OCR Text |
Show 7 TmJ4omnPoi Dam imwfm l)y the aid of that niont marvelous nodern Invention Walter Wellmnn. rVnuhltiRton corroi)onilcnt of the Chl-mK Chl-mK Kcrord-Hcrnld nncl noted nrctle uplorer. Is ninklnR a third nttcmpr j to rrnrh the north polo. Of the count- ' tenr ntiiiihcr of utti'inpta to conquer i tho clumcnU nf tlio fnr north few. if j iny. hnvo over excited tlio Interest of this expedition of Mr. Wellmnn and kin chosen companions. , It Is thlH thliiK of Rolns about It In ! t new wny tlmt llftH tho Wollmnn txpedltlon to n piano IiIkIi above nil provlous cfforlK In point of Interest thnt plnccn It In n class by Iteolf. Tho ' devices fixed upon by Mr. Wellman ! wore ocleclcd because they wcro tho latest offcrlnKS science has mado which wcro avallablo for tho purposes of tlio OKpecllllon. Tho two expeditions mado by Mr. Wellman. ono In 189t and tho other In 1897-08, lllto thoe of all other explorers, ex-plorers, wero mnile on th theory that Iho polo could bn reached If Hlcdgcs irawn by doRg. Tho ilrnt of these expeditions ex-peditions wnn mado from SpltzborKeu tnd tbo bccoik) from Krauz Joseph Land. . Tho s.imo obstacles encountered encoun-tered by other explorers wele met by Mr. Wollmnn, and tho trials were futile, fu-tile, except In that they furnished tho txplorvr with n compruhenslvo ltnowl-rdpe ltnowl-rdpe nf conditions both ntmospherlc and by hind and water. It wni thU fund of Information that suggested tho methods to bo employed In the forthcoming effort. Front an eatdly reached base of operations op-erations In northern Hpltzbergen, latitude lat-itude 80 dCBncs CO minute, tho dls-Unco dls-Unco to tho mathematical polo la but 560 miles, making tho lllght there and return 1.100 geographical miles. Cal-tulatlng Cal-tulatlng tho dlKtanco at 1,'jdo miles, thero would bu required but 100 hours ftf nlmtilik nifitnrltii nf tlm rntn nf 1? anlpliiirle acid and Iron shavings, and IC.r. tons of thete materials, carefully selected, wcro shipped to tho expedition's expedi-tion's base on Dane's Island. Tho ascensional as-censional power of tho Inflated bag Is 15,300 pounds. The weight of the ship Iteelf and Its equipment and crew Is 7.000 pounds, leaving approximately 8,000 pounds for cargo. Tho gasoline carried weighs G.G0O, which Is equal to a power enduranco of 1C0 hours' motoring mo-toring with tho 70 horsepowor motor In full operation. At the rate of from 12 to 1C miles an hour this means that' . tho airship will bo able to travel 1,800 miles In calm air, or far enough to i carry tho airship from the baso of sup- , piles to tho polo' and back and then ! back to tho polo ngaln. What the Car Will Carry. Suspended from tho bng Is tho car, or basket, which contains tho motors,, gasollno supply, cabins for tho explorers, explor-ers, motor sledgf pclcntlftc npparatus and fond supply. This last Horn weighs 800 pounds and la contained In a chest containing 16 cubic feet. When It Is Htatrd that this supply Is sufficient suffi-cient to nourish flvo men for 7C days some Idea of tho great economy of spuco being practiced may be gained. Of course, tbo disposition of tho weight In tho car Is such ns to Insure perfect balnnco under normal conditions. Tho gasollno reservoirs aro four In number, two at each extreme end of tho car. In tho engine-room Is placed, besides tho motors, tho wireless telegraph apparatus. ap-paratus. Tho car Is C2 feet Jonft by six foet by eight feet In Its other dimensions. di-mensions. Its construction represents tho maximum of strength and tho minimum min-imum of weight, being entlroly of steel tubing. brenka down at Umcs and becomes utterly ut-terly useless, but the proportion of efficiency Is great enough to make au-tomobllo au-tomobllo construction one of the big Industries of tlio country. The Well-man Well-man airship holds the same relation to tho possible hlgh-upced airship ot the future as the automobile In Its present stage of development does to tho possible non-breakable automobile of the future. It Is possible tlrat the preliminary (lights or trials at Dane's Island .may Indicate weaknesses or faults; but If such Is the case tho fa-clIltlcB fa-clIltlcB at tho base for remedying them aro oll-sufnqlcnt. Tho airship that starts' to tho polo will bo a well-behaved, ciwlly managed ship of thr-requisite thr-requisite speed when tho start Is made If It develops untractable traits after that It will be becauso conditions arise which cannot bo foreseen or because machinery breaks down, a contingency which arises whenever machinery Is used. Mr. Wellman's Own Views. It Is Interesting to noto that In tho gossipy discussions of the venturo by men who pretend to know nothing of aeronautics nor the polar regions, tho i two objections most often urged nre tho two which caused Mr. Wellman and his associates In tho construction and outfitting of the ship the most perplexity. per-plexity. Tbo manner In which he proposes pro-poses to overcome ono of these dangers thnt from fast, adverse winds has been explained by Mr. Wellman. thus. "Wo have already explnlned hot. we. hope to make progress with our alr- 1 ship by means ot our motors and 'screws when the winds are favorahlo In direction, and also when they aro unfavorable, but not of too groat velocity ve-locity What aro wo going to do when they blow adversely and also too ( strongly to permit us to advance with tho motors? "This brings us to one of the fundamental funda-mental features of tho method which wo hnvo adopted. It Is this: "1. With favorahlo winds or unfavorable unfa-vorable winds of relatively small velocities ve-locities motor at a proper speed of from ton to 1,7 geographical miles per Jiour, with 12 miles per hour as