The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-08-09

Walter weliman.s New York Special to
 Chicago Herald.
 Count zeppelIn's record-breaking voyage with his great airship surprises no one familiar with the present state of the art of aerial navigation. That a.modsrn motor balloon can be depend ed upon to make voyages of from one to two thousand miles, under fairly favorable conditions. has long been known to men who are familiar with aeronautics. Count zeppelIn's success Is epoch making in that 1t convinces a skeptical world of the practicability of airships and of their utility as engines of war and as instruments of explora- tion of the upper air. as we'll as of parts of the earth otherwise inaccessi- ble. like the great unknown area sur rounding the north pole. Yesterdays demonstration without doubt will as- sure the rapid building of aerial na- vies by the chief military powers. In fact. Germany, France, Great Britain and the. United States are already nov ing In that direction. France has the Lebaudy- and La ARepubliuue already in commission, and Zeppelin's ahip. 1t is understood. Is to be taken over for the Gsrman army.
 The modern airship or motor balloon will prove to be an effective engine of war. She can make reconnoissances of an enemy's position, flying at an alti- tude giving her immunity from the en- emy's guns. She cannot only gain val- uable information, but she can make attacks upon strategic points, such as cities and bridges and forts and the camps of hostile armies, by dropping explosives down upon them. This phase of the aerial warfare of the fu- ture has been declared impracticabie by some critics, because the dropping of a thousand pounds of explosives from ship of the air. would instantly cause her to shoot up to a. great aIti- tude. The critics who think this Is a fatal objection are not familiar with the art of airship construction and op- eration. Dropping 1000 pounds of bal last or weight of any sort from small balloon, dirigible. like the one Captain Baldwin has built for the United States government. would, of course. be eith- CT bnpracticable, because the shin could not carry so much, or dangerous if she could carry 1t. But that weight suddenly released Is a mere bagateiie compared to the total Hitting caDacitv
 
 polar atrship the America. The Zep- pelin has total lifting power of be- tween 25.000 and 30,OOO pounds vhifa the America lifts 1s.5oo pounds. The altitude gained by such airship throurh dropping 1000 pounds in a lump pre- aents no practical dificulties whatev- CT.
 Tn the alrship of the future. whether used for scientific or military purposes. size is sure to be a factor Of prime importance. Interesting experirnenta may be made with small ships. -sBut real and important work requires large nhips. built by engineers. on a scale great enough to admit of the employ ment of steel and other metals, instead pr nimsy structures of bamboo or such materials.k If both high speed and long cruises ars deeired, there must be pow erful engines and great stores of gas- oline or other fuel for the motors. The Zeppelin is the largest ship ever built, Her volume is about 400,o00 cubic feet. The next largest ship is the America, z4O,0oo vSoie kaet. The French ships have about l15,000 cubic feet. Tn the opinion of most experts the Zeppelin is too large. Count Zeppelin is the only important aeronautic engineer in the world who adheres to the idea of a rigid frame within the envelope which holds the gas and the sub-divfsion of the balloon into many compartments. Tn all other types of construction rig idity of form and shape is secured by the simple means of Interior pressure. The weight of the rigid frame in the Zeppelin ship is 90 great that notwith- standing the enormous total lifting