The Washington herald., 1908-08-05

Darling into midair Ike an uncaged
eagle. soaring 20 feet above the heads Of
500 cheering men and women for seven
minutes. and yielding TO every whim Of
The navigators. Capt Thomas Baldwin, 5
dirigible proved a success beyond the
widest dreams Of the inventors at Fort
8Iyer. Va. yesterday evening.
The premier ascension and tour Of the
mammoth gas bag demonstrated beyond
perldventure the military adaptabiHty OF
The dirigible invented by Capt Baldwin.
II VIII long hold a high place IN the world
Of aer5nluucaI experiments From a
popular and spectacular viewpoint IT was
one Of the greatest free shows ever wit
messed by the Washington public Long
after the inflated diI pickle had been
lowered. cheers for Capt Baldwin and
Engineer Glen Curtiss rent the air
Diguitaries on the Ground.
Secretary OF War Luke K. Wright. Gen.
J Franklin Bell ehiet OF stan. Gen Al
len, MAJ. squires. Lieut. F1ulois. Capt
Bru=eA Capt Charles Wallace. and a
number 1f other dis1lr1ries OF the War
Department and officers Of the T. s. 4.
Signal Cops. witnessed The inaugural
fight OF the huge gas bag. and were loud
in thzir praise Of the airship and its in
ve1tcrs-
Lieut. Lahu. one OF the balloon experts
Of the signal Corps. who sailed from
Paris TO the coast CT Euzllnd in free
balloon was one ot the most interested
spectators While the balloon was in the
alr he commented frequently and favor
ably on the flight Of the dirig-ble. and the
perfect control under which Il was kept
By Capt Baldwin After the giant gas
filed envelope descended. at almost the
Identical spot from which il started.
Lieut. Lahm said
1 am very much impressed with the
machine and Capt Baldwin's handling Of
IL The Signal Corps is much encouraged
as a result Of the flight II looks 70 be
a splendid success"
But the happiest man In the broad land
however. was Capt Baldwin HIS en-
thusiasm over his success knew no
bounds
It's a dream he shouted as he clam
bered out Of the framework Of the dirig-
1Dle after The flight
Those steering planes are the candy
kids The machine succeeded beyond my
1ondest hopes The government money
is ours This IS the pancake ship. and
Will prove the greatest thing the aero
nautical world has ever heard OF.
7 an perfectly satisfied with the fight-
I knew The machine could do the work.
and never hope 20 see any airship behave
better We had her under absolute con-
troll from the time she shot into the air
until we landed her back IN the tent Il
anybody can improve on this machine Il
VIII have TO be some one other than my
self II Is perfect and I feel confident
we have won the $1,000 offered by the
government
Thirty-six Miles an Hour.
7 an Informed the balloon Travelled at
a rate OF thirty-six miles an hour TO-DAY
We did not go IN Tor speed, as we were
travelling with the engine open only one
point Tomorrow afternoon We viii test
The speed Of The airship. and hope 10
make al least twenty miles through the
air al an elevation Of 90 OF so feet Be
ing new machine. never tried BY a hu-
man being before, / was naturally a trife
nervous about things to-day. but since
TIE balloon has shown it is perfectly
tractable and docile, I win remain in the
air longer tomorrow"
Lauded the Inventor.
Gen Curtiss, known in the aeronautical
world as the ''JUnebug pilot deserves
unstinted praise for the success OF the
dirisible- Capt. Baldwin Iauded the in
ventor Of the engine last night. Mr.. Cur
tiss is modest man. but he said after
The flight he was greatly elatsd over the
initial voyage OF the balloon.
'Both' the engine and the steering
planes worked beautifully" said Nfr. Cur-
riss after the fight 7 am satisfied the
engine IS as near perfect for navigating
purposes as II IS possible for human in
geuuity 10 devise. We shot I'D go feet
IN the air as soon as the balloon was lib
Grated. and the engine worked perfectly
throughout the seven minutes we were
above The earth I had the throttle open
only one point all the time. vet the pro-
peller was whirled around 80 times a
minute. and we maintained a good speed
al the while.
We were particularly anxious TO see
the steering planes perform They were
the only things about the machine we
were not certain Of, but they certainly
proved their good caliber and worth this
evening Capt Baldwin is a much heavier
man than 7. and for that reason il
was Necessary for me 70 keep the steer
ing planes set directly downward The
balance OF the machine viii be more equal
In our next fight, and the planes viii
cIen remain absolutely level, except when
we want 70 ascend OF descend We are
satisfied We have the very article the
government is looking for, and glory in
3ur victory"
Enthusiastic Spectators.
When the gray cigar-shaped dirigible
vas lowered 10 within reaching distance
Of the spectators 5000 franticaUy en-
thusiastic persons crowded around It.
every one Of them shouting words Of
praise 10 Capt Baldwin and AIr Curtiss.
and many fighting their way TO the front
10 grasp the hands OF the air sailors.
Continued on Page 3, Column ?.