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Show How Aeronauts Land : 5 : Safely From Balloons : i :.t To find a Method for effecting a ssfe landing fur lh occupanta of balloons and airships of various constructions and at the same time preserving the balloon from dentructlon, haa been one of the moat difficult problem! of aerial navigation. I'ntll a few yean ago the only appllanrea for effecting a landing with which balloona were equipped was a valve at the top of the balloon that could be opened from the baaket by means of a line and an anchor, suspended from a rnpe, about fifty Tarda In length. Benin after the balloon bal-loon had aarended to a sufficient bight the anchor, a email thing, with four or all flukes, waa dropped and remain, re-main, d hanging during the entire trip, fifty yarda bcluw the baaket. The upper end of the anchor cable wna I ' 1 ' attached to tho ring fri.il which the banket waa auapended. When the balloon had been allowed to alnk within a ahort distance from the eurface and a landing waa to be made, the anchor came In contact with the ground. The balloon, driven by the wind, bounced over the ground, dragging the anchor behind, until the latter caught firmly enough to bring the racing balloon to a atop. In cases where the ground waa too soft to al low the anchor to catch hold the bal- t loon waa frequently dragged for long dlatancea, until all the gaa had ea-eaped. ea-eaped. In such saces, not only the balloon itmlf, but the lives of the passengers pas-sengers In lis baaket, were endangered, endan-gered, and many aeronaut met with a terrible death while they attempted , to land. " . ' i i . More raUor methods liav) -Slip-planted that primitive atria of effecting effect-ing a landing during the last few " . years. Balloona have ceased to be ; l 'A' . i A ..; . mere objects of curlonlty; they have won an Important position aa means for scientific Investigations and aa Instruments of warfare. For that reason rea-son It Is ncceasary to equip a balloon with varloua appliances adapted to aba manifold exigencies of an attempt at-tempt to effect a landing. The mnat Important parts of such equlpmeut ment consist In a drag cable and an arrangement which enables the aeronaut aero-naut to quickly release the gaa contained con-tained In the bnllonn. In caee the hold of the anchor should prove Insufficient to bear the strain. The valve of the balloon le not mentioned In the list, aa It merely serves to let part of the gaa eacape. so as to bring the balloon nearer to the ground. To decrease the weight of the balloon one cable, about a hundred yards long, may be used both for dragging purposes and for holding the anchor. In attempting to effect a landing the long cable Is paid out and a part of It tests upon the ground. The balloon, relieved of the weight of that part of the cable resting rest-ing upon the ground, rlaea again, until un-til It reaches a height of thirty to fifty yards. If it Is propelled by the wind It will drag the cable behind. The lower part of the cable Is purposely of rough texture, so as to Increase the friction and reduce the speed of the balloon. If there la enough ballast left In the baaket the voyage may be continued for miles, until a place la reached which seems favorable for landing purposes. .. Andrea bad lntendel to reach the pole In this manner, by allowing himself him-self to be driven by the wtud, remaining remain-ing In oloae proximity to the surface by mean of one ur more drag cables. While the lower hair of the cable Is Intended primarily for dragging purposes, pur-poses, the upper part la to serve for connecting the balloon with the anchor. an-chor. A large knot forms the dividing point between the two parts of the cable and, at the same time, a Arm resting place for the anchor. When the anchor, attached to the basket, Is released, It does not suddenly drop until un-til the knot stops Its further desexut, but gradually slides downward. ' a friction buffer ssrvlng aa biKku. Borne aeronauts do not carry an anchor an-chor at all, but depend altogether on the drag cable and a devlre for Instantaneously Instan-taneously releasing the gaa contained In the balloon. That device, which, In France, where It originated, Is called "corde de la misericords." or line of mercy, consisted In Its original form In a strong line aewed Into the cover of the balloon, In auch a manner that by a strong pull at Its lower end the covering cov-ering of the balloon could be ripped. In Uermany an Improved device of similar construction la used, consisting consist-ing of a atrip of alr-tlght cloth, pasted past-ed on the Inside of the balloon over one of the seama, purposely left open. To the upper end of that atrip a strong cord Is attached, which leads to the baaket, where It la safely secured to prevent a premature emptying of the balloon. When the time has arrived ar-rived to make use of that device, the aeronaut has only to pull at that cord and the atrip la torn from the seam, thus allowing the gas to escape within with-in a few seconds. It requires a cool head and good Judgment to make the proper use of that device. The proper prop-er time for ripping the balloon la at the moment when tae balloon l touching the ground, or at least, qnlte near It. To release the gaa suddenly while the balloon la more than ten or flftoen feet above the ground la extremely ex-tremely dangerous, as the balloon, suddenly collapalng, drops to the ground like a shot. The procedure In effecting a landing Is comparatively simple, but requires some experience and perfect composure com-posure on the part of the directing aeronaut Scanning the country carefully care-fully In the direction toward which the balloon Is drifting, he chooses a suitable plare for the landing. The valve Is opened and the balloon begin to sink. When It hss reached a distance dis-tance of about fifty yards from the surface the drag cable la dropped. The progreaa of the balloon becomes a great deal Blower, owing to the friction fric-tion ot the cable, and the aeronaut can now decide where he wlahea to land. A convenient creek or ditch, with high banks, offers a suitable hold for the anchor, and the latter la allowed to slide down. For a ahort distance It la dragged over the ground, but finally It takes a firm hold i-nd the wind lay the balloon on Ita side, the baaket retting upon the ground. Then the moment baa arrived for the pulling of the "ripping cord." One strong pull Mow sv BeJIoon Waa Upset With Ita Paeeengsre. and with algh the gaa escapes from the balloon. The voyage has reached Ita end. Dragging the Ce-ble. |