Show THE AIR SHIP jI j I In Andrew Langs novel The Mark of Cain there is introduced a wouldbe inventor of a flying machine and his apparatus While to some extent the customary ridicule is heaped upon the unfortunate inventor and his useless use-less machine of straps screws pulleys and bolts yet the mind of I the author is evidently disturbed While catering to popular prejudice he yet has an idea in his own inner consciousness that the hair brained inventor may be right that an air ship is not only possible but probable and that the laugh of the world is the foolishness of the blind who laugh at what they see not There is no doubt but that the hairbrainness of the air ship enthusiast is spreading It is becoming contagious Where ten years ago one man entertained a conviction that the air could be successfully navigated navi-gated in the interests of travel and traffic there are now thousands holding the same view After all it is but a conflict of the intellectual with the material a fight of mind with matter and science must triumph in the end That this end is not so far distant dis-tant and his triumph almost at hand is of daily demonstration The Nineteenth Century will yet be honored by the perfecting per-fecting of this great invention and the fleets of the air will outnumber the fleets of the sea Of Brau ns ElectricDynamo Air Ship the latest candidate for successful success-ful aerial navigation the Scientific American 1 Ameri-can gives the following account The balloon of this air ship is in the form of half a cigar presenting a flat underside under-side and made with a number of independent independ-ent gas cells seven of these cells being represented in the view given in our illustration illus-tration but these cells aro again divided longitudinally with the axis of the ship thus making fourteen separate compartments compart-ments in all The base and contiguous faces of the cells or chambers are straight their exterior being curved to conform to the desired shape of the balloon and the walls of the cells may be made of silk or other fabric impervious to air or they may < c J J be made of thin sheets of alnmimnm ana These cells or chambers are surrounded netting or covering maK held together by a whose bottom is ing a sectional gasholder framework with horizon supported upon a tal MOSS pieces resting in the middle upon a gratelike keel a binding wire or rope around the outer edge connecting passing and horizontal cross pieces the ends of the holding the netting or covering in place from this The boat or cabin is suspended framework and from it the elevating propelling and steering apparatus is controlled The cabin carries a battery for the motors a windlass with cable and grappling hook compass electric lamp for night work instantaneous in-stantaneous photographic apparatus and other conveniences The controlling idea in this construction is to have the balloon comparatively small so that the whole apparatus when the gas cells are filled will be about the ordinary weight of air the ascensional and propelling pro-pelling power to be obtained from an electric motor of any approved form one of two horse capacity being deemed to have ample power to make a practically operative opera-tive air ship according to this invention The elevating and propelling mechanism consists of two horizontally revolving wheels operated from the main shaft mounted in the car each wheel being an air screw or an elevator and a propeller combinedthe air screw being directly above the propeller which is designed to act upon the air like the wine of a bird regulating also the course of the ship to right or left by means of a hand wheel under the control of the aeronaut in the cabinwhere by also the vanes or blades of the propeller screw maybe may-be readily changed to different inclinations The rudder is operated by a tubular steering I rod supported within the car with a stationary sta-tionary bracket and having a hand lever whereby the rudder is adapted to be rotated about its longitudinal axis and be deflected laterally to its axis In order to compensate compen-sate for tho weight of the occupants and keep the vessel in a horizontal position a shifting weight is employed adapted to run on wire ropes or tracks the weight being attached at-tached to and moved by an endless band this weight under the framework forward and the rudder at the stern both being made to act as balances and under control by the aeronaut from a common standpoint in the cabin This invention has been patented by Dr Martin Braun of Cape Vincent N Y |