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Aviation History
1909
1909 - 0413.PDF
JULY IO, 1909. experiments, laid before the Kaiser a scheme which has been drawn up for exploring during next year unknown Arctic regions by the aid of a Zeppelin airship. It is proposed to build the biggest dirigible yet designed, and to take it under its own power to Cross Bay, on the west coast of Spitzbergen, which has been decided upon as the base for the expedition. From there, trips will be made with the object of exploring the unknown regions of the North of Greenland and Francis Joseph Bay. Probably no attempt will be made to reach the North Pole. The Kaiser is keenly interested in the project, and has promised to accord his patronage to it. *! Parseval ill" Carries Eight Passengers. ON Saturday last a trial of several hours was made with " Parseval III " in the neighbourhood of Dessau, during which there were eight passengers on board. # Brussels to Paris by Airship.! ^ V1 ^ 4J SOME time ago M. Clement expressed a desire to go- from Paris to Brussels by airship, and now there is talk of the journey being made in the reverse direction by- M. Goldschmidt in the Belgian dirigible. So successful have been the trials in connection with his new dirigible,. " Belgique," that he contemplates making the trip between the Belgian and French capitals. A Balloon Chase. HAYWARDS HEATH, on Saturday last, was the starting place of an " hare-and-hounds " race organised by the Sussex A.C. The Hon. C. S. Rolls, in his balloon, " Imp," was the hare, and at the start a strong wind was- blowing from the south-west, and carried the balloon to Paddock Wood, 24 miles away. The first to reach Mr. Rolls was Mr. Moore (15-h.p. Humber), and he thus won the President's bowl. Second and third prizes were secured by Mr. Godwyn King and Mr. Townsend respectively. NATIONAL AIRSHIP FUND. ON Wednesday afternoon the Advisory Committee to the National Airship Fund had a consultation with General Sir Charles Hadden, regarding the practical requirement which will have to be satisfied by the air- ship which is ro be purchased with the fund initiated by the Morning Post. Earl Roberts presided at the meeting, which was attended by Mr. Edward Frost (Aeronautical Society), Mr. Roger Wallace, K.C. (Aero- Club), Col. H. S. Massy (Aerial League), Countess Bathurst, Col. Maxse, editor of the Morning Post, and Mr. H. Massac Buist. The decisions of the committee are not to be published for the present. The fund is steadily growing, and if a few more large donations are forthcom- ing, the required total of ^20,000 should be soon realised. SPLINTER-PROOF CLOTHING FOR AVIATORS. MR. HUBERT LATHAM, who has been making such extra- ordinary progress with his monoplane, draws attention in a breezy little contribution, which he recently made to our contemporary the Daily Mail, to a simple precaution that he is in the habit of taking against personal injury in the event of accidents which more or less break up his machine. He has come to the conclusion, and it is one which receives considerable support from the practical experience of other aviators besides himself, that the pilot as a whole is comparatively safe from damage in the event of an accident, because so much of the machine has to be crumpled up before he is brought into actual contact with terrafirma. On the other hand, with timber-built frames such as are commonly employed in aeroplane construction, there is some risk of splinters breaking off and penetrating through cushions and clothing with somewhat unpleasant results, and it is with the object of guarding as far as possible against a mishap from this cause that Mr. Latham has adopted the practice of wearing a special suit made of fabric which is employed by those who indulge in the pastime of fencing. Although it is hardly likely to give absolute immunity it is certainly a happy idea, for there is no doubt that it would give a considerable amount ot protection against those apparently trivial wounds which are so apt to have disproportionately serious results, and even at the best may cause a most annoying delay in the sequence of experiments. There are several varieties of material worn by those who practise fencing, but from personal experience in this, pastime we could only recommend the very best of that which is used by those engaging in epee competitions with the pointe Garret, where the sword is fitted with a sharpened point projecting about 2 mm. from the button. This fabric, as may be imagined, has to withstand some fairly rough usage, and is not easily torn. Being canvas lined, it is naturally rather inclined to be stiff, but when it has been properly washed once or twice it becomes quite comfortably supple. As it is not, perhaps, easily obtained out of a school of arms, we shall be very pleased to assist any of our readers who may feel inclined to follow Mr. Latham's example in procuring the right material. CLOCKWORK MOTORS FOR MODELS. As the direct result of a letter which appeared in our correspondence columns a few weeks ago, we have been continually bombarded with letters from readers of FLIGHT asking for further information concerning an efficient clockwork motor suitable for model flyers. Unfortunately, it appears that the writer of the letter in question was somewhat premature in the statement to which he committed himself, for we learn that the particular motor in question is not yet sufficiently developed to be supplied to would-be users. So great has been the correspondence received by us upon thi& subject, continuing day after day, with but little sign of abatement, that in our own interests, as well as those of readers, we must earnestly beg that no further letters about these motors are sent in to us. In due course, when everything is ready, the makers will doubtless publish an announcement of the fact in the usual way and in the customary columns of this journal. 415
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