The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-08-02
DIRIGIBLE BALLOON
FLIGHT IS scHED-
 ULED FOR MONDAY.
Eagerly Awaiting the Ofiiciai Trials of Captain Baldwin's
 Invention.

Washington. Aug. i.--The officers of the Signal Corps are eagerly awaiting the official trials of Captain Baldwin's dirigibie balloon.
 The first preliminary flight is sched- uled for Monday. The success or fail- ure of the airship will greatly affect the plans of James Allen. chief signal oficer. and the younger officers under him. In fact, the signal officers are displaying more anxiety than Captain Baldwin himself. who when questioned as to the probable result of the trials. sad:
 That machine has got to be a suc- cess, else don't eat"
 General Allen. the chief signal ofn- cer of the army, who Is one of the most Enthusiastic advocates of aero nautics for the army, has already ex- pressed his belief that Captain Bald wins, machine will fulfll all the re- quirements. Last winter General AL len endeavored to get an appropriation of $20o, 900 from Congress for airships and other aeronautical purposes. He WAS successful and he realizes that the Fort Meyer trials will have to be sue cessful, at least so. far as the dirigibie balloon fs concerned. or there will be a very small chance of getting any thing from Congress at the next ses- sion. For this reason, Captain Bald- win Is receiving every assistance from the officers of. the signal corps.
 Lieutenant Frank Lahm and Lieut.. Benjamin D. Foulois have not missed a day at the Fort Meyer balloon house since Captain Baldwin began the work of sasAefnbling his machine and the efi- tire balloon squad stationed at tHeifort has been placed at his disposal Con- itrary to the general belief. Captain iBaidwin's military dirigible, which Is ;as yet unnamed, fs vastly different from any airship of it's kind eyer built in this country. If. q success, 1t VIII mean, more, scientifically, than the itwenty-four hour flight which Count Zeppelin proposes to make within few days in his monster aerial ship The gas bag of the Zeppelin airship is just twenty times as large as that or the Baldwin "Aeronaut," and the ed- dies and counter current in the air have practically no effect upon it. With Raidwin.s sdIrigIbie. however, each va rying disturbance will have to beecoun- teracted. IL is the success which Cap tain Baldwin will meet in this partic- ular which will be the determining factor nsstte acceptance or rejection or 'nfs machine That he will sqceesd in fulhIling all of the other requirements of the tests, Captain Baldwin does not entertain tfie Ssighteaf doubt
 In the 3f Capt atn HaldWEn has used n dirfg ss balloon pediaiiy for exElibition s@ss n these airships the baafnee ss6s maintained at all times through the weight of the oper- ator being ghlfted much on the same principle that a tight rope, walker bal- anees himself in mid-air. The speci- fcations under which Captain Baldwin was awarded a contract to build dl- figibIe for the army this method will not be peEthittsd. Instead side rud- ders or planes must be used in addi- ton to the balloonet which Is ball loon within balloon or by any other mechanical means. Captain Baldwin will depend principally on the balloonet and the planes Of which he has four, two on each hide of the. frame. placed forward and aft.
 In the meantime Captain Baldwin is optimistic. He has made over 5000 balloon ascensions without ever being scratched. AAd although he is 54 years old he displays the energy of much younger main to say nothing of his enthusiasm. He is very resourceful and has already devised a means of shift ing a heavy sand bag to overcome the difficulty of balancing, which is the only stumbling block over which he has expressed any concern.