170 PROGRESS WITH AIR SHIPS. 



gas and of the air in the ballonet. To the aeronaut's left (in the 

 photograph he is turned a))out) is the ventilator fan, driven by a belt 

 from the engine, ^vhich drives air through the pipe up into this bal- 

 lonet. To his right is a metal funnel, eontinued below the car, in 

 which to empty the sand ballast, so as not to allow any dust to get 

 into the engine. The engineer sits in rear of the motor, and here is 

 to be seen another of the precautionary measures which are so abund- 

 antly provided. The white square seen in the photograph in rear of 

 the engines is a thin plate of metal to protect the engineer in case of 

 anything going wrong with the screw, a detached portion of which, 

 traveling at so great a speed, might do nmch damage. Below the back 

 of the car is the exhaust from the engine, the opening of which is 

 inclosed in a l)all of wire gauze. A store of oil to last lifteen hours is 

 carried under the car. A small extincteur is carried in case of fire. 



It is with some surprise that one notices how very strongly and 

 solidly all these parts are constructed. Aluminum is conspicuous by 

 its absence, everything is made of steel, and there seems no attempt 

 to make it specially light. 



The entire weight lifted l)y the balloon, incduding passengers, is 

 given as 5,700 pounds. 



The shed in which this enormous vessel is housed is also very well 

 constructed. It is of wood, Avell stayed and trussed, with huge doors 

 across one end. The floor is cemented, a well being made in the cen- 

 ter for the car to rest in. The arrangements for guiding the airship 

 out of the shed are vevy neat. Along each side of the hall, and along 

 the center, run double rails close together. Four guy ropes depend 

 from the balloon, two on each side. These end with an iron ring and 

 ball, which ball is gripped by the rails, a similar ball is attached to the 

 bottom of the car and is held by the third pair of rails. When the 

 vessel is to be taken out, a man stands to each of the rings and slides 

 it along the rails. The rails are continued outside the building, so 

 that even when the machine is well outside, it is still secured b}' the 

 gu3^s. When all is ready to start, the ropes are detached from the 

 rings and the balloon is free. 



As regards tne journe}' s actually made, the first proper ascent was 

 efiected on April 11, Avhen the machine rose at 8.15 a. m. and remained 

 up for half an hour, covering in that time 19 kilometers. Later in 

 the same daj" it made a second ascent, and stayed up for an hour. On 

 Ma}^ 8 an important journey was made, the air ship proceeding to the 

 town of Mantes, 10 kilometers distant, where it went through various 

 evolutions, went on to Rosny, and then returned to its shed at Moisson, 

 completing altogether some 23 miles in an hour and a half. On a later 

 occasion even this record was beaten, the machine going a journey 

 lasting two and three-quarter hours, and traversing* over 61 miles. 

 These trips were not, apparently, made during the most favorable 



