The Wreck of "Santos Dumont No. 6" 419 



The situation was now evidently becoming critical. In pitching 

 the balloon came to be standing (Plate II, Fig. 3) very nearly 

 vertically, first on the one end and then on the other. The after 

 and, at the time, lower end was now seen to shrink ; the valve had 

 been opened and gas was escaping. The mechanical effect of the 

 loss of gas was the diminution of stiffness ; the balloon buckled 

 upwards i Fig. 4) about one-third of its length from the rear end. 

 The rudder is stepped into a socket outside the propeller. Its 

 upper end is hold by a spar close to the body of the balloon and 

 secured to the netting. The moment that this part of the 

 balloon lost its stiffness and floated ui it took the rudder 



out of its lower support, and it was thereby rendered useless. 

 The balloon was now unmanageable and was falling. The 

 launch was steamed full speed to catch the guide-rope and to 

 render assistance as might be required. The situation was one 

 of great and for a minute or so it was impossible to 



give attention to anything except the jeopardy of the aeronaut. 

 The guide-rope was got into the launch before the balloon 

 reached the water, and a course was made as quickly as possible 

 for the landing-place. M. Santos Dumont's balloon carries a 

 liijht girder made of wooden spars, laced by wire, and it is 



ended by a network of wire. This is. properly speaking, 



the rar of the balloon, and it carries everything the aeronaut 



in his basket, the motor with propeller and shaft, the ballast, etc. 



It- length i- three-tifths of that of the balloon, and it hangs 



between four and live, yards below it. The length of tin balloon 



is 34 metres, or about 37 yards. In falling it was the after part 



<>f the girder with the propeller \\hi< h touched the water first. It 



to observe that a photograph taken at this monu nt 



III, I 5) shows that deflation had not yet assumed 



ulerable proportions, and tli.it tl.-- propeller was unini 1 '- 



but the rudder wa- h <m tin- i, lhe lain. 



ued towards tin lauding stage. I h< \\md. a h.-ht eddy, 



e -i m bined effect of the 



i of tin- tou II.JM-. the pressu: -i.l. ami the still 



iderable lifting powri Sal loon rise 



u as a combined kite and balloon (Fig. 6), and in the launch 

 ifl hoped that tin- con things would last lorn 



-' 



