The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1909-04-16
RnID LAWS TO GOVERN AERONAUIS
Leo Stevens Instructor Of U. S. Army Balloon Corps
Advocates Government License and Examinations.

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@CeN VERY DAY am firmly
convinced there should
II X be government regulation
N III of ballooning I have
1h-,N held this theory for some
time, but the experience of certain
California aeronaut few days ago IN
the Sierra Nevada mountains has
brought the need home to me more
strongly than ever. The government
regulation should consist of licenses
for balloon pilots, and laws within
which the pilots should have to confine
themselves.
While I do not wish to reflect on this
aeronaut, do wish to pouint out that
he is only case in point. Some peo-
ple can never become successful bal
loon men any more than all men can
become successes as artists or deep sea
divers. It's part of mans makeup.
There are some men who can make
twenty balloon ascensions and still be
no better equipped as pilots than If
they were going up for the second
time A person who is not skilled IN
aeronautics, knowing that this man has
made, say nine ascensions, says, "Oh,
I'll willingly co. If we had govern
ment 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 over
the sand ballast. As matter of fact
that much is not even the alphabet of
air riding.
When 1 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 Gamer
lea, I 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
persons exclusive of it's 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
need fear no storm and have no worry.
He is just as safe as if he we're sitting
comes, by throwing overheard some
ballast he can go up above it. When
the storm is over, by letting out little
gas through the escape valve he can
descend safely to the earth. When a
balloon of this size, that is $4,000 Gu
bic feet, has thrown over all it's ballast
for one reason or another, except five
bags, it should drop to earth at once.
To do otherwise is to run dangerousr
risk. A law making this necessary
would be great boon to the art and
practice of ballooning. A bag carrying
between 35, 900 and 40, 900 feet of gas
and two persons besides the pilot
should drop to earth when the pilot
has expended all the ballast save three
bags. If he does not do SO he is risk
ing lives that he should not be allowed
to jeopardize.
l am in favor of government regula-
ton. At the present time licenses can
be granted to pilots in this country by
the Aero Club of America. There are
now twenty -four men holding these
licenses. An applicant must make ten
successful ascensions before he is grant
ed a license, under the direction of
other licensed pilots. or after the pilot
applicant has made four or five, so that
he can manage balloon, he must keep
data of his trips. This information
must be exact and be filed away. For
instance, when the applicant drops
back to earth, say on man g farm, he
has to give the man 8 name and where
he lives, and who hauled him back to
town. This is SO that at any future
time the authorities may satisfy them
selves that the trip was really made
and that it was successful one in ev-
cry way.
France has very creditable method
of licensing it's balloon men. The IL
censes are not governmental, though.
Each pilot who is going to make an
ascent, carries in his pocket a little
book with his number and his photo
graph in it. IF anyone questions his
identity or his ability as navigtor, he
simply shows the book with his photo
behind the isinglass.
l am in favor Of government licens-
ing and government regulation, rather
than that OF state jurisdiction. In
this way the laws would be uniform,
and all the air sailers of something
near equal ability. An applicant