Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-09-01
HOME FOR WRIGHT AIRSHIp
1T WILL BE COMPLETED PROB
ABLY By TOMORROW.
Flight May Take Place Thursday, il
All Goes Well-Last Balloon
Trial for Present.


day for building shed for the Wright
aeroplane. at Fort Myer. The machine
underwent a thorough tuning up at the
balloon house yesterday and probably
will be in shape for a flight by tomorrow
though it is doubtful if it will be taken
out before Thursday.
The engine had been run for four hours
at time without heating in the Dayton
shop. but since it was pac'-ed and shipped
to Washington it has all had to be read
justed. The small hindrances were nat
urally expected. but were none the less
annoying. First there was trouble with
the transmission, then there was trouble
with the valves and then a bearing got
hot and went on strike.
1t is believed that all of the. defects
have been corrected now, but the ship
will not be transferred from the balloon
house to it's shed on the parade ground
till the new quarters are all ready for it.
This probably will not be b ore tomOr-
row afternoon.
The Baldwin dirigiMe. known officially
as "Drigible No. l. of the American
army, made the last of its practice flights
from Fort Myer yesterday afternoon. II
was very short trip at that. Lieut.
FOuloiS was at the engine and Lieut.
Lahm handled the steering wheel. The
balloon was we'll balanced. but though the
motor had been running tolerably well
on the ground. the ship had no sooner
been sent alOft than she began to miss
fire. and before a full circle of the parade
ground had been made, one cylinder was
doing all the work and the next one play
ing sort of obligato to it. while the two
remaining ones were doing strictly
thinking part. AS one of the enlisted men
on the ground remarked disgustedly. she
was firing just about once in so often -
Couldn't Circle Monument
This state of things made the proposed
trip to the Washington Monument out of
the question. The ship was brought down
after the second trial and housed in the
tent Here she will be debated today
and the plan is to save the hydrogen
gas for an ascent in one of the spherical
balloons. 1t is a question of using it in
this way or letting it go to waste. the
Lieut.. Lahm is to be the pilot on the
trip of the spherical and will be accom-
panied by one or two other officers of the
Signal Corps.
1t is of considerable interest in connec-
ton with the government aerial trials to
know that there was at least one officer
of the government who was the witness
of successful man-carrying heliocopter
trial about thirty years ago. The officer
in question is Capt Richard Usher. now
the assistant chief Of the bureau of nav
igation. In speaking of the subject the
other day he said that the experience was
so many years ago that he is rather hazy
on the Details but the main facts were
about as follows:
He was at that time an ensign in the
navy and happened to be in San Fran
cisco. There was an amusement park
on the outskirts of the city. something
on the line of the modern Luna Park.
1t was known as Woodward's Gardens, a
name familiar enough to old residents of
San Francisco, though the place has now
passed out of existence. Capt. Usher
says he does not recollect even the name
of the man who operated the machine,
but does remember that there. was an
engine, driven, though, by just what pow
er he is not certain. 1t was before the
days Of gasoline engines as We are now
familiar with them, but he says he thinks
this was some sort of an internal COM
bustiOn engine and not a steam engine.
It Flew, Too.
The flying machine had neither a gas
bag like the Baldwin dirigible nor planes
like the Wright machine, but depended
for it's ascensional force on an overhead
fan, the same heliocoptre type that is now
being experimental with both in this
country and abroad. Capt. Usher says
that to the best of his recollection 1t was
very broadbladed fan. which would
make it something of the slow-moving
type that de Luytens is now experiment.
ing with in Berlin. One screw was used
to raise the skeleton framework in the
air. and a horizontal propeller drove it
forward. The device was shown in rather
small Enclosure, but it got up off the
ground with it's engineer and actually
flew for some time. 1t was regarded SIM
ply as a curiosity at the time, and ap-
parently there is no record of what be-
came of it.