The Washington herald., 1908-08-04
BIG CROWD SEES
DIRIGIBLE MOVED
Continued from Page one.

His confidence Is not only placed in the /
excellent showing Of the 25-horsepower /
engine, but also IN his latest two-bladed
propeller More can be accompI I
Capt Baldwin says. through a two
bladed propeller than one with four
blades.
II I could use a propeller with blades
twenty feet IN length" said Capt. Bald
win yesterday. 7 could make much bet
ter time than tweuty-tolr miles an hour
However. under JEe present location OF
the propeller this would DE impractcable-
II the shafting could be gun through the
center OF The bag with the propeller
at the forward apex Of the haE. and all
the accompanying planes placed 20 cor
respond. no wind would deter me, and I
would make extraordinary time.
with the frame 50 near the gas bag,
larger propeller would be impossible.
should 1 Ieugthen the distance between
the car and the bag. it would mean. even
in a light wind that a swinging motion
would result This IS 60 be avoided for
the sake of speed. not 70 mention JIe
comfort OF she aeronaur and his engineer
would strike the Bag.
with heightened propeller. should
forward and backward swing be produced
from some cause. It would also mean
that the blades OF the propeller would
strike the bag. whlcn would result il
damage 10 both bag and engine
With the development % the dirgible
under the Signal Corps. should Congress
be liberal next winter, We VIII no doubt
see A dirigible OF increased size. with a
rigid frame inside The gas bag and . semi
rigid framework or car. This VIII. of
course. allow lenghtensd P-opeue-s and,
consequently, increased speed.
One army officer suggested when this
coming American dirigibIe was built Il
not only would allow the carrying OF a
greater crew, but would permit the mount
ing OF guns. such as machine suns. and
even cannon OF no mean caIber- He
suggested. however. that with the com
/ ing American dIrigible," as he expressed
/ It. progress would provide pro5ecules and
/ explosives. which would obviate the
necessity of Other battery than machine
guns for hand-t0-haEd lighting IN the
air
Plenty Of explosives r. the shape OF
( prcjectiles are now available for dropping
overheard on the enemy in time Of war.
Admiration was expressed by army Off
1 GERS and onlookers Of the beauty OF the
cigar-shaped gas bag. and the eveuness
with which the netting envelopes fl. The
/ pearly gray bag. REINFORCED with rubber.
/ and its suspended framework looked a
I thing Of power as Il lay Iashed to the
[ ground and weighted with sandbags in
[ its housing tent on the paraue ground at
I Fore Myer last evening. Until darkness
set in its was the object Of admiration
I 20 continuous stream Of onlookers-
Many Enthusiasts There.
The weather was ideal for a fight.
/ This was apparent even 20 'Tand-Iub-
( bers. and Fort Nyer was the mecca Of
many balloon enthusiasts. Among the
notables who went 20 the fort on horse
I back and by automobile were Secretary
/ OF War Wright. Brig Gen. Allen, Chief
Signal Officer Of the army; Mai Gen. Bell.
Chief Of staff; Maj. Edgar Russell. Of the
Signal Corps; Lieut.. Lahm, the famous
army and racing aeronaUt, and many
others.
It had been Capt. BaIdwi1's intention to
make an ascension from the balloon house
and pilot the dirigible 70 the parade
grounds. This plan. however. was aban-
doned. owing 20 the fact that the balloon
house is located in a gully and is sur
rounded by trees.
This would have been risky with an
airship in which the aeronaut had not
had al opportunity TO become acquainted
with its ecceatTiCities. should it develOp
any, and one on which the proper bal
ance Of planes and aeronauts and engi-
neer's platforms OF stations had not as
yet been definitely placed 20 preserve the
f~~or,a- I.1 -r-r---.-el-.-
was simply walked from the balloon
house to the parade grounds. This was
accomplished by using not only numerous
bags Of sand for ballast. but also Signal
Corps men. who grasped the framework
and overcome the 1.2o0 pounds OF lifting
power Of the airship-
All Obstacles Overcome.
As It was. obstacles were met. but
were overcome They consisted Of tele-
graph poles. trees. and also a slight
breeze. which made the big airship tug
at its restraint. The obstacles were
surmounted by throwing the restrain
ing ropes over them and allowing
the dirigihle 10 float over and beyond
them. where It was again brought TO
earth and carried along a captive 10
its new home.
To-day viii be spent by Capt Bald
win and his assistants in putting
finishing touches here and there on the
big navigator OF the air. and between
the hours Of 5 and 6 o'clock the initial
fight viii be made. which Will demon
strate whether the work Of months has
been toward a successful end. and will
serve to indicate to the inventor II he
viii be able TO grasp the prize obtain
able by producing a speed OF "a miles
} per hour when the final oficiaI endu-
rance and speed trials are held before
: the board OF army officers who will
l n s.-a----r--