Show TWERPS AIR CASTLE A Structure Expected to Rival the Ferris Wheel The International exhibition at Antwerp Ant-werp next year is piqmised an aerial novelty that shall eclipse anything in that line ever attempted It has been planned by M Tobiansky a civil engineer en-gineer His castle in the air is to oe constructed of steel tubes aluminum bamboo and other light but strong materials It will be covered partly by China silk and partly with steel netting so as to give the impression of a building and at the same time to allow the wind to go freely through the structure and thus offer less resistance resis-tance The floor of the castle will be made of bamboo and steel tubes it will measure thirtythree yards in length by about eight yards in width This castle in the air is carried by a combined com-bined balloon composed of two hemispherical I hem-ispherical balloons and four cylindrical ones each of which consists of a complete com-plete and independent balloon These six parts of a capacity of about 12000 to 15000 cubic meters each are made of double China silk made gas proof by a special process Those six bal lons are held together by being put in a strong silk netting assuming the shape of a bag this gives a better outward appearance and is used to fasten at the bottom of the netting a strong steel tube to which is fastened the castle The balloon and the castle are fastened fast-ened to the ground by five ropes each of which has a strength of resistance of twentyfive tons To counteract the strength of the wind the balloon is covered at the top with a second silk net to which sixteen steel cables carrying strength fifteen tons each are fastened in a diagonal direction thus holding the structure in the same position The balloon will be shaped so as to offer a pointed end toward the wind prevailing in Antwerp northwest north-west and will be able to stand a pressure I pres-sure of 200 pounds and over The turning turn-ing point or part where the castle is fastened to the balloon is also anchored an-chored to the ground with steel cables thus ensuring the stability of the castle cas-tle even should the balloon be rocked by a strong wind I There will be two lifts made out of I bamboo aluminiumand sted tubing I which will glide along the vertical cables already mentioned They will be connected by a steel cable and arranged ar-ranged so as to form a counterweight to each other By means of those lifts ten to fifteen people will beable to ascend or descend every six minutes The castle could be lowered to the ground by the combined action of nineteen nine-teen steel cranes in twenty minutes it is however arranged that it shall float fa the air even during the strongest strong-est winds The loss of gas will be made good by a gasmaking apparatus transmitting the gas from the ground through a silk tube which will be hoisted up when required Since four of the small balloons bal-loons are quite sufficient to carry the structure and 100 to 150 people it would be an easy matter to replace or repair one of the balloons should it be necessary Not only will the castle be a great attraction in the Antwerp exhibition ex-hibition it will also be useful for scientific purposesweather observations I observa-tions astronomical studies studies on I the speed of falling of different substances sub-stances optic telegraphy by day and night and many others At night 5000 Edison electric lamps will light it up and since the ropes I and cables will not be sepn it will form a curious sight Powerful electric elec-tric searchlights which can be fastened I fas-tened at any desired height will afford an opportunity of making experiments I of central lighting stations A sort of imitation of moonlight will also be tried The inventor of the castle has been working out his scheme for the last four years and had more than once to fight against ignorance doubt or indifference I Acommittee was chosen by the central S cen-tral committee of the Antwerp exhibition S j exhi-bition and composed of officers of the 1 aeronautical department in the army i aeronauts engineers and men of science it reported on the scheme and I found it workable and based on sound S principles The inventor was then able j i to find a few men of position and 1 wealth with whom he started a limited S company to work out the patent with I i a large capital |