Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1910-10-15
WELL MAN HAS
STARTED OUT
In DirigibIe Airship America Be-
gins Voyage Across
Atlantic.
SIX MEN ACCOMPANY HIM
Rate of Travel Is Expected to be
Twenty-six Miles an
Hour.
SIX MEN ACCOMPANY HIM
Provisioncd for II Month-Is. Well
Equipped Will scx,nnts and
Other Instruments.

Atlantic City, n. j., Oct. 15.-The5
long deferred attempt of Walter
5Wellman. journalist. aeronaut anu
explorer, to cross the Atlantic in "a
dirlgble airshiP. was begun this
morning AT an early hour when his
balloon, the America, left the hangar 7
and disappeared to the eastward In
a heavy fog.
What little wind was blowing at the
time the America started was from the
west.
mere are six men in the airship.
They are provided with provisions sur
ficlent to last a month The ONLY
means Of cooking is small oil stove
put this, Mr.. Wellman says, will do
al they require. 1t was estimated that
INC two engines would push the
balloon through the air at the rate OF
20 miles an hour With Europe
5000 miles away 1t can readily be
calculated how long 1t Will take them
10 reach the other side Of the Atlantic
ocean. n .3SG
THE CREW.
rho crew aboard tho America wbep
she left the ground included Walter
Wellman. Melvin Vaniman, chief en-
sineer; +. Murray Simmons. j. X.
aAubert, assistant engineers. Tn.
America is a larger craft than the one
in which Wellman started for the
North pole. The airships gas bag N
shaped like a cigar and is 2cs feet
long. Its width is about 50 feet ana it is
said to be capable OF lifting nearly
l2 tons. S AZ ~ - 2 e Il '.s'''
The passenger car is I5s feet lono,,
the floor OF witch Is gtiat ii, whichi
me gasoline. is stored. The America
carries three gasoline sengines. ono liz n
donkeyand the other two are for mo-
I'VE power. They are In the center
and are OF about SOhorserowcr. +
itcnehth the ear hangs boat ~
ieet iong to be used If the balloon is
SAFETY DEVICES 5i,s
Strung beneath the car h; 330-
FOOT equlibriator which tukes the nlnce
OF drag rope used on balloons. The
equilibriator consists Of long steel
cable to which are attached 80 smull
steel tanks, each carrying rs pounds
OF gasoline ana 40 wooden blocks. The
blocks are about 90 inches long. THE
equiibriator makes 1t unnecessary to
carry ballast. II Is intended that the
balloon shall sail along at a height Of
about 200 feet \ -
II 1t settles close to the water, the
wood blocks and the tanks would
float and relieve 1t OF some OF Its
weight. AS the gasoline ds required,
the steel cable will be pulled up into
tho n tho N y.
semptied ~
Altogether The America carries 5000
pounds Of gasoline.
The America is as thoroughly equip
ped with seNtants. compasses and 9TH
ser instruments for locating positions as
are the big ocean liners. On
After the alrship. rose and went out
of sight 1t developed that one member
of the crew had been left behind. He
Is Jean Jacon, the French motor ex-
pert. 1t is not known whether he was
at the hangar when the balloon was
brought out. Jacon is said to have
had some differences with MIR. Well
man over wages Il
DETERMINED TO START.
After weeks OF delay which Ind
aroused doubt in the minds of MI b,t
the staunchest Of his supporters that
any real attempt would be made TO
start the flight, news was flashed Mt
! O'Clock am, today that5a start would
be made this morning. Melvin Vanl-
man, chief engineer. and f.. Murray
Simmons, navigator had paced the
balloon shed throughout the MIGHT.
Hating their work of examination on
every part of the balloon only to look
out of doors at the weather. @
Shortly after midnight. the wind
dropped to n SLOW southeast breeze.
followed by II settling OF one of tho
heaviest fogs known on the coast.
Friends OF Nanlman were overjoyed
when at O'clock he declared the
America would leave the ground with
in the next few hours,
1t took more than two hours ct.
: the airship out OF the hangar w w.
assistance of policemen and fircra>n.
and It was SOB when the craf, /.
Z the ground. 1t noated into the 70, Z
shore and within five minutes was /,
to view. About 1000 persons. who mud
not lost faith in the expedition saw :',rs
start When the airshlp left the ground,
Mr.. Wellm,tn did mot know wleth,-
only d test would be made. or whether
the trip to Europe would be started at
once. 1t depended on how he fourd
things when he got into the air, r.
said. b
When he left here It was his inten-
ton to go north. following the New
Jersey coast MS far as New York. ItS
+ he found the airship working to his
satisfaction and conditions remained
right he intended to follow the route OF
steamers up to Nantucket and then
turn eastward and follow the tracks
of the Transatlantic liners across the
ocean He expected to make every ef-
fort to keep In tho steamship tracks so
In case he met with an accident he
would be close to steamers with wire
less and could be quickly rescued "
the crew was compelled to take TO the
lire-boat attached to the America