Goldsboro semi-weekly argus., 1909-07-21
MAY FLY TO THE
NORTH POLE
Zeppelin Has High Hopes for
His Northern Expe.
dition.
IN HIS uR|G|BLE h|RSH|P|

tIu lIlV VINIUIOLk uIuVulI
Object Said to Be to Explore Green
land, But Balloon Will Be Read
for Flight to the Limit if Weathe
Is Good. 22aa 4 II
London, July Notwithstanding
| the statement given out that Profes
sor Hergesell to the effect that the
main object of the proposed Zeppelin
expedition from Spitzbergen next veal
would be to explore northern Green.
land, there is little doubt that with
favorable weather conditions a flight
to the north pole will be attempted
The German papers are unanimous in
urging Count Zeppelin, on patriotic
grounds, to plant the German flag on
the pole. Count Zeppelin's friends
favor the scheme and are confident
that the attempt will be successful.
DIR. Eckener, one og Zeppelin's inti-
pole will be much more easily attained
by the dirigible airship than the south
pole, for many reasons, the first being
that no such severe gales are antici-
pated as at the south pole, which, as
Lieutenant Shackleton discovered, is
situated on an elevated plateau.
Protuberances on the earth's sur
face, such as mountain ranges and
forests, offer a resistance to air cur
rents which results in those danger
Gus gusts that have proved fatal to
many an airship. This friction is nom
in the arctic regions, always
supposing that the ice covered Arc tic
Ocean extends beyond the pole itself,
for wh1ch~belief there is every ground
Scores of experiments carried out
with kites and register balloons, be-
tween the seventy-second and eighty
second degrees north latitude, have
shown that wind was only twice OBJ
served at heights exceeding 900 feet,
above which, as a rule, almost com
plete calm reigned
May Be Successful.
The same result has been obtained
by DR.. Nansen during his Fran expe-
1lt1on. Sever thunderstorms and
rains such as encountered by Count
Zeppelin on land are not believed to
occur with frequency around the pole.
Assuming that operations would be
with a wind blowing at
the the rate of more than twelve
miles an hour, experiments at sea
level have shown that in the month of
July this rate is rarely reached while
IN June also there are lengthy periods
Of comparative calm. Seeing that the
sun in polar regions remains half a
year above the horizon, there would
be no great danger of sudden varia-
lions in the temperature, which cause
oss of gas and ballast.
The shortness of the distance be-
tween Spitzbergen and pole, about 500
miles, ought to make it possible, so
Count Zeppelin's friends think, for a |
1irigible airship to accomplished the |
Journey during the period of polar
calm in twenty hours. The new Zep-
$50 horsepower bezine motors, two of
which could keep the airship afioat
,or seventy hours, or with one work.
ng for 14O hours.
Back to Spitzbergen.
Thus it would be possible to reach
he pole and come back to Spitzber-
gen or effect landing in eastern ST. |
1eria, Greenland or northern Alaska, |
distances of, say, 1900 miles. The re- |
urn from these inhospitable regions, |
would, however, be an expedition in |
tself; hence preference is given to |
he idea of returning to the base on |
Fog is another enemy to be reck-
oned with, though it is held that it is |
never so dense in the polar regions as |
o Obstruct the view of the ice be
heath, and steering can be effee ted |
With the aid of compass by dar and |
With the help of the stars by night.
Asked for his opinion, Lieut.: nant |
says that he is no aero
laut and knows nothing about the !
1orth pole. This, however. he does
know, that it would be impossible
owing to the severe gales prevailing
n the antarctic, for an airship to con-
luer the south pole.
But from meteorological view
point he thinks it is quite within tie
pounds of possibility that success
would attend Zeppe'in's dash on the
north pole. He advises, however, that
sledges be taken Oh board for use in
IN, emergency. lis sledge motors he
says, never gave Kim any trouble, al
though the sles gee themselves nrorai
useless in hunmock strewn regions.