Viewing page 295 of 327

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

time is lost in getting up speed and in slowing down at the end of its journey, the average running speed was doubtless somewhat higher.
The fleet of airships which the French army is to have will be three in number, for the present at least. It will be remembered that after the remarkable success of the "Lebaudy," in which figures the trip from Moisson to Paris, it was turned over to the government, who thereupon decided to have built the present airship "Patrie." Later the Minister arranged to have a third airship built in 1907 on the same general plan, and it will be known as the "République." Engineer Julliot's designs are used in all cases. The "Lebaudy" is now in service in the military aerostatic park of Meudon, in the suburbs of Paris, where a special army corps is being trained so as to handle the airships in the future. As to the "Patrie," it is to be used at the military quarters of Verdun, near the frontier.

[[image]]
Vaulx's Aeroplane.

We have already given some of the leading details about the new airship which M. Henri Deutsch has had constructed after the designs of Aeronaut Surcouf. It was taken out and put through its first evolutions in the air a few weeks ago, and while on the whole it will no doubt be a success, an accident to the carbureter prevented it from showing what it could do, and moreover when it came to earth the car received a shock, through the negligence of the workmen, which caused it to break in two by its own weight, so that the new airship has been somewhat unfortunate in its first experiments, through no fault in the design. It is to be hoped that it will be in running order before long, but considerable work will have to be done in repairing the nacelle.

[[image]]
[art?] on the Flight of Nov. 23, 1906.

It made its first trip on the 11th of November, commencing to operate with the guide rope at 10 o'clock. The crew was made up of four persons in the car,the constructor, Ed. Surcouf, at the helm, Henry Kapferer, engineer Cormon, and the mechanic Paulhan. Rising then above the Seine, the propeller started and the airship went through a series of evolutions which showed that it could be controlled with ease. But soon afterward the motor had to be stopped owing to the freezing of the carbureter. This is rather unusual accident was caused by the fact that the exhaust was cooled by means of a water jacket which was designed to diminish the fire risks and prevent sparks from flying. But this was a disadvantage for the carbureter, as the exhaust could no longer be made to heat it to the proper point. The strong draft caused by the airship's movement gave a still further cooling effect when going at any great speed, so that the aeronauts were obliged to stop every three minutes or so on the flight. Under these conditions, M. Surcouf decided not to continue that day, but to alight near the Seine on the plain of Chambourcy. While in the air, however, it was observed that the airship was remarkably steady. When alighting, the men on the ground made a false maneuver for which there seems to be no excuse, and, as has been stated, the car was allowed to break by its own weight, so that some weeks will be needed for repairs. It appears that the water circulation and the carbureter can be arranged to work in a simpler way. The system of cylindrical gas bags is thought to be preferable to a set of canvas frames for steadying the craft, and in fact when in the air the airship was very stable.
The Bleriot aeroplane was recently tried in Paris, mounted by M. Lemétayer. Its form remains about the same as described heretofore, except that in place of one of the two elliptical frames a regular aeroplane structure consisting of the two horizontal superposed surfaces is employed. The aeroplane rolled out on the ground at full speed upon its wheels, but was prevented from rising in the air, for when it ran over a ditch the carriage broke.

[[image]]
The French Military Dirigible, "Patrie," in Flight.

