The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1911-03-09
4 GERMAN AVIATOR SAYS CROSS
ING THE ATLANTIC WILL BE
NO TROUBLE.
WILL MAKE START IN MAY
With a Motor Boat Instead Of Com.
mon Car, Joseph Brucker Believes
His Dirigibe viii Reach Central
America.

Berlin, March. S.-HeT Joseph
Brucker has scheme to sail across
the Atlantic Ocean in an airship.
He has made a statement of his
detailed plans for carrying out the
project which the American, Walter
Wellman, failed to achieve.
My pan is not to use heavier
than air aeroplane, but a ligh,er
than air airship,' Herr Brucker says,
Il have long studied meteorology, so
that it was not difficult for me to
choose route along which, all the
year round, east winds blow, to-
ward; Central America, and where
the navigator need not fear either
fog Or thunderstorm. The Spaniards
name that belt of the Atlantic Ocean
the Sea of Ladies'" because it is
usually so calm that girl could
steer a boat. Columbus, with his
small vessels, could never have
reached America If he had not sailed
along this route of favorable winds
and currents.
From the outset l have intended
to replace the usual car suspended
from the gasbag of the balloon by
motor boat, which, while suspend
ed in the air, would serve the pur-
pose of an ordinary balloon car,
while possessing all the necessary
qualities for navigation on the sur
face OF the water.
This motor boat will be equipped
with two powerful motors, each o!
which will develop 100-horse power
and when in the air the vessel will
be propelled by these engines, which
will be equally capable of propelline
the detached motor boat should We
/ find 1t necessary to cut il loose from
the gasbag. The motor boat Is
thirty-three feet in length and ter
feet in beam, and has been con
structed in accordance with my owl
plans in such way as to be the
most serviceable for the purpose IN
view.
'At Frankfort-on-Main it was alsc
necessary for me to find financieI
for my project. and it was only nat
ural that | should first apply to the
originator of the aeronautical expo
sition there. Doctor Gans-Fabrice
II took me many weeks to convince
him that my project was feasible
but ultimately he came to the same
conclusion and promised me his full
support Several months passed be
fore the necessary funds for my
Transatlantic flight were provided
and vested in the control of com
mittee with Doctor Gans-Fabrice as
chairman, and several rich South
German merchants as members.
One of the principal difficulties
in long aerial voyages is the eX-
pansion of the gas caused by the
suns rays during the daytime, and
the rapid contraction which ensues
in the cod hours of the night,
whereby large quantities of gas are
lost and the buoyancy of the balloon
is diminished to a serious extent
Thanks to the technical assistance
of DR.. Ernest Alt. have succeeded
in preparing a system to counteract
the effect of the suns rays on the
gas bag by playing water all over its
surface. This is achieved by a de-
vice by which sea water will be
pumped into small tanks on our
deck, and then pumped to the eX-
treme summit of the balloon, from
where it will be distributed by min.
iature pipes all over the surface of
the gas bag.
The fabric of the balloon is com
posed of three layers The gas bag
is nearly two hundred feet In length,
and has diameter of fifty-five feet
az the center; the capacity is nine
ty-our hundred cubic meters and
has carrying power of at least
fourteen thousand pounds. The bal
loon has been provided with bal
lonette of thirty-five hundred cubic
meters capacity.
After several trips in Germany
the whole balloon and the motor
boat will be shipped in sections
either 10 the Canary Islands or .,
the Cape Verde Islands. Probably
will start from the Cape Verde
Islands in May"