6i6 



POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



RECENT PROGRESS IN AERIAL NAVIGATION. 



i;v CHARLES II. COCHRANE, M. E. 



THE recent successful trips of the Zeppelin airship make it appro- 

 priate io review and illustrate some of the less known attempts 

 at aerial navigation. Somewhat similar in plan to Count von Zeppe- 

 lin's enormous airship is the dirigible flying-machine shown in Fig. 1, 

 with which at various times during 1897 and 1898 Dr. K. I. Danilew- 

 sky, of Charkov, Russia, made excursions. The object of making the 

 balloon sausage-shaped was. of course, that its forward end might be 

 brought toward the wind, and then, with the nose pointed upwards, as 

 in the illustration, its under surface served somewhat as that of a kite. 

 The wings were made about twelve feet in length, and it was found 



Fig. 1. lH.Ni i. i:\vsky\s i.ukigiblk Balloon. 



possible to handle them so as to turn the balloon entirely around in the 

 air. and also to keep it practically stationary in a moderate breeze. 



M. de Santos Dumont has sailed about the Eiffel Tower in Paris 

 in the dirigible balloon shown in Fig. 2. It was 65 feet long. 25 in 

 diameter and contained 17,658 cubic feet of gas. He used a small 

 petroleum engine for controlling the rudder and aeroplane. The re- 

 ports are thai he was able to navigate very much at will. Fig. 3 

 is another form of dirigible balloon tried by M. Dumont. This was 

 also reasonably successful. 



Fig- • represents a machine designed by Frederick P. Merritt, 

 with windmill sails below and on both sides of his balloon, and a 

 mechanism for feathering them in such a manner as to drive the craft 

 either forward- or backwards. 



