Los Angeles herald., 1909-03-29
BIG BALLOON ON
ITS TRIP HOME
CHARLES A. C0EY'S CHICAGO
SHIPPED EAST
WILL RETURN TO LOS ANGELES
FOR NEXT WINTER
Chicago Aeronaut Disappointed in
Failure to start for cross-country
Voyage, but viii Try
Later

Mr.. and Mrs. Charles A. Coey lett
yesterday for their Chicago nome anu
Capt. G. L. Bumbaugh returned W 40.
dianapolis. Col Coeys small balloon
the Vile de Dieppe, and his big Chl-
caeo were shipped to Chicago, Where
they will be used in the balloon race
Decoration day.
Col. Coey as president of the Aero
nautiuue club of Chicago, Is pfomol-
ing the race out of Chicago as an an
nual event This years will be the
second race. The size of the chicago
makes it ineligible to entry IN the
national race from Indianapolis, but
Messrs. Coey and Bumbaugh are en-
deayoring to arrange with the Aero
club of America to allow the chicago
to be sent up from Indianapolis on the
day of the race for trial at the speed
record and also for the Lahm cup:
The Chicago now holds the best speed
record attained by balloon.
Conditions UnfavorabIe
81 expected to win the worlds dis
lance record by starting from Los
Angeles" said Mr. Coey before he lett'
"but we did not find favorable condi-
lions, and neither Capt. Bumbaugh
nor myself could put off business mat
tiers in the east any longer. l am
greatly disappointed, for l had set my
heart on a trip of 1900 miles at least
Next fall, however. we shall be
here with the Chicago early enough
to take advantage of right conditions
| am confident that the longest trip
in the world. greatly surprising Count
de la VaulX's journey from france 10
Russia of 1893 miles, can be made IN
America In the summer 1t might be
possible from Denver or Omaha, and
/ have been tempted to make a trial
from the latter city. 1 may do SO this
summer.
1--WE have not given up Los Angeles
as a starting point, and L hope the
Chicago will be the first balloon TO
cross the continent. Mrs. Coey enjoyed
her first balloon trip immensely. She
agrees with me now that it is the
greatest sport in the world. So far
1 have not found anybody who has
taken an aerial voyage who does not
say that there is no other enjoyment
to compare with it.
"Los Angeles is certainly pleasant
est in the winter time, but for balloon
ing over any distance l still hold to
Chicago and the middle west. There
is nothing like travelling all day and
all night, and wondering as daylight
breaks where you are the next morn
ing. When we sailed the Chicago out
of Quincy, ILL.,, last June we plowed
storm, wind. rain and light
ming, and the following morning we
had not the least idea whether we were
in Iowa, Ohio, Wisconsin or Colorado.
After landing we learned at the near
est farm house that we We're not far
from Clear Lake, S. D., and had come
more than 600 miles in eleven hours.
We had gone as fast as seventy miles
an hour, and at no time had our speed
been less than thirty miles.
Cannot Calculate Speed
"You do not realize the speed while
in the air, for there are no objects
by for comparison, as on
q train. Once when we were hardly
moving Capt Bumbaugh declared that
we were travelling at the rate of forty
miles an hour.
Every trip in a balloon has its pc
culiar experiences. One of the anus
ing ones on my first trip occurred at
night, when we were near the ground.
We saw a large black object beneath
us, evidently most anxious to get at
us. 1t kept steadily with us, and as
we were not going fast and might
be compelled to land, Capt. Bumbaugn
became apprehensive. He took a
searching look and decided that it was
a bear. AS he was ready to shoot the
beast it glided smoothly across a creek
and a closer examination proved that
it was the shadow of our balloon
thrown on the ground from the moon"
Capt. George l.. Bumbaugh, who
built Coey's Chicago, makes aeronaut-
les his business. He has a balloon fac
tory at Indianapolis, where he has
several balloons under construction.
Capt. Bumbaugh has been an aeronaut
for twenty years. and has never had
a miShap. He is the twenty first Off
cial pilot Of the Aero club of America
and is the ballooning instructor of the
indianapolis Aero club
knabenshue Will FLY
Roy Knabenshue will fly his afrship
around Pasadena today or tomorrow,
depending on wind conditions. He is
this free flight because condi-
tions at the time of the Pasadena car
nival of sports We're so unfaVorable
that he found it impractical to give
an exhibition every day. He then will
debate the airship and ship his outfit
to East San Mateo, a suburb of San
Francisco, where he will make a series
of flights over the bay cities.
81 shall return to Los Angeles for
the Elks convention" says Mr. Kna-
benshue, land hereafter our home will
be in Los Angeles or Pasadena"
Zerbes New Air Craft
j. S. Zerbe, president of the Aero
club of California, has drawn plans for
a "heaVier than air" twin dirigible
balloon. He expects to construct one
with gas capacity of $4,000 cubic feet,
which will be 100 pounds heavier than
air when carrying two passengers. Two
11-foot propellers driven by a 40 horse
power motor are expected to lift IT
from the ground and take it through
the air. The envelopes are to be Of
silk on rigid wood frames with col
lapsable reservoirs to allow for eX-
pansion instead of the present method
of releasing gas. The gas envelopes
will be rectangular instead of spindle
shaped, and will be set together on
edge, making two diamond cross Sec
tons. The sharp edges, Prof Zerbe
believes, will offer less resistance, and
the devic will combine the advantages
of both the dirigible and aeronef.
Aero Club Will Meet
The Aero club of California will hold
a social session tomorrow evening in
the assembly hall of the chamber of
The discussion will be on
the ornithopter. or bird-flight type of
1t will be led by Secretary
Twining, who will give an explanation
of the features of that style and the
success so far achieved in initiating
the flight of birds. Recent balloon
will be discussed, and
Capt Augusta Mueller. who is one of
the clubs pilots viii be present to tell
of the Americans trip across the
from Pasadena.
The six Pasadenans who accom-
panied Capt. Mueller on the trip from