Fearful Balloon Voyage.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLV, Issue 270, 31 December 1903, Page 4

Fearful Balloon Voyage.

1400 MILES IN SIXTEEN HOURS. The IJaris coi sespoiudent of the Daily Telegraph supplies an account of a balloon voyage during the great storm of September 10th, which he characterises as one of the most terrifying human experiences ever recorded. The voyage was undertaken by Captain Goossens, a well known Belgian balloonist, and a German nobleman, an enthusiastic amateur, who wishes his name to be withheld. The object of the trip was to experiment with hydro-gun produced by a new process which Captain Goossens has invented, and by which tiie price of gas is reduced from Is or more to 4Jd per cubic metre.

The aeronauts left Berlin at two o'clock on Thursday afternoon in a balloon of 1200 cubic metres. They travelled at the outset north-wesr, j over Holland, and neared '.I lie Hague. When at an altitude of 4000 metres they encountered a current which drove them rapidly northwards over Belgium to Northern France. The balloon continued its course in tlie same direction to Paris, passing slightly west of the capital at an altitude of 4200 metres. Another current then took the aeronauts off in a westerly direction, and the balloon careered away througji the air to the Saibles d'Olonne, on the ocean coast, which was reached at six o'clock on Thursday evening. An unsuccessful attempt was made to land on the Isle of Oleron, off La Rochelle, and ballast had to be thrown out. The balloon then met another different wind and was borne back again towards I'aris. but when more than' halfway to the capital, was carried northwards to Jersey. During the night —when the gale was raging with the greatest intensity, the balloon flew up the Channel, and the aeronauts feared that they would be blown aver the North Sea. At last, when in sight of Calais lighthouse, they succeeded in landing at Fretharn, four miles from the seaport. Great difficulty was experienced in getting to earth, and in alignting the nobleman lead his shoulder fractured, and Captain Goossens dislocated his shoulder and ankle. The balloon disappeared a few seconds afterwards, travelling at an extraordinary speed, and carrying in the car many valuable scientific instruments, besides other effects and money. The two aeronauts say that their experience, as can well bo imagined, was the most extraordinary which they ever went through., The journey lasted sixteen hours, the balloon having landed at six o'clock on Friday morning. During that time the aernauts travelled over half Prussia, half Holland, all Belgium, right across France again in the contrary direction, the whole lengtih of Normandy to Jersey, then all up the Channel to Calais. The total distance traversed was roughly over 1400 miles, covered at an average of something like 90 miles an hour. The most terrible experience was the journey up the Channel at the height of tlie (gale. The balloon then travelled at the frightful speed, as recorded by, the instruments, of 125 miles an* hour.