The news=record. [volume] (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Oregon) 1907-1910, 1909-04-21

this man has made say nine ascenslons
says, ooh, I'll willingly CO." If we
had government regulation, where
men skilled in aircraft should make the
examinations as to whether or not the
applicant was fitted to be pilot, this
obvious danger would be dispensed
with.
The popular idea is that all one has
to do to make an ascension is to jump
into the balloon car, cut loose and when
one is ready to ascend throw overheard
the sand ballast. AS matter of fact
that much is not even the alphabet of
air riding.
When heard that this experimenter
was to make the trip with that number
of passengers and with SO small an
amount of ballast in my old "Ameri-
ca" predicted failure. He should
be thankful that the escape was so sue
cessful. There are some requirements
and some theories controlling the as
cent and descent of balloons just as
fixed as those that govern temperature
or that of gravitation. A certain sized
air ship, with so many cubic feet OF
gas naturally can carry only so many
passengers exclusive of its ballast.
There is nicely in determining just
how many it can carry successfully
To be specific, balloon with $4,000
cubic feet of gas should start out with
35 bags of ballast and five passengers
Equipped in that manner the pilot neet
fear no storm, and have no worry. HI
is just as safe as if he were sitting a
his own fireside. When storm comes
by throwing overheard some ballast hi
can go above it. When the storm il
over, by letting out little gas through
the escape valves he can descend safel.
to the earth. When a balloon of thi
size, that is $4,000 cubic feet, ha
thrown over all its ballast for one rea
son or another, except five bags, i
should drop to earth at once. To d
otherwise is to run dangerous risk
A law making this necessary would b
a great boon to the art and practice o
ballooning. A bag carrying betwee
35, 900 and 40,0 cubic feet of ga
and two persons besides the pile
should drop to earth when the pilot ha
expended all the ballast save thre
bags. If he does not do SO he is risk
ing lives that he should not be allowe
to jeopardize.
I am in favor of government regulf
tion. At the present time licenses ca
be granted to pilots in this country
the Aero club of America. There al
now "a men holding these licenses. A
applicant must make 10 successful a
tensions before he is granted the
cense. These directions have to
made before he is granted the licens
under the direction of other license
pilots, or after the applicant has mat
four or five so that he can manage
= balloon, he must keep data of his trip
This information has to be exact, al
be filed away. For instance, when Il
applicant drops back to earth, say on
Z mans farm, he has to give the man
n name and where he lives, and wi
v hauled him back to town. This is
a that at any future time the authoriti
q may satisfy themselves that the tr
q was really made and that it was su
Q cessful one in every way.
4 France has very creditable meth
q of licensing its balloon men. The
n censes are not governmental, thoug
q Each pilot, who is going to make
ascent, carries in his pocket lit'
Ia book with his number and his pho,
Il graph in it. If any one questions
= identity or his ability as navigat
N he simply shows the book with
"a photo behind the isenglass.
/ am in favor of government liceI
"a ing and government regulations, ratt
=. than that of state jurisdiction. In Il
"a way the laws would be uniform, a
~ all the air sailers of something ne
ot equal ability. An applicant would I
at have to go to Washington to make
ye ascent by any means. He may ma
in the trip at any place under the gu
rpe p ance of an accredited pilot.
at Bsllooning is becoming more 6
a more popular. 1t is now more thaI
is erase. Its possibilities are attract