The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1910-01-22
Dirigible Balloon Hard to Manage
at Nlght-No Landmarks.

Count Zeppelin Said to Have Lost
Five Hours on His Celebrated
Flight to Berlin for Lack Of
Means Of Navigation.
London.-"No one who has not been
at great height in a balloon can have
any idea of the difficulty of steering
a dirigible toward any given point"
So said an experienced pilot of air
ships with special reference to the APP
preaching Paris-London voyage Of the
monster Clement-Bayard, now almost
ready for her trials in France.
THE most obvious way of navigat-
Ing is to hold a map in hand and to
keep track of ones position from mo-
ment to moment This is, you can un-
derstand. very firing. But II for any
reason you lose your position you are
In a bad case. You see below you a
network Of roads and houses. limit
less expanse Of fields. looking almost
exactly alike. Unless you happen to
know the country well or come across
some big place which can be recog-
nized. you really have little chance of
fixing your position again.
You can't think how different a
landscape looks from above. The OBJ
jects which we're prominent so long as
you were on the ground seem to have
disappeared. You sail over high
tower and fail to see it at all. AS you
look down on 1t, it appears merely a
dot in the ground. You can only see
the top of 1t, of course.
I'm the darkness the difficulty is in
creased. Count Zeppelin. during the
voyage which ended up in a pear tree
at Bftterfeld, when he was desperately
anxious to reach Berlin at the appoint
ed time, is credibly reputed to have
spent five hours of the night circling
round and round. He had lost his po-
sition. He did not know where he
was.
IF he had stopped his engine. he
would either have come down or else
the balloon would have risen and he
would have lost gas. He was afraid
the wrong one. He was obliged, there
fore. to mark time until daylight. He
lost Eve hours for lack of q good
means Of navigation"
Naturally 1t occurredsto a CORE
spondent to make inquiries as to
whether there was any chance of such
delay Detailing the Clement-Bayard.
She is to start from Paris at night
with view to reaching the garage at
Norwood Scrubs next morning.
What II she lost her position and had
to circle about in the north of France
awaiting the late winter dawn?
Let 1t be said at once that there is
no fear of the occurrence of any such
mishap. 1t will be guarded against by
the use of special compasses. made by
Mesrs. Kelvin and White, who make
all the compasses for the British navy.
With these very accurate bearings can
be taken and, in addition. the angle of
any object below the horizontal can be
noted.
Suppose that the pilot of the Glenn
ent-Bayard should lose his position. 1t
may be assured that he would know
1t within ten miles. Very well: he
would choose some conspicuous light.
take bearing of it, and fix its dis
lance by knowing the angle of depres-
sion and the height OF the airship.
After steering an accurately known
course for q few minutes he would re-
peat his observations with the same
light. The line joining these two po-
sitions which he has just fixed would
give him his right course and his
speed. Then he would 60 ahead in
the direction of his destination. He
might be any distance up to ten miles
of his true route. but this margin Of
doubt would not be increased.
The object of the airship when it
leaves Paris will be to strike the
French coast. II it does that within
twenty miles either side of Treport.
all will be plain sailing. At what dis
lance inland the coast lights will be
useful has not yet been ascertained.
Inquiries are now being made. But as
soon as the coast is reached the lights
will enable the channel to be crossed
without difficulty.
It Is when the channel lights come
In full view that the navigation will be
taken over from N. Clement by Lieut..
Osborne, r. N. the oficer who Ia SUI
norinteudiug the construction ct Bar.