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Aviation History
1909
1909 - 0575.PDF
SEPTEMBER 18, 1909. NEWS. " Zeppelin III " Travels to Frankfort. ALTHOUGH " Zeppelin III " reached Frankfort safely, the journey from Friedrichshafen, on Saturday last, was not accomplished without incident, as during the first part of it one of the motors gave t-rouble, and eventually broke down. Lake Constance was left at five o'clock in the morning, and the airship was safely anchored in the Exhibition grounds at Frankfort shortly after half-past nine. King of Saxony Sails in "Zeppelin III." ON Thursday of last week, the Zeppelin works at Lake Constance were visited by the King of Saxony, who spent a long time examining the details of the big dirigibles and went for a couple of trips with Count Zeppelin in the " Z. III." The first was from Manzell to Uberlingen and back, over Constance, Reichenau, and Singen, and lasted a couple of hours, while during the second trip the King was taken to Friedrichshafen. In the evening a series of experiments were carried out with wireless telegraphy between the dirigible and the land, and these yielded such good results that they are to be continued. Zeppelin Polar Expedition. AT a conference between Prince Henry of Prussia, Count Zeppelin, and Professor Hergesell, held at Hem- melmark, Prince Henry's summer home near Kiel, the main outlines of the proposed German Arctic Airship Expedition were laid down. Officially the objects of the expedition are defined as "The exploration of the unknown Arctic Polar Sea by means of a dirigible airship, and the development of the airship for the execution of scientific work." For the purpose of giving the scheme a broad national foundation, the Honorary Committee will be chosen from leading men in scientific, financial and industrial circles, while the German Emperor has accepted the office of " Protector." An Excursion to Mannheim. COUNT ZEPPELIN on Wednesday took a very dis- tinguished party for a trip to Mannheim, the passengers including Prince and Princess August Wilhelm of Prussia, the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Prince Philip of Coburg, and Mr. Orville Wright. At the same time as the big dirigible left the Exhibition grounds, the " Parseval III " rose and raced alongside for some distance. The descent at Mannheim was made on Fiiesenheim Island, and later in the day the return journey was made safely, although not without incident, for one of the motors developed trouble which prevented the vessel from ascending on Thursday. The German Emperor has asked Count Zeppelin to visit Wurtemberg, so that the airship may take part in the manoeuvres there. " Gross II" Caught in a Tree during " War." AMONG other things, the German Army manoeuvres of this year are noteworthy in that a dirigible balloon was employed by one of the opposing forces, although it had a somewhat inglorious end to a brief career. On Monday, the " Gross II," which had been selected for the experiment, and was attached to the "Blue" force, rose over Ballenberg, just by Neustettin, during the morning, but was soon lost to view in the thick mist which lay over everything. During the evening, news reached the " Red " headquarters that the airship had been caught in a tree and captured by their forces. The vessel had been fitted with wireless telegraphy, so as to enable it to keep in communication with headquarters. When the airship descended below 4,000 ft. she had to indicate same by hoisting a red flag, and was then con- sidered out of action, and was not entitled to make use of the wireless installation. . „ ;; ;i , M Republique " at the Manoeuvres. As a result of rapid work, the engineers succeeded in making the " Republique " fit for service again in much shorter time than was anticipated, and on Monday she was once more in her element and at La Palisse, taking part in the manoeuvres. Three trips were made on that day, the longest being of 25 miles, but they were in the nature of trial trips. On Wednesday, however, she was at the disposal of the Commander-in-Chief, and carried a Staff Officer for the purpose of taking observations. The airship rose to a height of 1,000 metres, made a circuit of 100 kiloms., stopping several times to make observations, and then, dropping to an altitude of 150 metres, these notes were dropped in a bag to the friendly army. Great Britain's Gordon-Bennett Balloon. IT will be seen from the official notices of the Aero Club that the balloon to be used by Mr. F. K. McClean in the Gordon Bennett Race, which starts from Zurich on October 3rd, will be the " Planet," which has recently been constructed by Messrs. Short Bros, for Mr. A. M. Singer. The envelope, made of " Continental " rubber fabric, is of 2,200 cubic metres, or about 79,000 cubic feet, this being the limit for the race. Among the im- provements fitted to the balloon may be noted the detachable neck hoop, a detachable valve with rain protector, a feed-pipe, a ripping panel, and a special arrangement of the rain seam for the protection of passengers in the balloon car. • WANTED, A PRIZE FOR A LONDON FLIGHT. CURIOUSLY, although there are many prizes offered concerning flights to cities in the Provinces, so far no inducement to make London the finishing point has been put forward. This should be remedied without delay, and we hope some wealthy patron of the new art of flight will make himself famous by offering a reasonably substantial sum for the first British flyer, who, under proper conditions, in a British-made machine, shall travel across country, without alighting, to some previously designated (and approved) spot within 5 miles of Charing Cross. The starting point to be not less than 25 miles measured in a straight line from Charing Cross. At least 24 hours' previous notice should be given of any attempt. By this means such an object lesson could be given to the inhabitants of the Capital of the World that would carry more conviction of the great future in store for aviation than all the descriptive articles of performances elsewhere can ever hope to attain. 579
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