DARING PERFORMANCE BY A BALLOONIST. A Drop of 1,500 Feet.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 304, 3 October 1888, Page 6

DARING PERFORMANCE BY A BALLOONIST. A Drop of 1,500 Feet.

A vast concourse of* people assembled at the Alexandra Palace, London, on a recent Saturday afternoon, to witness a most daring performance by Professor Baldwin, an American, who, by the aid of a parachute, dropped -from a balloon at a height of nearly 1,500 feet. About half-past six the balloon, an ordinary one inflated with gas, was in readiness to carry the performer toward the clouds. Everything being arranged to his satisfaction, Mr Baldwin got into the car, and in something less than a minute was descending, nis parachute unopened, with tremendous speed. Hedropped in this fashion some 300 or 400 feet, when the umbrella opened, and, hanging by one hand, he gracefully alighted in a field adjoining 'the grounds ot the Palace, and within a few nun died yards of the starting point, none the worse for his trip. The parachute is made of pongee silk, sup ported by cords, but, unlike others of its kind which have been used for similar exhibitions, it has no ribs or stays .whatever It is, of course, exceedingly light and easily portable, and is &o perfected that the performer can with but a comparatively small amount of danger land at any point upon ' which he may fix. The impression that Mr .Baldwin was secured to the balloon by means oi" an invisible wire was very quickly dispelled, as the balloon accidentally escaped. v The atmospheric conditions were favourable to a rapid rise, but so rapidly did the balloon travel that Mr Baldwin, who goes up unaccompanied, had not sufficient time to open the valve to allow the gas to escape, which he is supposed to do before taking his leap into the air, the result being that the balloon continued its upward journey, and was soon lost to sight. A telegram was received on Monday from Rainham, Essex, stating that the balloon in which Professor Baldwin ascended at the Alexandra Palace on Saturday had been discovered there in good condition. This balloon has an interesting history. On one occasion it was f cund by a ship in mid-oeeac and brought to land. Professor Baldwin's journey from earth to earth on Saturday lasted one minute thirteen seconds — the ascent twenty-five seconds and the descent forty-eight seconds. The balloon was used again , on Thursday night. It contains 15,000 cubic feet of gas, and takes about, fcwo hours to inflate. The ascent was announced to begin at six. o'clock, and a few minutes before the time a pilot balloon wa3 sent up, and sailed away in the direction of Crouch End until lost to sight, and at one minute ( past the hour, with a shout from the aeronaut of 'I'm off,' the men, let go the ropes, and the balloon mounted almost perpendicularly to an altitude which may be estimated at between 1,500f,t. and 1,700 ft. Then the professor was seen to be, coming down with the parachute still closed, and the balloon in a state of collapse falling also. It will be recollected that there is a contrivance by which, on pulling; a string, the -whole side of the .' balloon opens, and it was because the aeronaut , failed to* pull, the coid on Saturday that 4ihe balloon' .escaped. After coming, dowiji -closed, with great velocity, for about threejhu.ridred^, yards, the parachute slowly opened^ancLthe, j professor, gracefully iswaying/ to and fro n soon - alighted behind' the 'grand* s£andj the collapse having;* many seconds, pre-viously-reached the r earth/ The '.time 00-* .Qupied in 1 the \ascent „was 22sec. and'in the ".descent, Imin. u 3Bsec'.> l VMr~;Bal'dwin was lojidly^oheered a^tiejdroye jaway. ,v \ , $ V' ti