New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-07-30
UNCLE SAM 0UTSA|LS
ALL BALLOON RIVALS
Kansas City Also Wins Second
Place in Race to Determine
Cup Contestants.
WINNER MAKES 925 MILES
One Big Racer Has Thrilling
Experience in an Electrical
Storm and Crack Forces
Another to Land.

,,,,assas Va. July 9.-Cncle Sam
.rovod a winner again to-day. when the
,.uoor q. that name. piloted by Cap
,,,n n. f. Honeywell, OF st. Louis ana
.,,ared by the Kansas City Aero Club
,.aod here in the early dawn near the
h,s,oric Bull Run battlefield, having de-
r.atad all other entries In the e!imina-
49,, race from Kansas City TO decide
,tob three American balloons should
,ote mart in the international contest 10
start from Stuttgart. Germany, OCTOBER
% next for the James Gordon Bennett
,ronbv. The other successful balloons
were the Kansas City II, also entered py
the Kansas City Aero Club and the
Drif,er entered by the Cincinnati CLUB.
Captain Honeywell and his aid, Roy +.
donaldson. spent thirty-fve hours in
tho air. and. as the crow flies. covered
o., miles from the time they left Kansas
Citv. saturday afternoon. until they
siehted on the farm OF John Lewis at
o'clock this morning
Sailed More Than 100 Miles.
CAPTAIN Honeywell said he had hoped
after crossing the Alleghenies in Penn
sv,vania that favorable winds would blow
them toward New England, in which
event they would have covered consider
ohlv more ground. AS it was. allowing
for the fact that their course from Kan
sas City TO Manassas was roughly in the
shape of a crescent, the airmen est-
mated that they sailed more than twelve
hundred miles.
II was the captains 10th trip in bal
loon. his first venture into cloudland haV-
ing been made twelve years ago. HIS
longest previous journey was $50 miles
Rov Donaldson had never been up in the
air before with Captain Honeywell AS
the latter is allowed to choose the aid he
will take with him 10 Germany ne in
ferred strongly that it would be Donald
son. Whether he will take the Uncle
Sam or another balloon he did not know.
DESPITE the fact that I have made
many balloon trips" he said. this was
in some respects the most interesting |
ever made We had no untoward incl
dents. although we were close to storms
both Saturday and Sunday nights, with
lightning playing around us and thunder
sounding like a dozen battles rolled into
one"
Neither CAPTAIN Honeywell nor his aid
had a wink of sleep during the thirty-hve
hours they were in the balloon. They had
provisions 10 last many days. and they
left with the farmer who was first 10
greet them on their descent what re-
manned of their provender
Ice Cream for Ballast.
Did YOU ever hear OF using ice cream
for ballast?" asked the captain Well
that Is what we used, for we had several
gallons when We left Kansas City. and
what was left next morning We threw
overheard"
Tho balloon chart showed that after
leaving Kansas City the Uncle Sam
sailed off 70 the north until IL reached the
north central part of Iowa. Then 1t started
eastward. keeping across the northern
part Of Illinois and Indiana, thence SOUTH
eastward across Ohio and through west
Virginia and over the mountains INTO
virginia. The highest altitude reachcd
was about = 900 feet.
After packing up their balloon ana
shipping It to St. Louis, Captain Honey
we'll and Donaldson left for Washington
Chicago. July 29.-John Watt ana
George Quissenberry. pilot and aid re-
spectiyely. Of the balloon Kansas CITY
il, which ran second In the intefnauohai
elimination trials, arrived here from
Belleville, Mich, to-day.
From about II o'clock Saturday night
until daylight Sunday morning we trav-
It electrical
and rain storm" said Quissenberry. eve
sighted II few hundred feet ahead OF
Us out I'm Iowa. and we continued behind
Il across wisconsin. AT first we decided
10 hy high and go over IT. but after we
had risen nine thousand feet we saw
this plan would not work, so we descend
ed 10 about one thousand feet and
trailed along until the storm passed.
Once we were dashed with rain, but that
was the only inconvenience We suffered
huge wrinkle in the balloon Million
Population Club ii. Of, ST. Louis.
snatched from It what seemed certain
Victory. according to Paul ]. Mccullough,
pilot. and John z. Hart, aid, who came
10 Chicago to-day from Spring Green.
Wis
1--WE had twelve full bags of sand
left" said Mccullough, land our blower
had brought us down into forty-mile
wind. taking us due north. Between our
blower and our ballast, our fourteen
days provisions and Instruments, II nee
essary, we could have stayed up day,
a night and part OF another day easily,
and. staying in that forty-mile wind,
would have carried us more than thou
sand miles.
Our drag rope caught on tree and
when the big bag Strengthened out in that
wind the side of the balloon slipped
through the netting. Then there was
crack as the big wrinkle tore open. There
was nothing else TO do but land"
Dr. l. L. Custer, of Dayton. Ohio, ana
Andrew Farrell. of indianapolis, VINO
sailed the balloon Cole. which landed at
AeCregor. Iowa, arrived here last night
s->s had shipped their balloon to Day
Um. The Cole had q thrilling escape IN an
electrical storm of which Farrell told:
About 2:S0 in the morning was
awakened by the smell OF gas, he SAID
i leaned over the edge OF the basket
ard hot blast Of air greeted me.
Knew Immediately that a warm current
Of air was sweeping up from the ear'h'
expanding our balloon, and robbing us
Of gas