The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1909-12-17
THREE NATIONS INTERESTED.
Monster Airship to Solve Pacific
Coast Problem of Protection:

ka, and various other spots where
Uncle Sans folks dwell are fretting
because the Pacific feet is not being
increased fast enough to protect the
Western coast of the United States,
and while reports and rumors of mys-
terious aerial battle fleets lowering
over Toxic are disturbing the sleep
of the heads of the leading powers,
two young Portland inventors are
quietly completing a monster aerial
battleship which they believe will
solve temporarily at least the Pacific
Coast problem of protection.
Whether they are right or not, will
be demonstrated within very few
weeks. Representatives of at least
two nations have become tremend-
ously interested in the coming de-
monstration.
One of these nations is the United
States, another Is Russia, Japan Is
the other. The United States Gov
ernment has already sent an officer
to inspect the ship and drawings, and
data of the craft are now in the hands
of the War Department. Russia has
notified the builders that there ia a
$3,O0O,000 prize for any aerial craft
that can carry a fighting crew and a
battery of two lyddite or other long
rang explosive guns.
Just to what extent the Japanese
government has interested itself is
not definitely known.
But within the last few weeks
AiA
from the big building where the ship
is being built and the American Tool
Works where the propellers and
helicopters and engines are under
way. One of the Japanese had
drawings of the new propeller, an
other had data regarding the con-
struction of the patent engines and
another was "just shopping around"
E. P. Prebble and J. ]. Rekar are
the two men who have for months
been working in secret to build an
aerial battleship that can sail for
days without alighting, without need
ing to take on more fuel, without
coming in rang of earth guns and
that can travel at a rate of speed
that will make headway against any
wind. Only when the Japanese spies
became active did even Portland
people realize what was being done
in the big agricultural building out
at the fair grounds.
The Prebble-Rekar ship now near
ing completion is 204 feet long and
35 feet wide amidship-the biggest
craft, outside the Zeppelin yet built
type now under construction in the
and the only one of the Zeppelin
United States. 1t is driven and pull
ed by double set of propellers, two
in the rear and two forward. 1t has
gliders, on the aeroplane principle,
on each side, designed to allow the
ship to soar for miles without the
use of it's engines. Vertically
through its center are set three hell
copters working on the principle of
the old water screw of Archimedes,
which serve to raise to it's buoyancy
and dirigibility without the neces-
sity of momentum impaired by the
driving screws.
Without its machinery, the big
craft is just balloon, of IL compart-
ments, kept in the wind by its rud-
der, capable of soaring and gliding
by the manipulation of its helicop-
ters and big planes.
The frame is built of spruce and is
much lighter than any yet construct
ed. The engines are of secret COM
position nearly as light as aluminium
and as tough as the hardest nickel
steel. They are driven not by gaso-
line, but by a chemical gas which is
also used to initiate the balloon in
midair if necessary. The propellers
are of a new type that experts as
sert allow no escape of air.
Two German experts visiting the
coast recently spent day in inspec-
tion of the ship and when they were
through said that so far as theory
went the ship was ahead of the best
that Zeppelin had produced.
Ely? OF course it will fiy?" says
Prebble.
81 am not an airship man. am
backer of long chances and never
lost one yet. The ship is lighter
Illdu all IL W 81 uP' hS OA
gines certainly will turn the pro
pellers, so it has to go ahead. i
we went to come down probably VIZ
won't have much trouble. That ha'
never been a serious problem
though picking the soft spots hal
sometimes bothered some man birds
Anyway 1 will put 100000 in thi
ship. My diamonds and my hom'
and everything else can raise none!
on are going into cloth and meta
and wire, and l am as sure that W,
are going to make the best flight ye
made in this country as l am, that
will be the worst busted airshil
crank in the world If we don't fly"
The first trial fight will probabi,
be made within six weeks. 1t is pro
posed to make fight under wa
conditions above the aera of groun,
batteries, and to drop winged bomb
in the heart of Portland and of tn