LICOLN COUNTY LEADER — AUGUST 13, 1896
An Arsenal in the Clouds — A War Airship Which Is Being
Constructed for Cuban Service.
Cuba is going to fight the Spaniards from the clouds. In a secluded grove in Florida a French engineer now has under construction an airship which is to he placed in the Cuban service. It will carry 125 men, 1,000 rifles, a half million rounds of rifle ammunition and dynamite shells. The airship is one of the most remarkable things of its kind ever conceived by an aeronaut. Its chief feature, which excites the greatest wonder, is its extreme lightness considering its tremendous strength. The airship consists of a boat-shaped car that does not swing, but is held solidly, though pendant, from a cluster of five balloons.
These balloons are held steadily in place by five aluminum belts, which go around the girths of the balloons and are connected at the points of contact by easy working ball-bearing joints, so that there can be no strain, and each belt can give gently one way or the other, as the balloon it holds might sway, without getting away from its mate. In this way the balloons are always manageable.
Besides the system of network which surrounds the balloons and which holds them attached to the car there are aluminum braces securing the belts or girths to the car below. These braces are also the stays for the sails forward and at the sides for steering purposes.
The principle upon which this wonderful airship is steered is the same which governs the sailing of a yacht. A
