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popularity reached its peak here in the United States in the early 1900's, credit for which must be given to the early pioneers such as Baldwin, Knabenshue, and Beachey. In Europe, the dirigible seemed to create interest primarily as a potential military weapon and its development proceeded there along those lines. Perhaps this was influenced by the growing unrest in the soon war-torn countries. In America the dirigible seems to have been regarded more as a scientific curiosity which favored its being used in public exhibitions, such as fairs and parades, which developed in this country in the early years of the century. 
One of the fundamental differences between early American and European dirigibles was the system used to control the pressure of the lighter-than-air gas in the bag. Sufficient pressure was required to inflate the bag and so it became semi-rigid and would resist deflection or collapse when moving forward against the wind. Santos-Dumont, for example, had an external ballooned which was connected with the main bag and which could be inflated with air to counteract gas leakage or contraction due to temperature change. A blower was used to transfer the gases from the ballooned into the main bag. 
Early American dirigibles, such as the "California Arrow," were simpler because they were not designed to be in the air more than 15 to 30 minutes. In this type, the aeronaut would press his hand or punch his knuckles against the bag at intervals to check the gas pressure. If the bag became too slack they would cut short their flight. If it became too tight, due to overheating from the sun or rising air temperatures, they would unite the appendix, which was 

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