TO THE POIE BY AIRSHIP.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXI, Issue 464, 15 July 1909, Page 3

TO THE POIE BY AIRSHIP.

' A JOURNEY OF 1400 MILES CHANCES OF ZEPPELIN AND. WELLMAN. ‘ , Now that an Arctic storm ha; wrecked Mr Wellman’s shed, anc apparently postponed, sine die, hi: projected trip Spitzbergen ft . the Pole —and back again—Counl Zeppelin and his great colleague ' ' Professor Heregesell propose tc \ ' , launch on the undertaking. There > is bitle doubt that Zeppelin’s latest type of rigid dirigible airship is ’ much more likely to be able to > , perform the feat than is Mr Wellman’s non-rigid "America.” The distance to be travelled from Spitzbergen to the Pole is 700 ■ miles, , so, adding the return • journey, the distance to be covered t ' ,is 1400. miles. - Recently the Zeppelin made a non stop rim of 300 miles in 22 hours ; in runs with * . stoppages it has covered a much greater distance—according to the cablegram ,900 miles in 38 hours. ( Bat in the Far Ncrth there will, be no replenishment of supplies, no certainty of a suitable stopping place, and no protection against Arctic blizzards. • THE FUEL FACTOR. As to motive power, it has been pointed out that fuel may be saved by allowing the airship to drift with every favourable breeze in the - manner of an ordinary balloon. Count de la Vaulx has travelled over 1200 miles across Europe in a balloon in this manner; but drift--, ing- across Europe is one thing, and a journey to the Pole and back • again to a definite base is quite another. - THE ELEMENT OF SPEED. A writer in the Times is of opinion that Mr Wellman would have very little chauce of reaching the Pole m his “America” —which ■ is, Mas regards, the gas-bag, a very ’ ordinary type of non-rigid airship. . . . not at all well adapted for rough weather. Mr Wellman estimates that his speed will be about

x 8 miles an hour, but With a full load it will be very much unde: ■ that figure, ■and the writer believe: that even 20 miles an hour is fai v too slow J a speed for a ship at tempting such aMong and bazar dous journey as a trip to the Pole.’ The Zeppelin, it is to be noted, has shown speeds of 20 to 30 miles ac hour. The writer adds: — “Speed is one of the most essential factors in securing, the safety of the airship. The lower the speed the greater risk a vessel runs, other things being equal. If a ship has but a maximum speed of 20 miles an hour it cannot make direct headway against a wind of 21 miles an hour. A wind of 30 miles an hour would be, distinctly dangerous' if blowing against a 20since, as well • as blowing it backwards, it would probably buffet it, tend to'swing it ■ round broadside, and even lead:; up to the danger of the non-rigid gas ' envelope buckling or bending underthe great strain. This would ■ spell disaster, and as only 18 miles an 1 hour are claimed for the Well- ■ man—which estimate is probably too highlit is evident that the . ship will run serious risks in winds which a faster ship should cope with easily., RIGID TYPE PREFERRED. "Again, a ship driven by a petrol motor which can only give ’ a speed of 18 miles an hour cannot keep up this maximum speed long _ for fear of over-heating the engine. But if a persistent wind of 18 miles sprang up against the ship this maximum speed would have to be maintained as long as possible, or else the ship would run the danger of being driven back, or swept out of its course. An „ airship with a rigid envelope like the Zeppelin would incur less l; danger from excessive wind pressure.” ‘ After admitting the value of the “America's” naval trial-ropes, the writer proceeds';— - “Many other conditions peculiar to Arctic regions roust be considered. Snow or sleet showers might throw such a dead weight of frozen material on the gas envelope as to sink it low in the air and impede progress. The severe cold may seriously interfere with the carburetter of the engine, and freezing troubles with the water circulation will have to be coped .with. Even in our own climate the petrol engine develops various troubles in cpld weather. A “SPORTING CHANCE.” “Reviewing the known difficulties and risks' of a 1400 miles journey with the fastest and most, up-to-date rigid airship, and then considering Mr Wellman's prospects with an older and much slower ship in the Arctic regions, it can hardly; be* said that there is much possibility of his succeeding. In fact, he has barely a ‘sporting chance,' and he would be welladvised to wait' until further experience had been gained in 'Europe in long-distance airship work. it might be said ' that-to have any reasonable. hope of success he should have a semirigid or rigid ship, much more . powerfully engined, with a duplicate motor in reserve, and 'capable of giving over 60 miles an hour average speed for many hours. “But it cannot be said that there is no chance at all, even with the present vessel. Mr Wellman and his assistants have done their ut- ■ most to increase the slender mar’gin.of safety Which exists ; and , although he has adopted an imperfect instrument, Mr' Wellman, -with! his knowledge of the Arctic -1 regions, with ■ his - well-planned „ supply system, his skilled helpers, V 'his teams of dogs, -and his grand , v dariflg; mayT succeed, as he