New-York tribune., 1908-08-03
AN AMERICAN RENAUD.

The week lust opened promises to be excep-
tfonaIIv fuII of aeronautic interest. Mr. Far
man intends to continue his aeroplane demon
strations at Brighton Beach. Count Won Zep-
peIin is reported to have repaired the alrshp
with which he created a sensation in Europe
two or three weeks ago. and he is expected to
resume operations on short notice Finally, un-
less something unforeseen occurs to prevent,
Cartain Thomas S. Baldwin will to-day begin
experiments near Washington with the first
dirigible balloon built for the United States
government.
The work to be done In the vicinity Of Fort
Myer In the next few days will be watched
eagerly by army officers and by other persons
who like to keep Informed concerning the prog
ress made by Americans in aeronautics. but 1t
should be understood that the acceptance trials
prescribed by the War Department will not be-
gin until next week. The first few flights of
the Baldwin airship are intended primarily for
the designers own benefit. They correspond to
the shop tests of bit of machinery before it is
delivered TO the purchaser. Unfortunately, they
cannot be conducted indoors They must neces-
sarily be conducted in public. II any trihing
mishap occurs, and thus becomes known. 1t
should not be made the basis of any adverse
judgment In all probability it should be at
tributable to lack of practice rather than to fault
in design. No Just estimate of the excellence of
after the speed and endurance tests required by
the government have been completed.
In its form the craft now to be exhibited on
the shores of the Potomac resembles that of
Captain Renaud the pioneer in modern military
ballooning. The Frenchman derived his power
from a storage battery, for at the time when he
began experimenting the gas engine had been
imperfectIy developed. But he showed the world
the value of propeling machinery, of q screw
like that Of steamship and of a pointed gas
reservoir shaped like a colossal cigar. Trifing
variations from his model have been made by
his successors, but the essential idea-reductng
resistance to horizontal movement-has been
followed by them all.
With notable good sense Captain Baldwin has
built an airship which though resembling Count
Won zeppelin's more or less, is very much
smaller It's capacity Is about one-twentieth of
the Germans latest production. If its perform
ance should satisfy the War Department, and
larger craft of the. same sort should be de-
manded, it would be comparatively simple
matter to design and build one For present
purposes though. a less pretentious venture 1s
preferable. Captain BaIdwin's airship can he
taken to pieces for shipment-which is more
than can be said of Count Won Zeppelin's rigid
model Yet It can probably be manRuvred with
as great ease as that of the Friedrichshafen In
ventor. Until its fitness for the service TO be
required was fully established a bigger balloon
than the one about TO be tried at Fort Myer
would have involved waste OF money
Almost the only uncertainty about the Bald
win airship's behavior seems to relate 10 the
means adopted to keep it on an even keel
Hitherto the designer has relied mainly on a
change of his own position in order TO trim
ship while in flight. The government has re-
auired him to adopt mechanical devices to serve
that nurpose thus reducing the mental and
physical effort demanded of the navigator.
Either from lack Of experience or imperfect
calculation regarding the proper size of the at
tachments, they may not work perfectly at the
outset but IN either the trouble should be
easily remehied.