Following the movement which has taken place lately in Paris in favor of aeroplanes, Count De La Vaulx is to build a flyer upon a new design. In order to make experiments with aeroplanes, he is designing one which will be built under the direction of aeronautic engineer Tatin, and Maurice Mallet, the well-known constructor of Paris, at the latter's establishment in the suburbs. It will, no doubt, be finished within a few months. Some details have been made known as to the general features of the new aeroplane. It will not be built according to the box plan such as Santos Dumont accepted, but on the contrary is designed on the lines of a body with outstretched wings resembling a soaring bird. As will be noticed in the diagram, there are two propellers turning in opposite directions. The propellers are worked by a 50-horse-power gasoline motor of the Antoinette type, built by Levavasseur, which is meeting with much favor on account of its extra light weight. The motor is placed together with the pilot in the car C, which forms the main body of the apparatus and is composed of a frame of light wood strips covered with canvas. It will have a rectangular section ending in curved points at each end. Above the car are fixed the main wings P' P', forming plane surfaces with the body P. Back of these is mounted a fixed tail Q having a rather large flat surface, hinged to which in the rear is a frame g' which serves as a horizontal rudder. Below the tail Q is placed a vertical rudder g which is mounted on a pivot and can be worked from the nacelle by cords c c' with the end moving as shown by the dotted line. In the present design it is desired to reduce to a minimum the opposing resistances and to obtain the highest speed possible for the aeroplane, which will allow of cutting down the area of the flying surface and the size of the apparatus. It is expected to secure a speed of 45 miles an hour with the 50-horse-power motor.
Santos Dumont is engaged in designing a new aeroplane upon somewhat different lines from the present one, and expects to have it finished so as to begin trying it early next year. He considers the aeroplane which he used up to now as simply an experimental apparatus in order to obtain some data for a more complete one, and the flyer which he will build according to his experience will be quite different in many respects, as he found that the design had to be modified considerably in order to secure the best results. He says that the wings of the present aeroplane were built much larger than was needed to secure a good effect in the preliminary work. The new flyer will be equipped with a 100-horse-power motor which is now building at the shops of the Levavasseur firm near Paris, and will have sixteen cylinders mounted as before in V-shape, being probably the lightest existing motor for that power. It will enable him to reach a much higher speed than before, and he expects to reach 75 miles an hour. He is engaged in building a small model of the new aeroplane and will no doubt have it finished within a week or so. In the meantime, he is overhauling his motor, and expects to go on with the trials of his present machine before long, seeing that the weather is somewhat favorable at time.

[[image]]
The New French Dirigible "Patrie."

A new aeroplane which is to enter the field in France is to be built by the Antoinette Company, which has been formed for constructing the Levavasseur light-weight motor, used by Santos Dumont and others. The designs of the new flyer are to be drawn up conjointly by Capt. Ferber and M. Levavasseur. As Capt. Ferber is one of the pioneers in aeroplane work in France and has already built and made experiments with a flyer, and given the experience which M. Lavavasseur has had in motor work for the last five years, there is no doubt that the new aeroplane will be one of the foremost in the field. It is to be known as "Antoinette No. 1," and will be piloted by Capt. Ferber, also taking one other person, so that no doubt it will be of a large size and high power.
In the history of navigation of the airship the efforts which have been spent by the famous German officer, Gen. Count Von Zeppelin, form one of the most interesting chapters. Count Von Zeppelin, has devoted a considerable portion of his life and expended one fortune in attempting to solve this problem. The latest cable advices indicate that he has at last succeeded and that the airship which he has designed and constructed can be classed among those which are practical.
The readers of the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN are aware that his experiments have extended through several years. The first airship he built which attracted the attention of scientists and others was the one tested on Lake Constance in 1900. Although but three flights in all were made at the time, the performance of the airship was such as to encourage the belief that with certain alterations it would be successful. But for a series of unfortunate accidents, all of the tests would probably have resulted successfully. As it was, the craft was propelled against a breeze calcu- [[end of page cut off]]

[[image]]
January 17 last, by means of two 35 H. P. Gasoline motors driving two propellers. The Airship can lift three tons additional to its own weight, which gives it a [[?]] feet. Driven by a 70 H. P. motor and two propellers, this dirigible has recently made about 30 miles an hour. Its lifting capacity is 2,777 pounds.
[[?]]ng Out of Its Shed and Performing Various Evolutions Above Lake Constance.
[[?]]SHIPS THAT ARE NOW BEING EXPERIMENTED WITH IN EUROPE

Transcription Notes:
Page cutoff prevents transcription