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Aviation History
1910
1910 - 0091.PDF
FEBRUARY 5, 1910. way disturbed. I know of no instance of a balloon being inflated and made to ascend from a vessel at sea, although Comte de la Vaulx made experiments over the Mediterranean, and Capt. Scott carried cylinders of hydrogen to the Antarctic and made some captive ascents on the Polar ice. There is thus a splendid opportunity for some enterprising balloonist such as Mr. Mortimer Singer to prove the value of the spherical balloon at sea in the interests of the Navy, and I make this suggestion because I know that he has the necessary courage and taste for the cross-sea adventure which can accompany the experiment. The balloon best fitted for the purpose would be one of 15,000 cu. ft. capacity, and the gas for inflation would be carried compressed in cylinders on board the vessel, which could conveniently be a large yacht. The balloon could be inflated on the deck whilst the vessel steamed before the wind for the purpose of taking the pressure of the wind off the balloon, and then captive ascents would be made and observations taken. No wind up to thirty miles an hour would prevent this experiment being carried out successfully ; and I feel sure from similar experiments I have made with a 500 cu. ft. balloon inflated and manoeuvred from a four-oared gig, that no difficulty would be experienced on the larger scale. Having carried out the experiments in the interests of the Navy, the reward of the aeronauts would be secured in making a cross-sea balloon I/O GHT trip under ideal conditions, for the captive ascent should be made to windward of some land, say one hundred miles distant, and a voyage on a buoyant trail rope could then be made to the distant land and far beyond if the search for adventure remained unsatisfied. Or if it be desired to add to science still further valuable data, the question of the amount of the steering capabilities of a balloon at sea could be settled by the aid of a steerable float governed by electrical current from the balloon to which it is held captive. I once towed a canoe by means of a 500 cu. ft. balloon from Teddington to Thames Ditton, guiding the canoe and balloon by means of the rudder only ; and in order to do this it was necessary to steer 6o° away from the direction of the wind at some times. I should not expect to obtain this efficiency when the proportion between the air-borne portion, i.e., the balloon, were larger than the portion drawn through the water, but if 200 of steerability could be secured, it would give the balloon a useful scope which it is not given the credit of possessing at the present time. In fact, the spherical balloon, owing to its compactness and efficiency in lifting power—not to say anything of its small cost when compared with dirigibles—offers great possibilities to naval manoeuvres, whilst for sporting adventure at sea our wildest dreams of boyhood can still be satisfied. <& &lt;# & # AN ORIGINAL ALL-BRITISH AEROPLANE. PARTICULAR interest attaches to the machine concerning which we are now enabled to give comparatively full general particulars, inasmuch as it is not only novel to a very unusual extent as aeroplanes have heretofore gone, but is of British conception, British design, and British manufacture in its entirety. It is, in fact, one of the numerous machines upon which a great amount of work and thought have been bestowed during the past year or so in this country in a quiet and unobtrusive manner, which cannot fail before long to assure for this country the position that it ought to take in aeronautic matters in the eyes of the civilised world. At the moment we are debarred from giving it a name, inasmuch as those associated with its develop ment prefer to remain in the back ground until actual success has been achieved, or at any rate uniil the machine has been brought out to undergo its trials in the full light of day. At the present time it is receiving its finishing touches in readiness for an early test, and consequently the time is ripe when details of a broad cha racter may be made public. Apart from that we may only add that, as far as the preliminary arrangements of a commercial character are concerned, the enter prise has been backed by a large and very well known firm which is closely connected with the automobile industry. Our illustrations are amply sufficient for the immediate purpose that we have in view. The first of them gives a diagrammatic idea of the principle of construction as applied to a biplane, and is virtually a view of a small paper gliding model that can easily be made by anyone desirous of observing the upshot of that particular form of construction for an aeroplane. Similarly, briefly referring to the other illustrations, the third is repro duced from a photograph of a monoplane model with which numerous experiments were carried out during the initial stages, and with which some very remarkable results—which we ourselves had the pleasure of witnessing —were obtained. And then our large full-page scale Diagrammatic sketch indicating the principle of the hollow rhomboidal construction as applied to a biplane. drawings include a side elevation and a plan of the big biplane that is now nearing completion, while the two remaining sketches show the details of construction of the two principal members of this big machine. 87 C
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