IMPROVEMENTS IN PROPELLING OR NAVIGATING AEROSTATS OR AERIAL MACHINES, OR APPARATUS
Year: 1881

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Henry Johnson at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 5th August 1881. A communication
from abroad by Gaston Tissandier, of Paris, in the Republic of France.
JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman. "IMPROVEMENTS IN PROPELLING OR NAVIGATING AEROSTATS OR
AERIAL MACHINES, OR APPARATUS." A. communication from abroad by Gaston
Tissandier, of Paris, in the Republic of France.
This Invention relates to an improved method of propelling and navigating
aerial machines or balloons by the employment of electricity, as hereinafter
described. According to this Invention the aerial apparatus is supported by
means of a balloon, preferably of an elongated or cigar shape, and is propelled in
any required direction by a screw propeller. actuated by an electro' dynamic moter
supplied with electricity from a secondary battery on what are known as the
Planté or Feaure systems.
In carrying out the said Invention a balloon of an elongated shape, such, for
example, as would be generated by the revolution of an arc of a circle round its
cord as an axis, and arranged with its axis in a horizontal plane, is employed to
support the apparatus in the air.
The propelling or navigating machinery is suspended from two poles, which are
tied to the suspended ropes connected to the net of the balloon, and consists of a
screw similar to a ship's propeller mounted on a suitable horizontal shaft or axis.
Motion is imparted to this propeller by an electro motor constructed on the
Siemens or other suitable principle actuated by means of electricity derived from a
Planté or Feaure secondary battery of suitable power carried in any convenient
part of the apparatus.
It has been proved by experiment that the electric annulators or secondary
batteries of Mr. Gaston Planté, in their original or in their improved form, are
very well adapted to actuate magneto-electric or dynamo-electric machines of
modern construction under the conditions requisite for aerial navigation.
It has been calculated with certainty that by means of a propeller of about
eleven yards in diameter, driven by a Gramme, Siemens, or Trouve dynamo electric
machine weighing about five hundredweight and three quarters, supplied with.
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page_text: electricity from a number of secondary elements weighing about one ton and
three hundredweight, an elongated balloon of a capacity of thirty nine thousand
cubic yards inflated with hydrogen gas can be propelled at a speed of upwards of
twelve yards per second for a period of from about two to three hours. By
reducing the speed the apparatus would continue to act for a longer period if
required.
The apparatus is provided with a suitable rudder or steering device and with a
horizontal screw in order to prevent it from rising too rapidly, and is capable of
carrying a number of travellers on deck or platform.of suitable construction.
In a calm it can be steered in any, direction, and caused to return to the point
of departure.
.In windy. weather the apparatus can be caused to deviate more or less from the
course of the wind in proportion to the strength of the current.
By the employment of electric motors in lieu of steam for the purposes of aerial
navigation the following advantages are obtained, videlicet :-
First. The weight of the apparatus is not subject to fluctuation, so that the
balloon is enabled to remain suspended in the air at any desired elevation, whereas
when a steam engine is employed the consumption of the coal and the evaporation
of the water have the effect of continually lightening the apparatus, so that the
latter has a continual tendency to rise, which can only be counteracted by a waste
of gas.
Second. Avoidance of the proximity of fire, which is a great source of danger in
the case of balloons inflated with hydrogen gas.
When electric motors are employed a spark is certainly produced, but it is not,
to be compared to a furnace fire; moreover this spark is enclosed with wire gauze,
which will prevent all possibility of kindling the gas.
Third. The electric motor also presents the additional advantages of being
readily started and stopped, and general simplicity of parts.