew them best Is the man who
lost his life in proving his theory concern
ing them. That was NocQuet, the sculp-
tor who died such a sad death last spring
on Long Island. There are only i've or
six professional pilots In this country.
Their fee is $50 and all expenses paid,
and II they attend to the detail Of infa-
ton you pay $40 more.
The difference between a balloon and
an airship is that one simply soars In the
air without any steering gear or machin-
cry. while the other generates its own
Gas and Is steered by a rudder and a pro-
peller that is driven by an engine Pc
rasus" was the FIRST successful airship
to navigate with power applied In this
country.
Mr.. stevens showed me Pegasus" You
can see its shape In the picture which
was taken during its hrst eight on Sep
TENDER Is, 1902. The silk OF which the
envelope OF this balloon was mnde is a
Japanese silk that was woven especially
for this purpose. It cost the owner So, 900
The only steel that he could use for the
car was brought from England. The en-
CINE, a BOuton, was made In France. Al
together, the machine cost Mr.. Stevens
$4,000 when It was finished.
The envelope contains $4,000 cubic feet
Of hydrogen gas. This lifts a total OF
89s pounds, which is calculated to be
equal to one person and $50 pounds OF
ballast, minus the weight Of the car.
The car Is built Of steel. Just above, a
little to the rear Of the operator, there
| IS a tank OF gasoline. The oil flows into
the carbOreter, which is the mixer Of the
air and gas and electricity which injects
the motive power into the engine. The
engine is built forward, and all the in
struments necessary for manipulation are
/ well within reach OF the operator. IN
front is the propeller, and In the rear the
| rudder. Just underneath the operator, on
a long bar running the length OF the car
hangs a torpedo-shaped water tank. This
tank can be shifted by a sliding move
ment anywhere the operator desires This
/ Is the medium that balances the car.
when the ship Is 10 shoot Up In the air
the balance Is thrown to the rear or the
car When It is to descend the position
Is reversed. or II Il is to ride level the
tank is simply shifted to the center.
The navigation Of an airship simply u
the same as the navigation Of a boat IN
the. water. Just imagine a ship In .
stream using its propellers. The only OH
ference Is reversal OF the manner 10
/ which the power Is utilized. A snip ls
pushed through the water by Its propel
lers. An airship Is drawn through me
air by its propeller.
All airships now adoat in this country
were built after this model In this fac
tory. An airship costs about $1,000 Il
$1,000. and It costs $50 to Initiate II every
time an ascent Is made. Stevens latest air
ship Is built with a four-cylinder engine
IN each end and has a propeller at eacl
end Il is 90 feet long and IS feet Wide
At the present time he Is engaged In plan
ming a balloon made OF japanese silk t
be IL feet by II feet, and TO weigh bu
8s pounds complete. with all Its netting
and tackle, and collapsible car. You WI
appreciate the interesting side OF TIM
when you know that the lightest balloon
at the present time packed for shipmen
weighs about 175 or 200 pounds. He pur
poses to make this new balloon so com
pactly that II can be packed In a couph
Of suit cases and carried into a sleeper.
OF the future Of ballooning and aeria
navigation for utilitarinn purposes be ha
very little to say. He does not beliey
that the purely unitarian purpose WI
be served for many years. But he think
that the bulk Of balloons will soon b
decreased by the discovery Of a neS
gas which win carry more In smalle
space. At present one cubic foot Of hy
drogen gas carries one ounce OF weight
One cubic foot Of coal gas carries just hal
as much. With the discovery Of a lighte
gas a great many difficult aerial-navigoi
ing problems will be solved. one Of which
Mr.. Stevens thinks, will be that IL wi
be possible to use a fine steel for the pun
pose of the envelope instead OF textil
! material. ARNOLD KRUChMAN'