The Hayti herald. (Hayti, Mo.) 1908-1922, 1909-03-04
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of New York; T. r. White, a real es.
tate owner and builder; George Ken.
nedy, a Boston capitalist; Arthur
Scofield of New York; Frank Damron,
president of the Bridgeport Realty and
Trust Company, of Bridgeport, Ala;
George Howard of Washington, d. c.;
]. Fl. Underwood, civil engineer of
Buenos Ayres, and j. LAMAR, presi-
dent of the Lemair Construction Com
pany.
Thurlow Weed Barnes of New York
is credited with the getting together
of this galaxy of moneyed men who
are willing to take a substantial risk
in furtherance of commercializing air
travel. The plans of the new vessel
have been worked out through a num-
ber of experimental years by Edward
j. Pennington. AS much as Is years
ago Pennington attracted great deal
of attention by his airship inventions.
This new airship that Mr.. Nixon has
II years study on the part of Mr. Pen
nington, the inventor. He is generous
in acknowledging his Indebtedness to
Count Zeppelin, whose exploits with
his dirigible balloons last year were
one of the spectacular developments OF
aerial navigation in a woodworking
year Pennington believes, however,
that his own idea of discarding silken
bags in favor of what he calls "buoy-
ancy chamber" made of steel will, with
his other improvements, render his
craft immune from the dangers which
are sure to beset the present day
dirigible balloon.
'The great advantage of our ship"
says Mr.. Pennington, "is that we shall
never need to bring her to the ground
to renew her gas. Pure hydrogen gas
as lifting force will be used in the
buoyancy chamber, and this gas, prop,
erly confined, will last for years with.
out deteriorating, or need Of renewal
"That is the real solution of the
whole problem, and once our ship is
! in the air she will float there, out OF
harms way, until the wear on her ma
chinery renders her useless"
The plans for this wonderful air lin
er contemplate a steel vessel 1000 feet
| long over all. The cigar-shaped buoy
ancy chamber will measure TOO feet
| from tip to tip and eight feet at its
greatest diameter
The principle upon which the levia.
than of the air is operated is that
upon which all the later dirigibles, in.
cluding Count Zeppeln's, are construct,
ed. This is the principle of the ami.
hilation of gravity.
In other words, the ship Is given a
buoyancy just sufficient to counteract
its weight. That is to say, Mr.. Pen.
nington's airship, with its buoyancy
chamber filed with hydrogen, will, for
all its 1000 feet of steel, weigh almost
nothing. A child could lift it with one
finger or toss 1t aloft like a rubber
ball.
The ship will be equipped with II
propellers, five on each side and a
larger one, as shown in the picture, in
front. The side propellers revolve on
a horizontal plane when 1t is desired
to raise or lower the craft, acting, In
the parlance of a9ronautics, as hell
copters."
When, however, the ship has
reached a proper altitude and it is
desired to drive her ahead the "heli
copters." which work on swivel joints
are adjusted to the vertical plane and
propel the ship on her chosen course
Or, similarly, they may be reversed tc
drive her astern. Two or more or al
of these propellers NAY be used at any
time. Eight prope1lers will drive the
ship at an average speed of 80 miles
an hour; IL propellers will send hel
through the air at 40 mile clip.
II II Is not necessary to use all tho
propellers at the same time when go
ing with the wind. and the big Graf
can partly "coast" in these circum
stances, just as an automobile or rail
way locomotive does when descending
grade.
The buoyancy chamber, as before
stated, is to be constructed of steel
and will have many compartments t,
} insure safety in case OF pvncturs