NAVIGATING THE AIR 



Dumont made use of a sKding weight, and with this he 

 guided his balloon upward and downward by shifting 

 its position. Thus, although this balloon was a veritable 

 balloon rather than a "flying-machine" proper, it 

 really lacked the one essential common to balloons: 

 it would not rise until propelled by mechanical means. 

 It lacked the requisite of the flying-machine, however, 

 in that it was not "many times heavier than the air." 

 After giving this new balloon several preliminary trials, 

 which included such exciting incidents as collisions 

 with a tree in the Bois du Boulogne, an official attempt 

 was made on October 29th, 1800. Above the heads of 

 the gaping thousands, who, to a man, wished the daring 

 navigator success, the balloon rounded the tower, and 

 in twenty-nine minutes and thirty seconds from the 

 moment of starting — thirty seconds less than the 

 prescribed time-limit — the trip was successfully ter- 

 minated. 



This voyage must be considered as marking an epoch 

 in aerial navigation. The dirigible balloon was accom- 

 plished. A decided step forward in the conquest of the 

 air had been made, although from a practical standpoint 

 this step was confessedly a short one. For while No, 

 6 could be propelled in any direction under ordinary 

 conditions, carrying a single passenger, it was on the 

 whole more of a toy ship than a practical sailing-craft. 

 Nevertheless, its performance was a decided victory for 

 the balloon over the flying-machine. No flying-machine 

 of whatever type had ever even approached the perform- 

 ance of Santos-Dumont No. ^, which had carried a 

 man on a voyage in the air, traveling with the wind, 



