Evening star., 1923-09-30
ny DONALD EDWARD KEYHoE.


GUS tales of aerial adventures which
were passed on to. us by the older
pilots. On looking over some of
these notes / find a number of stories
which still seem to me of more than
ordinary interest, as much to the
average reader as to the professional
aviator.
Perhaps the most unusual of these
tales is that of a pilot and five stu
dent aviators who attempted to cross
Chesapeake bay in the course of a
Stree" balloon fight and who went
through all kinds of hair-raising ex-
periences as a result of their daring.
For the benefit of those who are
not familiar with balloon jargon, l
shall explain that q free" balloon
is the spherical-bag type very SINH
lar to the ones used in old-fashioned
ascensions at fairs and circuses, ex-
cept that those in the air service
are somewhat larger. These bal
looms are set loose to drift with the
wind. the only control which the pilot
has being in a vertical direction by
the use of valve or ballast. For fun
kand sport there Is nothing which will
equal free" ballooning, provided 1t
is kept within proper bounds and not
allowed to run on the lines of the
following story.
In the fight described I have SUBJ
stituted several names for obvious
reasons, but aside from this trifling
change the details are set down ex-
actly as they came to me from one of
tho most famous balloon pilots in the
service.
The flight in question was begun
at Hampton Roads, Va, the geo.
graphical location of which is such
that balloon hops" may be made
very infrequently, on account of the
danger of being blown out over the
Atlantic ocean or Chesapeake bay.
On this particular day. however, the
wind was blowing almost directly
northwest and preparations were
hurried so that the big balloon might
take the air for as long a voyage
as possible. The pilot, whom I shall
call Decker. gathered five students
about him as soon as the bag was
inflated, loaded in as much ballast
as he could carry. weighed off" for
correct balance and then gave the
order to "let co. Five minutes later
the huge hydrogen-filled bag appear
ed to the watchers on the ground
but small round ball steadily re-
ceding toward the northwest.
:: x i: x
IN the balloon itself all was merry.
L With a good wind, clear weather,
and a congenial crew, the HOP" bade
fair to be complete success. Ar
mold, one of the students, expressed
the hope that they would drift north
along the Virginia shore of the bay
land then strike a westerly wind which
would carry them over Washington.
which city happened to be his home.
i've always had a DESIRE" he said
Ito Decker, ito land a balloon in my
4 home town, but don't suppose we'll
have any such luck"
The pilot glanced at the compass.
We'll, if we do go over the cap
ital," he replied, well try to bring
her down right in the middle of Penn
sylvania avenue and give you all the
publicity you want. but in the mean
time let's go down and look the ma
tives over
AS he finished he grasped the valve
cord and gave 1t long pull, releasing
q. small Quantity of gas. which caused
the balloon to descend slowly, until
1T reached an altitude of two hundred
feet, where half a bag of sand emptied
over the side served to check further
descent.
The purpose of this maneuver was
70 drag" over the country beneath.
which procedure consisted in dropping
a northumberland fifty-foot coil of
heavy rope until it dangled from the
basket with the last few yards on the
ground. this "drag-rope" acting as
equalizing ballast in keeping the bal
loon at a constant altitude
The dragging" itself was far more
interesting, however, than it may
sound at first. Imagine for an instant
the progress of a free" balloon
through a small village The drag
rope" like an exceedingly long
. 'feeler" from some weird insect flying
overhead, whips around obstacles, |
through telephone wires, up shingled
roofs and through clothes lines with
great impartiality, leaving a trail of
petty destruction and scores of COM
ically angry villagers, who run out to
shake their fists impotently at their
unwelcome visitors above. Occasion
ally some over-ambitious rustic, with |
more zeal than common sense, at
tempts to seize the t'drag-rope" and
bring the balloon to a sudden stop by
winding the rope around the nearest
pole or tree. If he is fortunate he
escapes with minor bruises after des-
cribing parabola and two or three |
other geometrical figures in the air. |
If he is less lucky Cor if he fails to
perceive a stream of sand slyly being
poured from the basket above) he may
be due for a most unexpected lift in
life. However, no real harm is ever
done in this way, and none occurred
in the fight we are following.
* X X X
AVER an hour was spent in this |
~ manner, when Decker suddenly
noticed that the surface wind had |
changed and that the balloon was now
heading back toward Chesapeake bay.
Even as he discussed their probable |
position with his students a silvery |
proximity of the water. From his |
map the pilot decided the balloon to |
be opposite the narrowest part of the |
Chesapeake, where crossing at their |
maintained speed would be matter |
of about an hour. There was, of |
course, the alternative of landing, but |
the rather desolate appearance of the |
ground below held little. attraction for |