Vol. LXIX, No- 2-]

AND RAILROAD JOURNAL.

AERONAUTICSIM

UNDER this heading we shall hereafter publish all matter
relating to the interesting subject of Aerial Navigation, a
branch of engineering which is rapidly increasing in general
interest. Mr. O. Clianute, O.E., of Chicago, has consented to
act as Associate Editor for this department, and will be a fre-

quent contributor to it.
Readers of this depctrtineazt are 1-eguested to send the names

and addresses of persons interested in the subject of Ae7'onautz'«-.-
to the publisher of THE AMERICAN ENGINEER.

AERONAUTICAL NOTES.

 

A Snap-shot at a. Gull.—Whoever has watche_d_a soaring
bird ﬂoating in the sky, riding upon the wind on rigid wings,
and gliding about in all directions with scarce a change of
attitude, must have wondered how he manages to set at ap-
parent deﬁance all the laws of gravity and of motion, and
longed to possess photographs of the bird in order to study
his attitude at leisure.

A SNAP~SI-IOT AT A GULL.

Unfortunately the taking of such photographs is exceed-
ingly diflicult. The bird ﬂits so rapidly, he is generally.so
far oﬁ, there is so seldom any neighboring object to guide
the eye in judging of dimensions and positions, and the effects
of perspective so frequently distort the attitude, that numer-
ous as are the soaring birds at sea or in southern latitudes,
adequate photographs of them are very rare.

We, however, engrave herewith “ a snapshot at a gull,”
taken by a young lady with a kodak camera, upon one_occa-
sion when all the surrounding circumstances were just right.

A Balloon Tour.——-In the latter part of September of this
year Mr. M. Mallet, the aeronaut who succeeded in 1892 in
maintaining himself for 36 hours in the air in a balloon, and
Mr. W. de Fonvielle, the veteran author and aeronaut, under-
took what they called a tour of France by balloon, traveling
by a series of ascents. ' _

The balloon was of 37,500 cub. ft. capacity, weighing with
its appurtenances 660 lbs., and capable of carrying three pas-
sengers. It was provided with an auxiliary storage balloon
of 2,100 cub. ft. capacity, from which to replenish the main
balloon, and also with the aerial screw invented by Messrs.
Mallet and Langlois, to raise and lower the balloon, so as to
economize ballast -and gas.

A preliminary trip was made in the night of September 14.
The wind was not in the desired direction, and, being violent,
the aeronauts were blown 286 miles in about 10 hours, landing
not very far from La Rochelle, whence they went back to
Paris after emptying their balloon.

They started out again on September 19, and were blown
about 40 miles northward, when they lauded for the night.
’[‘hey started up again the next day, but went only a few miles
in consequence of light and baﬂling winds. The next day
rain set in, and for the next three days, although ascents were
made daily, little progress was accomplished, the winds being
so light and battling that the aeronauts never got more than
100 miles from Paris. The seventh day they gave it up, and
returned home determined to try it again later. The aerial
screw was tested once, and found to raise and lower the bal-
loon; but as it is rotated by hand, its use was found to be a
good deal like work, and it was landed after the trial test.

Upon the whole, it may be doubted whether anything like
a tour can be made by a balloon. It is the sport of the wind.

Paris Captive Balloon for I9oo.—The French have had
captive balloons at all their international expositions, and
have demonstrated the fact that these can be so safely oper-
ated that they form popular and proﬁtable attractions, no less
than 15,000 passengers having made the ascension in the coni-
paratively small captive balloon of 1889, without the slightest
accident. and this balloon having subsequently made a free
voyage with 20 passengers.

The following compilation shows the principal data pertain-
ing to these captive balloons.

CAPTIVE BALLOONS IN PARIS.

 

Yi~:.iit. Dianieter. % Cubic Feet. Passengers, [ Height.
1867 . . . . . .. ? 176,000 ? 12 i 820 ft.
1878 . . . . . .. 118 ft 883,000 42 1,640 “
1888 . . . . . .. 59 1,400 “

107,800 14 ‘

Now the French are proposing to have a much larger cap-
tive halloon at the Exposition of 1900, and Messrs. L. Godard,
E. Surcouf & J. Oourty, aeronautical engineers, have designed
one 144 ft. in diameter, to contain 1,590,000 cub. ft. of hydro-
gen gas, and to ascend to a height of 1,950 ft. with 160 pas-
sengers. It is to be controlled by a cable decreasing in diam-
eter from 3.93 down to 4.71 in. in diameter, wound upon a
drum by a steam-engine of 600 H.P. All the parts, including
the universal pulley under which the cable passes, are designed
with a factor of safety varying from 4 to 6.

The balloon is to have an internal air-bag, which is to be
kept more or less distended, in order to maintain a uniform
pressure upon the gas, so as to prevent deformations of the
external envelope when variations occur in the volume or
density of the gas. _ _ _

The clear atmosphere of wood-burning Paris is particularly
favorable for captive balloons, and it is to be hoped that this
will be more fortunate than the captive destroyed in Chicago
in 1893.

A
V

FLYING EXPERIMENTS.

 

To the Edz'tor of THE AMERICAN ENGINEER :

Since the appearance of my article in the January_number
of your magazine, I thought it well if I would indicate the
lines of my investigations. I have employed a surface of 200
sq. ft. in area, stretched on a bamboo frame, all in one piece
and weighing 50 lbs. I have sailed a few feet, but not from
any great height. My" experience resulted the same as others
who have sailed from greater elevatio,ns~—2'.e., it must be pi'o-
pelled, as the wind cannot be depended upon as a motor. I
concluded that if the above surface was cut up into strips
about a foot wide and spaced a foot apart, extending out on
each side of the operator like the wings of a bird, it would
give greater lift in ascending currents of air, and less resist-
ance to advance; with a narrow tail extending back would
give equilibrium, but this latter would be attained only when
the machine is advancing. . N ow in order to propel, I thought
that by running and jumping into the breeze I could continue

' the motion of springing up and down after _I left the ground,

and so propel. The result of my experiments proved that]
must first lift, then propel, and continue advancing to obtain
equilibrium, regardless of whether the wind blows or not, or
the place of starting is rough or smooth, before I could hope
to evolve a successful machine which would go under all