Part 2 (1/2)
The first Spencer air-shi+p was built for experiht weight, and was thus a great contrast to the ible which carries a crew of thirty or forty people Mr Spencer hts in his little craft at the Crystal Palace, and so successful were they that he deterer craft
The second Spencer air-shi+p, first launched in 1903, was nearly 100 feet long There was one very important distinction between this and other air-shi+ps built at that time: the propeller was placed in front of the craft, instead of at the rear, as is the case in h the air much after the reat enthusiasm was aroused in London by the announcement that Mr Spencer proposed to fly from the Crystal Palace round the do-place
This was a er journey than that made by Santos-Dumont when he won the Deutsch prize
Tens of thousands of London's citizens turned out to witness the novel sight of a giant air-shi+p hovering over the heart of their city, and it was at once seen what enormous possibilities there were in the employment of such craft in ti the dense crowds and hearing everywhere such remarks as these:
”What would happen if a few bombs were thrown over the side of the air-shi+p?” ”Will there be air-fleets in future, ht in people'sable to conized that air-shi+p construction had now advanced so far that it was only a matter of ti of the air-shi+p was an affair of grave international iht, sailed majestically from the south, but when it reached the Cathedral it refused to turn round and face the wind Try how he ress It was a thrilling sight to witness this battle with the eleest city in the world At ti quite still, head to wind
Unfortunately, half a gale had sprung up, and the 24-horse-power engine was quite incapable of conquering so stiff a breeze, and allant atteave up in despair, and let the monster air-shi+p drift with the wind over the northern suburbs of the city until a favourable landing-place near Barnet was reached, where he descended
The Spencer air-shi+ps are of the non-rigid type Spencer air-shi+p A co and 24 feet in diameter, with a capacity of 26,000 cubic feet The framework is of polished ash wood, made in sections so that it can easily be taken to pieces and transported, and the length over all is 56 feet Two propellers 7 feet 6 inches diameter, made of satin-wood, are eine of from 35 to 40 horse-power
Spencer's air-shi+p B is aand 35 feet in diaen of 100,000 cubic feet
The framework is of steel and alu aeronauts, ers It is driven with two petrol aerial engines of from 50 to 60 horse-power
About the tie air-shi+p, Dr Barton, of Beckenhaer craft This he laid down in the spacious grounds of the Alexandra Park, to the north of London An enormous shed was erected on the northern slopes of the park, but visitors to the Alexandra Palace, intent on a peep at the monster air-shi+p under construction, were sorely disappointed, as the ut of the craft was e balloon was 43 feet in diaas capacity of 235,000 cubic feet To maintain the external form of the envelope a ser one The frahty wire-cables The wooden deck was about 123 feet in length Two 50-horse-power engines drove four propellers, two of which were at either end
The inventor eenious contrivance to preserve the horizontal balance of the air-shi+p Fitted, one at each end of the carriage, were two 50-gallon tanks These tanks were connected with a long pipe, in the centre of which was a hand-pump When the bow of the air-shi+p dipped, the man at the pump could transfer some of the water froht itself
The water could similarly be transferred from the after-tank to the fore-tank when the stern of the craft pointed doards
There were many reports, in the early ht out frohts, and the writer, in common with many other residents in the vicinity of the park, made dozens of journeys to the shed in the expectation of seeing the ible sail away But foralways seeht had to be postponed
At last, in 1905, the first ascent took place It was unsuccessful The huge balloon, made of tussore silk, cruised about for sorief in landing
A clever inventor of air-shi+ps, a young Welshned in 1910, an air-shi+p in which he flew from Cardiff to London in the dark--a distance of 139 lish Channel a little later
Mr Willows has a large shed in the London aerodro there on a new air-shi+p For some time he has been the only successful private builder of air-shi+ps in Great Britain The Navy possess a small Willows air-shi+p
Messrs Vickers, the fa attention to the construction of air-shi+ps for the Navy, in their works at Walney Island, Barrow-in-Furness This fir, 150 feet broad, and 98 feet high In this shed two of the largest air-shi+ps can be built side by side Close at hand is an extensive factory for the production of hydrogen gas
At each end of the roof are towers fro an air-shi+p fro, the redoubtable DORA (Defence of the Real forward in the way of additions to our air forces But it reat constructive progra since the citizens of Glasgoere treated to the spectacle of a full-sized British ”Zep” circling round the city prior to her journey south, and so to regions unspecified And use, too, is being found by the naval arm for that curious hybrid the ”Blimp”, which may be described as a cross between an aeroplane and an air-shi+p
CHAPTER VIII The First Attempts to Steer a Balloon
For nearly a century after the invention of the Montgolfier and Charlier balloons there was not ress made in the science of aeronautics
True, inventors such as Charles Green suggested and carried out newballoons, and scientific observations of great importance were made by balloonists both in Britain and on the Continent But in the all-iress was for many years practically at a standstill All that the balloonist could do in controlling his balloon was to uide its direction of flight No doubt pioneers of aeronautics early turned their attention to the proble their craft
One inventor suggested the hoisting of a huge sail at the side of the envelope; but when this was done the balloon simply turned round with the sail to the front It had no effect on the direction of flight of the balloon ”Would not a rudder be of use?” someone asked This plan was also tried, but was equally unsuccessful