Arizona republican., 1919-06-20
THE RISE OF
 THE BLIMP
By Frederic J. Haskin

WASHINGTON, D. C., June 21.-l The enormous possibilities of the blimp, or dirigible gas bag, as safe means of air travel. are just beginning to be realized. The interest of gov ernment aeronauts is turning more and more to these lighter-t -than-air ma chimes, which can stop for repairs in midair and are independent of landing fields.
 l would not be surprised in a few years to see as many people flying around in dirigibles as there are at present riding in flivvers," was the optimistic view expressed by one gov ernment expert on aeronautics. "Thls type of air craft affords the safest means of travelling in the air, and to my knowledge there is not a single case on record of a dirigible crashir,s to earth as a result of the failure of it's mechanism to function. If your engine develops trouble while taking a flight, all you have to do is to stop the engine, and while the machine is supported in the air by the gas bag, or envelope as it is scientificah. called, make the necessary repairs. The use of non-in -inflamable gas will practically eliminate all danger sf fire"
 The blimp consists of a graceful tube shaped. envelope, 200 feet in l length in Some of the larger type,. filled with gas. The rudders are at tached to the envelope, from which is suspended a light car. Most of the mechanism is in the car and there IS i plenty of space also for the pilot and the other members of the crew.
  1 dirigible in competition with the air 1 plane, but rather to use it in a su. l plemental way. While a dirigible cannot make the speed of an airplane 1 as the top speed attained so far is ! only seventy-five miles per hour it 1 has a great advantage in that it can 1 remain in the air after it's motor stops and can land in any space large enough for the body of the machine
 Both the army and the navy lean to l the dirigible and the air programs of | both these branches of the service provide for lighter than-air craft.
 Naval officers will recommend that the United States adopt a type of air ship based upon the fundamental prin- ciples of the German Zeppelin plus inn provements worked out by the British,
 
 during the recent war.
 In fighting the submarine menace, the dirigible was a most effective weapon. It was also used advan- tageously in searching for mines guarding conveys and scouting. The Italians, who possess one of the be.,, types of dirigible in use, even bombed the enemy from their blimps.
 If is he OnipiOy, nf fa1 that the navy should make no effor, toward any large aerial expansion during the next few years but should engage in experiments to improve ex- isting types, and the blimp will be one type to receive much attention.
 The naval bill, which was one of the many measures that failed to pass the last congress, and which vii probably come up before the present congress, contained an appropriation of slO,000,000 for the development o1 the lighter -than-air machines, includ- ing the balloon and dirigible.
 At the present time, the navy has g fleet of some fifteen dirigibles. The extraordinary flight a few weeks agt Of the C-5 to Newfoundland convinced the naval experts that this craft could easily have made the flight across the ocean. The dirigible is practically new in the navy, the first one having madt its appearance in January, 1917, man1 years after the French, British, Ital ians and Germans began using dir lgibles. During the past two years the navy has made great progress il the development of the dirigible, an during a recent test flight at the | s. Naval Station, Key West, Florida a dirigible remained in the air forty one hours.
 In Germany, the. dirigible-that I the Zeppelin-has reached a high stat of development. Prior to the wal this type of dirigible was used to car ry passengers. More than 17,000 per sons travelled by this means in Ger many before the beginning of hostili ties.
 The air service of the army is giv ing considerable attention to the de velopment of the dirigible and it's vari ous uses. According to an army of ficer, a fleet of dirigibles is goin to be put into operation in the nea tuture to run down cattle thieves an other brigands along the Mexica border. Because of the nature of u. country along the border, it is diff cult for troops to follow up cattl thieves, and it is believed that dirigi bles can be effectively used for thi purpose.
 England has spent large sums i developing it's present type of dirigibl, Just now the British dirigible, R-34.
 undergoing it's final tuning up nes the Firth of Forth before attemptin 0 fly to Atlantic City. x. ].
 This machine is one of the larges