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in the United States. 

Baldwin had toured Europe in the late 1890's and had seen the dirigibles of Alberto Santos-Dumont and Count Ferdinand von Zeplin. Enthused about the dirigible as a new exhbition attraction, he returned to California and decided to design a dirigible for his exhibition business. Commencing sometime in 1900, Baldwin conducted a number of experiments in developing his dirigible. He struggled for nearly four years with the various problems without significant success. One of the most difficult problems to solve was that of finding a suitable engine to power the dirigible. All available auto-mobile engines were far too heavy and their power-to-weight ratio was so low that it required an exceedingly heavy engine to overcome the relatively large wind resistance against which the dirigible was required to operate. 

Baldwin's solution to the problem came when he discovered a lightweight air-cooled motorcycle engine built by Glenn Hammond Curtiss, of Hammondsport, New York, later to become one of the dominant figures in American aviation.  Baldwin contacted Curtiss, who agreed to build a special engine for Baldwin's dirigible. When the engine was completed, Curtiss brought it to San Francisco and helped install it in the new dirigible.  Thus, Baldwin has often been credited with interesting Curtiss in aeronautics.

Baldwin called the dirigible the "California Arrow."  It had an elongated gasbag fifty-four feet in length and was about seventeen feet in diameter.  Below the gasbag was a long triangular-shaped frame with contained the ten horsepower, sixty pound Curtiss