The Wreck of "Santos Dumont No. 6" 421 



girder, in the efforts made to raise it, had broken. The upper 

 part was detached and taken ashore. The submerged portion, 

 which contained the motor, was buoyed to a boat by one of 

 the loose iron wires. Grappling gear was got from the " Princesse 

 Alice," and the sunk portion was recovered and delivered on 

 shore by 5 o'clock. Thus ended the first wreck of an airship 

 at sea. 



The ideas which suggest themselves on witnessing excursions 



i as those of M. Santos Dumont are manifold. I may be 

 permitted, before concluding, to refer to two. Taking the 

 balloon or airship, when it was in a perfectly airworthy con- 

 dition and under way, the unfavourable feature was the 

 pitching. It is not possible to say what part the local circum- 

 stances may have played in producing or in starting it, but the 

 liability to excessive pitching is there, and it played a \ 

 important part in producing the accident. It natural 1\ 

 suggests itself to apply the same remedy to it which is found 

 effectual in reducing the rolling of ships namely, the appli- 

 cation of bilge pieces or keels. In the case of the balloon, 

 these would take the form of horizontal aeroplanes, whirh 

 would be useful for giving direction as well as for producing 

 steadiness. On the first day's excursion, when tin- balloon, 

 bring at a distance and rather below the level of the eye, was 

 in a position of truer perspective than on the other da\ 

 was impossible not to picture to oneselt the .n-n.pl. me in 

 conjunction with the motor develop^ more and more, 



while the balloon successively took smaller and smaller dimen- 

 sions, until it finally disappeared and left the tn; 

 machine. 



While the pitching was, in my opinion, th< ]>mi. ipal cause 



whieh produced the acrid* -nt. the accident would n 



become a di the balloon had behaved as a balloon 



behave. In an ordinary balloon the aeronaut rises 



MU' '"Hast and sinks by discharging gas. In 



M. Santos Dum< loon the case is the same as regards 



LC by discharge of ball. it but tit as regards 



sink; ordinary balloon when it ! but 



it preserves its geometrical form : he natural form 



