The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1908-03-30


news that our Signal Corps has asked
Peter Cooper Hewitt to aid in con-
structing war airships makes a pro-
found impression in Paris.
1t is confirmation by the practical
Americans of the necessity of all the
feverish European preparation for war
from the clouds that goes on at this
moment.
When the Patrie was wrecked the
French army had at once a choice of
three airships, as gifts from private
parties, to replace it-Deutschs Willie
de Paris and the Malecot and DE Mar
cay-magnificent new dirigibles. And
the ctat-major's choice was to accept
all three!
Germany, Spain, Italy, Russia and
Austria will soon have fiotillas OF these
newly practical cigar-shaped balloons
All vital details are kept secret, but
France, foremost in both number and
exploits, has let the most facts leak
out. Thus it was not kept secret that
the patriotic Deutsch, Malecot and De
Marcay offered their superb machines
as gifts, although most talk has been
about the Vile de Paris.
Like all dirigibles of the Patrie
type, evolved from lie Jaune-itself a
gift to the army from the rich Le-
baudys, who had built 1.-THE Vile de
Paris goes out in the rain. They COM
pensate the increased weight of wet
ness by dropping 200 pounds ballast.
ing interior air balloons and tough
ness of material permit the vale de
Paris to navigate almost a mile high
without bursting in the decreased at
mospheric pressure.
We may take the Vile de Paris as
the type of these war airships become
terrible by the one element of greatly
increased motive power. I'll speak OF
averages already done, not possibili-
ties of speed, doubtless concealed. To
make twenty-five miles per hour the
Willie de Paris as the pleasure craft oil
M. Deutsch consumed thirty pounds
Of automobile essence and 1872 pounds
of sand ballast. At this cost its speed
could be pushed up to thirty miles per
hour.
MAY BE ONLY GUESSED.
1t was speed through the air. in
still air it was distance over the
ground. Going with a wind of ten
miles per hour it covered twenty-five
or thirty miles plus ten, making chr
tytwo, or forty miles over the ground
Against a wind of ten miles per houi
it would cover twenty-five, or thlrt!
miles less ten-say, twelve or tWent!
miles.
This was when the Vile de Pari
had it's original 7O-horsepower motor
with four persons in the ear Its nor
imal provision was 1910 pounds SAINT
ballast and 1920 pounds essence. mi
permitted six hours aerial travel ant
1914 miles distance without landing.
Again and again the Vile de Part
made such pleasure trips with M
Deutsch, the owner, and NM. Surcou
and Kapferer, his engineer-construct
ors. What it will do now, retitted TO
the army may be only guessed. I'll
Patrie. with a stronger motor-torc
unknown-made the straight Paris
Verdun trip of nearly 200 miles in 81
hours. have heard the Vile de Pari
will be speedier as a war engine.
They are true war engines. Whe
the wind obliges serious struggl
three of the four persons in the ca
must occupy themselves with mere ae
rial maneuvering-the pilot, his secon
and the mechanician. In weak wind
two persons suffice, leaving the tw
others to make observations-or max
war!
The trepidation OF the car does nc
prevent photography. Apparatus iii
ted with the telescope attachment get
such views of camps and troops tina
samples recently published in ILLUS
tration caused alarmed activity at BEL
lin, You remember seeing those view
in the papers? They had been take
from the Patrie just before its los
during a mock attack on Verdun-on
of the most formidable OF the fort
fed camps" of the Franco-Germa
frontier.
A SENSATION.
The last word was not told, however
at that moment. There is somethin
absolutely sensational. The eng1nee
Berjonneau, who lives beside me
Neuilly, has a practical system {
transmitting photographs Shy telegraph
not like Korn over wires, but by tn
Hertzian waves.
Now, the wireless telegraph appara
tus carried by all French army all
ships and fitted on the Vile de Par