The Lebaudy Airship of 1910
MORNING POST NATIONAL FUND AIRSHIP:
Although it is hoped that the airship will not be out of commission more than a month, it was exceedingly unfortunate that disaster should have fallen upon the Morning Post dirigible after making such a splendid journey from France. We were just able to record in our last issue, very briefly, particulars of this voyage, and we now give them in fuller detail. Carrying eight persons on board, including M Julliot, who was responsible for the design, M Capazza, the chief pilot, M Leon Berthe, second pilot, MM De Brabant, Boutteville and Lucas, engineers, Major Sir Alexander Bannerman, and the representative of the Morning Post, Mr H. Warner Allen, the airship rose from her shed at Moisson at 10 o’clock on Wednesday of last week, and, during the first stage of the journey, followed the course of the Seine to Rouen, where the river was left, and the course continued straight on to St. Valery en Caux on the French coast. This point was passed at 12 o’clock exactly, and with the two 120 hp Panhard engines working steadily, the English coast was soon sighted and the captive balloon at Brighton guided the dirigible on her way. The cross-Channel trip actually occupied two hours eighteen minutes, and an hour and ten minutes later, at 3.28 pm, the airship was over Aldershot. The full journey of 197 miles, from Moisson to Aldershot, having occupied five hours twenty-eight minutes, the speed working out to about 36 miles an hour, which, considering the adverse wind conditions met with during part of the journey, was very satisfactory. When the airship arrived at Aldershot she was at a height of 1,600 feet, and the landing operations were rendered somewhat difficult by a 25 miles per hour wind which was blowing, and she had therefore to tack several times before she was finally got into position. However, this was eventually accomplished and then the work of getting her into the shed was started. Three-quarters of the envelope had already disappeared inside when the stern of the ship was seen to be rising, and, before steps could be taken to rectify matters, a projecting beam caught the fabric and tore a large hole in it. This allowed the gas to escape very rapidly and the fabric fell like a great yellow pall over the car. Several of the men who were handling the dirigible were covered by the fabric, but fortunately no one was injured. It is stated the rent will take about a month to repair. The car was a little strained through falling over on its side when the envelope collapsed and the propeller also was damaged, but this is not a very serious matter. During the journey 528lbs of ballast were used, sometimes in the form of water, sometimes in the form of petrol. During the journey 400 litres of petrol were used by the engines, and on landing there were about 200 litres in the tanks and 990lbs of petrol was still held in reserve as ballast, with 880lbs of water. The highest altitude reached during the trip was 2,120 feet, but during the cross-Channel trip the altitude was 200 feet.1
The Morning Post Lebaudy departs on 26 October 1910.