The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1917-08-15
BALLOON SCHOOL
TO OPEN MONDAY
N. III. Arnold of BrattlebOrO
Engaged to Be Chief
Instructor
WILL BE LOCATED
IN ROCKVILLE, CONN.
Leaves The Reformer Saturday of This
Week to Teach Army Officers Theory
and Practice of Operating Free and
Captive Kite Balloons.


and Practice of Operating Free and
Captive Kite Balloons.
A balloon school for the instruction
OF United States army officers in the
theory and practice Of operating free
and captive kite balloons will be opened
at Rockville, Conn. next Monday. n. II.
Arnold, former balloon pilot and one
OF the early ones to receive a pilot s
license IN this country, has been engaged |
as chief instructor. He will end his |
connection with The Reformer Satur-
day and leave Sunday for his new du-
ties. His family viii remain in Brattle- |
boro
The school is known as the Collegiate |
Balloon School, Inc, and is patterned |
after the army balloon school at Fort |
Omaha, Neb., where Leo Stevens. most
famous Of American professional aero
nauts. IS the chief instructor. Mr.. Ar
mold learned what he knews of balloon
| ing from Mr.. Stevens. and it was
| through the recommendations of Mr.
Stevens and Alan r. Hawlev. president
of the Aero Club of America, that Mr.
/ Arnold was asked by the management
Of the school TO take charge.
Everard Thompson, who built the Vale
/ bowl and the Sheepshead Bay racetrack
is the president and general manager
of the school, and big fnaneial inter
ests of Rockville are heavily interested.
The school has nine balloons for use
as free balloons, a new kite balloon for
captive work, small dirigible balloon
and carload of other equipment. The
most of this was obtained iii New York
tnt AtP yt-l,y Nl.s. =
absence from Omaha to come east and
aid the officers Of the school in getting
together their equipment Two Of the
free balloons are among those Mr.. Ar
mold has piloted in years past
Mr.. Arnold was in New York several
days last week experimenting the in
spcction and shipping Of the equipment
to Rockville and was III Rockville Sat
urdav to superintend the unloading.
The school has secured an entire fac
tory building located a mile from the
center OF Rockville, with nearly 80 acres
of land which is ideal for the purposes
of balloon or aeroplane work. 4 large
amount Of money has been spent, not
only III Quitting the school with the
balloons, which are far more expensive
now than they were a few years ago
J but IN doing some extensive work tc
e the grounds Immediately about the fac
{ tory building to make them unquestiOn
:, ably superior to any other grounds now
; in use i'll this country for such par
: poses At the request of Mr. Arnold
n Mr.. Stevens went to Rockville, ant
Y classed them as the best he had eve
Il seen.
e The school has a contract with thu
n government by which the governmen
h is to furnish young men, seeking com
5 missions in the balloon service, as rapid
le y as the school is able to accommodat
II them. 1t is expected that it will b
# possible to begin making flights by SeT
tembcr |, for the signal corps depart
10 ment of the army has been urging tn
le officers of the school to begin opera
st tions at the earliest possible date.
n Mr.. Arnold became interested III ba
le looming when flights were first mad
from North Adams, and made a tri
for the sake Of a story. Later he wa
instrumental in organizing the Mort
Adams Aero club, which bought ba
loon and maintained balloon livery
G. 1908, 1909 and 1910. Mr.. Arnold bein
the pilot of the club, by arrangemeI
with the paper which employed hir
te In those years he made several landing
lis near Brattleboro. He participated as
or representative of the United States
Il, the International balloon race from Be
We lin, Germany, in 1908, and the followi1
es, year won third prize in the Nation
ne race from st. Louis. Since 1910 he HI
not been actively engaged in balloonin
although called upon at times to r
lc- balloons for others. He was the 13
ny man to receive a license in this countr
ks but his license is numbered GA i
,ft cause the Aero club did not believe tn
any air pilot would accept numb
"13 = The license he holds now
- marked "duplicate as he lost the orr
L. inal in the North sea, from which he W
rescued with his companion, Harry
M Hewat of North Adams. at midnigl
at the conclusion of their part in t
international race from Berlin.
ret The feature Of his participation
aid ballooning that he is proudest of is
will fact that it was his privilege to int
ian duce the late Norman Prince, one
for the earliest American aviators to gi
ure his life in this war, to the air game,
rd. Prince making a flight with Mr.. a
ted Mrs Arnold in 1909.
our Mr. Arnold has been in the reportC
his al and editorial end of newspaper We
cen for the last 8 consecutive years and
il. fore that had nearly two years expo
if ence He was the first reporter on
God North Adams Herald, established o.
,wn 30 wears ago. After a disastrous expt
ope ence in mercantile business he re-ente
IT q the newspaper business as a reporter
be the Springfield Union. He was sub
ash ban editor there for several months 8
went to Fitchburg, Mass, as correspo