por- I hups tho mean speed. "2. With unfavorable winds of hlgh- 1rrrrTr7l7fV frfglPi ,lwma1JSri6- " MChotf oiiti" V l,"rJC?lrJWir.'WI'-.l'ii:'' I - ,. tvtt " iZ,.yiiz5 I mow ermts otw vj' J t u 33HPnn yv Ci 7; mi""" u "" fcsaLr " DIAGRAM OF THE WELLMAN AIR SHIP. Showing, the equipment of the expedition, and how It Is arranged In the car, and showing a section of the material of the ship. ' miles an hour Santos-Dumnnt repeat-idly repeat-idly had mndo 19 to 23 miles nn hour with small airships equipped with correspondingly cor-respondingly small motors. The Lo-bntidy Lo-bntidy ship had mado 25 miles an hour, and Its averngo speed through a long lerles of flights hnd beon aboro 20 miles an hour, Under nil conditions In which airship flights hnvo been mado a speed ot from 12 to 1ft mllea an hour has been enslly obtainable. Description of Ship. A general description of tho nlrshlp ta as follows: In length It U 1C4 fccL Us greatest diameter Is C2 ftot. Tho materials of which tho bag Is mado aro pure rubber and silk, with tlio top ot tho bag a perfectly smooth surfneo, which will not nccumulato frost, snow or sleet, and thereby decrease tho ascensional power. Dy a simple devlco provision has been mndo for tho removal of anow from tho top of tho ship. Tho propelling power of tho airship lies In three motors, of the Inner combustion com-bustion type and using gasoline for fuel, Tho combined horsepower of the motors Is 100, although tho contract con-tract called for only 7C. Tho largest motor Is 70 horsopower, and In calm air provides a speed of from 12 to 14 miles an hour. With nil motora work-ins, work-ins, the ship will bo driven 19 miles an hour In calms. The surfneo of tho bag measures 21,. 098 squaro feet, and tho volumo Is 221.-25 221.-25 cublo feet. Tho hydrogen with which Ui bag Is InllatoJ It nude ot I ( r Tho powor from the motors Is transmitted trans-mitted to a shaft at either end of which Is a Bcrow propeller with broad blades, which offer tho greatest efficiency. effi-ciency. Tho forward screw Is 18', feet In diameter nnd the rear screw four feet loss In dlnmctcr. Thero Ib but ono ruddor, which Is nbovo the car and below tho rear end of tho bag. This rudder Is operated from tho engine-room with n sltnplo steering apparatus. ap-paratus. lielow tho car there Is susponded n steel lifeboat, nonslnknble and noucap-slrablo, noucap-slrablo, hut of very light weight. This boat represents tho precaution against tho chnnco of tho destruction ot the ship or Its sinking Into open water. Into It nro packed when not In uso tho rabies for th,o gsilde rope nnd tho retarder, two ot tho most Important attachments of tho nlrshlp. In tho construction ot both bag and enr tho utmost enro has been exercised and only tho highest possible quality ot materials used. A rigid systom of material Inspection was maintained to reduce to tho minimum the chances of flawed materials Inadvertently being used. Such, In brief, Is the nlrshlp In which will bo mndo tlio mont remarkable remark-able Journoy In history It represents tho highest degree of skill known to tho machlnlcal work No principle In tho construction of the ship Itself or ot Its propolllng nppllnnces has been followed fol-lowed which has not been proved to bo sound and thoroughly practicable. Tho monster bag and Its attachments do not stand for n theorj nny moro than does tho automobile jthat eklms tho boulevards, Tho I automobile Vt ' A er velocities stop tho motors and throw out upon tbo Ico meet ovei which wo nro sailing i dingglng nn-chor nn-chor or rotnrdnteur a dovlco calculated calculat-ed to offor tho maximum of resistance Jn proportion to Its weight and by this means to drift slowly with tho ad verso wind. "Assuming that this method works out ns well In practlco as In theory and thero nro many reasons for bollov-Ing bollov-Ing thnt It will do so to at least a fair dogreo we have then this principle: "1. That tho winds that blow with our course, directly or obliquely, tdd their movements to tho advnnco which wo expect to mnko with our motors nnd help us ho much on our wny. "2. Out contrary winds of velocities greater thnn our motor speed, or so great that motoring against ttiem would bo an uneconomical uso of furl, aro not losses to bo deducted at full vnluo from the progress of tho air-ship,' air-ship,' btvnus tho Influenco of such winds Is largely neutralized by tho notion no-tion of tho dragging anchor or re-tnrdntrur. re-tnrdntrur. "In oilier words, all o'f the value of favorable winds Is placed on the credit side of our ledger or log, while only a part of tho vnluo of tho unfavorable winds hns to bo written down on the debit side. "And tho significance of this, In Ufa last analysts, Is that It will requlro a most extraordinary combination ol circumstance to prevent us getting more help than hlndranco from tin winds." Tho expedition Is distinctly Amorl can, for nil tho mechanical aid thai foreign -countries have given In thi preparations, nnd for tho deep Inferos they nro taking In tho project It Is ac American Journalist, backed by nr American newspaper, to whom credit Is due tor the bold and Intelligent con ceptlon. It Is typically American that all of Bdenco nnd the arts that other nations had lo offsr has been marshaled mar-shaled under tho American flag for tht norlal Journey Into tho unkntsrn north. The giant airship has been christened tho "America," nnd, If the next fow weeks shall demonstrate that tho plans ot Mr, Wellman wero well founded nnd tho explorer shall sail triumphantly to the pole, the first act will bo the dropping of the American Stars and Stripes over the spot which has lured nearly a thousand brave men to their deaths. |