The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1909-07-02
Soon 70 Start for the Pole.

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Paris, June 21.-Maitac Wellmsn
the members of his Arctic ex-
petition are now on their way to
Tromsoo. Norway, from which point
II conditions als favorable, the start
Tor h North Pole will be made
within the next few weeks. The
mammoth balloon. in which the Arc
tic voyage is to be made, is already
at Tromsoe. Several weeks will be
required in putting together the
frame and adjusting the mechanical
parts.
French scientists are greatly in
terested in the Wellman undertake
ing. Practically all of the parts
OF the mammoth airship in which
the voyage is to be undertaken yer
made in Paris. All of the prelim-
Flnarles have been followed with keen
interest here, particularly by the
Society of Aerial Navigation.
Expert opinion differs as to the
feasibility of reaching the North
Pole by balloon. CHANGING at the
~precedents for some standard by
which to measure the Wellman pro-
Ject, one turns naturally to Andree's
Inflated balloon trip. After some
two years of elaborate preparation
the start was made on July IL,
1897, from Danes Island, Spitz,
bergen, with three men on board and
provisions for several months. "A
strong steady wind from the south
was blowing-what the party had
waited im%patiently for since the
early summer of the previous year.
The balloon sailed to the northeast
and finally out Of sight. Four days
later a carrier pigeon alighted ON
the rigging of a sailing vessel near
S~pitZbergen, bearing the only word
that has ever been received from the
daring adventures.
The balloon started in a twenty
five-mile-an-hour wind, blowing in
a n%ortherly direction. Had the wind
held true at noo the second day out
he would have been $50 miles tn
other side of the pole, which he
would have passed at a distance of
perhaps 100 miles on his left. But,
according to the message received
by the carrier pigeon, he was actual
ly, at noon of the second day, only
las miles north and forty-five miles
east of the point of departure. The
probability is that the balloon came.
down in the ocean to the southeast
If Spitzbergen. When he was asked
a few days before his start what
would happen if they descended in
the sea, THE adyenturer replied,
cody, 'Drown"-Which they prob
ably did. But it should be remem-
bered that Andree's balloon had
neither propulsive force of its own
nor stearing device, except the COM
mon guide rope. 1t was, as Well
man has said, "a mere toy of the
Winds"
Two problems are uppermost in
the Wellman undertaking. First,
the vertical stability of his airship,
as affected by heat cold and precipi-
%tation, and controlled by guide
rope and ballast; second, the pos
sibility of successful anchorage DUR
ing high winds. A balloon is neces-
sarily a very d%elicately balanced in
puff of cold or warm wind, a touch
of damp mist, causes a balloon to
rise or fall. 1t is most essential
in a protracted voyage to keep the
balloon at an even height. This
the heavy guide rope does. Trail
ing along the ground or in the sea,
it keeps the balloon down, since,
when the airship has a tendency to
rise, it has to lift more and more
of the weight of the rope. On the
other hand, as the balloon d%escends,
it is relieved of the weight. The
guide rope is also of some service
in steering the unstable craft.
But there are clear factors in
volved in the problem of vertical
stability. The shade and sun tenn
peratures change more or less, the
former eighty, the latter in greater
measure. There is a certain loss of
gas by leakage through the envelope
going on constantly, perhaps one
to one and a half per cent every
twenty-four hours. There may he
an accumulation of frost, sleet or
moisture upon the airship amount
ing to several hundreds of pounds
in an hour or two. In operation
the motor is consuming fuel at the
rate, perhaps, of 500 to 1000
pounds in twenty-four hours. Or
the motor may not be running on
account of advance winds, and yet
the other conditions may obtain.
That is, the airship may lose a con-
siderable part of it's ascensional
force through cold and loss of gas
at the very time when, instead of
dropping weight to correspond
through consumption of gasoline, it
is actually gaining weight through
Again, the reverse may be true
a considerable gain Of volume and
lift force at the very time the motors
are rapidly reducing the weight OF
the cargo. Mr.. Wellman claims to
have discovered the solution of this
important and delicate problem in
physics. If he has, the possibilities
Of the success of his daring advent
ure are greatly increased.