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Reconstructs Airship; to Start Toward End of July

Paris, March 29--Santos-Dumont's aeroplane, Bird of Prey No. 2, which was injured by the breaking of a wing last Thursday, was smashed during a trial Wednesday. It was the final trial so far as the machine is concerned, for, after a preliminary run on the parade ground, an accident occured and the aeroplane was completely wrecked. When the propeller was set in motion the Bird of Prey went off at a speed estimated to be twenty kilometres an hour. On the second trial, at five o'clock, the motor worked well and a speed superior to that of the previous trial was quickly attained. It was, however, insufficient for flight. After covering about half the length of the field, the machine swerved, bounced into a hole, and was smashed in two One of the wings was hopelessly destroyed. M. Santos-Dumont, who escaped without injury, declared he was not altogether sorry the machine was smashed, as he was disappointed with the quality of the wood, which was much too brittle. He added that he ordered fresh material and that he would have begun a third machine in any case. During the next few days he will remove the motor and propeller from the broken machine, and fix them to the original Bird of Prey, with which he will make further experiments.
In the original aeroplane, Bird of Prey No. 1, Santos-Dumont succeeded in scaling about 700 feet. This machine weighs about 550 pounds, is constructed in three sections on the box kite principle, and consists of two wings and a rudder. The latter, which is oblong in shape, and with two large box-kites at the end, is built at the front of the machine. It controls the direction of the aeroplane, either to the left or right, up or down. In the body of the machine is the steering car, which is mounted on two pneumatic wheels, resting on the ground before flight. The fifty horse-powered petrol motor with which the machine is fitted is capable of driving the six-foot aluminum propeller at 1500 revolutions a minute. The aeroplane starts on the ground like an automobile, with two parallel wheels not very far apart. The speed enables M. Santos-Dumont to keep the apparatus horizontal, supported by the air. In the case of an opposing wind the aeroplane can ascend even more easily in the teeth of the wind, but more slowly.
"Bird of Prey" No. 2, which Santos-Dumont constructed to compete for the Deutsch-Archdeacon prize of $10,000 for the first "heavier-than-air" machine to cover a distance exceeding one kilometer and return to the point of departure, was a smaller, more rigid and more powerful one than the "Bird of Prey" No. 1 with which he won the Archdeacon prize, with a flight of 220 metres last fall. In the new machine the canvas of the wings was replaced by a very thin polished wood and the framework is of light mahogany. The two wings, constructed with hargrave box kites, at an angle of eight degress and had a spread of thirteen metres. The width of the wings was only sixty centimetres. A fifty-horse-power motor operated a propeller, tha aluminum blades of which were two metres in diameter. The propeller had been placed in front in the belief that it would give a better grip in air. Behind and below the motor was the seat for the operator, from which Santos-Dumont could direct the apparatus. The steering gear was in the rear, with side rudders on the wings for controlling the equilibrium of the machine. The whole weighed twenty kilos less than the "Bird of Prey" No. 2.
[?] was mounted on a  single cycle wheel equipped with an automobile tire for the preliminary run before the aeroplane mounts. It was Santos-Dumont's intention after testing it with the fifty-horse-power motor to then use the one hundred horse-power motor of the same make which he had built recently. Like the former, this large motor is constructed of aluminum very largely. Santos-Dumont considers that he would need a speed of eighty kilometres (fifty miles) an hour so as to make the flyer sail up from the ground.

EXPERIMENT WITH FREE BALLOONS

Signal Corps of the United States Army to make a Test About May 1
Washington, March 29- The Signal Crops of the United States Army will experiment with a free balloon in this city on or about May 1, the ascension to depend entirely upon the weather. Heretofore, the Army has only used captive balloons in the observation and single work, and this test will be the first of its kind. The ascension will probably be made by Captain Charles De F. Chandler, with two or three members of the Corps. The balloon is to be larger and of different pattern from those which have been formerly used by the Corps. It is being made by Leo Stevens, a well-known aeronaut, in New York, and will be shipped to Washington a few days before the ascension, accompanied by its maker, who will be in direct control of the aerial tour. Another feature of the balloon will be that the varnished silk will be inflated with coal gas instead of hydrogen, which is considered more efficient for a long trip. The ascension will be made at the gas works. The test is to train the officers in aerial navigation in case of an emergency, such as being cut loose from the rope which connects them with the earth. Brigadier General James Alger, head of the Signal Corps, will have general superintendence of the ascension.

TO NORTH POLE IN AIRSHIP
[[?]] [[?]] Arrangements for His Expedition-Trials at Spitzbergen
Paris, March 29- The members of the Wellman-Chicago Record-Herald north pole expedition are completing the preparation of the balloon America and will leave shortly for Tromsoe, Norway, whence they will

100 feet long and 50 feet across to be raised from the earth and propelled through the air, controlling equilibrium and direction, at a rate of 100 miles an hour.

MANY AEROPLANES IN ENGLAND

Daily Mail Offer, It Is Thought, Will Bring Out Many Contestants
London, March 29- A large amount of secret aeroplane building is going on in this country, due to the Daily Mail's offer of £10,000 for the first flight between London and Manchester. It is estimated that there are over two hundred aeroplanes projected or in course of construction in England. "We have had over a hundred inquiries already for aeroplane motors," said Mr. R. R. Smith of the Adams Motor Manufacturing Company, yesterday to a Daily Mail representative. "The in  
who have made these inquiries range from a blacksmith to a wealthy society [[text cut off]]". For the most part they are extremely anxious that no detail of their design shall become public property. One man, who opened negotiations for an Antoinette motor similar to that which we supplied to M. Santos Dumont, told me he had built a most successful model which had made some comparatively long flights. He was then starting upon his full0sized machine. Mr. F. R. Simms of the Simms Manufacturing Company said: "We have had numerous inquiries for aeroplane engines but in no case am I permitted to mention names. There are three engines under construction now, ranging from 35 to 180 horse-power. The last will cost about £1200, and will drive a 7-foot propeller at 1200 to 1500 revolutions a minute. In a month or two my clients will be ready for a practical flight, and I believe that one or two of them contemplate an attempt on the Daily Mail £10,000 prize. Our engines work out at about 2 1/2 pounds per horse-power, and the cylinders are cooled on a new principle." Messrs. Fairbanks are providing another inventor with a 50-horse-power motor, which is to be delivered in a day or two.

A "CYCLONE" AIRSHIP

J. M. Jones Would Fly by Spiral Movement of Air in Tubes
Washington, March 29-One of the most novel flying machines yet brought to the attention of the United States Patent Office has been invented by Mr.John M. Jones of New York. The principle relied upon is the spiral motion of air in a cyclone. Mr.Jones has invented what he terms "semi-spiral revolving tubes," which catch the air and so confine and compress it that in its effort to free itself there is produced a lifting power somewhat like that of a miniature cyclone. Mr.Jones's flying machine involves the use of four of these semi-spiral tubes. The machine proper is constructed like a boat. Two of the semi-spiral tubes are placed perpendicularly upon masts, and their inventor claims that when they revolve they will lift the flying machine into the air. There are two other tubes of the same character used-one at each end of the boat-arranged on horizontal axles. Their object is to move the boat backward or forward and for steering. These semi-spiral tubes, or whirling sail-like canopies, are to be built of sheet steel or aluminum, and it is believed by Mr. Jones that with every unit of increased revolution per minute there will be additional lifting energy. Mr.Jones has been working on his invention since 1885.