The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1910-10-17
DlrisibIe Balloon Makes Trip of 1875
Miles In Six Hours or Faster
Than Express
Trains.
HAD SEVEN ON BOARD
CircIed st. PauI's in London and How
cred Over the City While
People Gazed Up
ward.

LONDON, Oct. 17.-Another chapter
was added to the history of aviation
Sunday when the French dirigible I
balloon Clement -Bayard made a voy-
age from Compiegne, France, to Lon
don, in the remarkable time of 6
hours. journey requiring seven
hours by the fastest express trains
and boats. Compiegne is forty-five
miles northeast OF Paris and about 1875
miles by air route to London.
This is also the first occasion on
which dirigible balloon has crossed
the English channel. The over-water
route occupied forty-fve minutes.
The ClemeqtBayard. with crew
of six and one passenger aboard, left
Compiegne at 7:15 o'clock Sunday
morning and reached London without
a stop at about lis in the afternoon.
The atmospheric conditions were
perfect and the big airship travelled
with slight breeze behind. The be-
havior of the dirigible was splendid
and the 440 horse power engines
worked to perfection. The passen-
gers experienced no discomfort and
were only troubled by the haze and
mist in crossing the channel.
A most eventful voyage it was,
with nothing to interrupt the smooth
swinging motion Of the balloon, which
each hour averaged close to thirty
three miles. An altitude varying from
800 to 700 feet was maintained and
all along the flight over the land the
auronants were cheered by thousands
OF spectators.
The railway from Folkestone was
followed and the Clement-Bayard
few right through the heart of Lon
don, circling St Paul's beautifully on
the way. The balloon made safe
and easy landing at Wormwood
| Scrubs.
The dirigible carried NJ. Clement
of the Clement-Bayard firm, in com
mand Baudry and LaPrince, steers
men; Sebatier, engineer and design
er: two mechanics and Arthur Philip
/ du Cros, member of the British par
| lament, representing the British Par
! liamentary Aerial Defense committee
| Only these seven were aboard, al
though the airship can accommodate
4 thirty-nine passengers in addition tc
j the crew.
/ The course was by way of Amiens
Abbeville and Boulogne, and the bal
loon was steered steadily by aid of thu
4 compass Occasional wind gusts caus
ed some slight rocking of the balloon
but otherwise she proved steady.
II The whirring of the engines ant
propellers attracted the attention o
: the people at Folkestone and othe
towns. and the balloon arrived owe
London just as the streets We're file
with the great Sunday crowds leay
ing the churches. The appearance o
the monster over the housetops caus
ed the people to wonder, and hur
dreds of thousands gathered to watc
the aeronauts, who now experience
some trouble with the varying al
; currents. On this account they circle
st. Paul's and the Tower bridg
twice, dipped several times and fie'
close to the tops of buildings, The
passed over the houses of parliamer
and along to Hyde park where the1
was a wild scramble of spectators.
The dirigible landed safely afte
describing large descending circle
Clement declared that he was e,
! ceedingly pleased with the behavior {
the airShin