TRIPS IN AN AIRSHIP.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 13978, 13 August 1909, Page 3

TRIPS IN AN AIRSHIP.

As. a means of locomotion the aeroplane is still in its infancy, and as a scientific experiment it is beyond the indulgence if all but enthusiasts well equipped with funds. For the others " aeroplaning " is like yachting, a luxury to be envied. In the absence of the real thing, however, a plausible imitation is to be welcomed, and this will be found at the new White City, London. Captive aeroplanes to the number of fifteen are there waiting to convey passengers on a flight a mile long round and about a picturesque mountain. Like the aeroplanes the mountain is not quite genuine. It is a thing of steel and wood and plaster, but those who Lave been to Switzerland will recognise in it a more than "colourable imitation "of the Jungfrau. Its uttermost peak is, or appears to be, snowclad, and its lower slopes are covered with vegetation. In this picturesque environment ,the aeroplanes, captive, although their occupants are not aware of the fact, will soar and glide and circle exactly in the manner af a free machine. All the sensations, with none of the risks of a free flight in the air, will be experienced by the passengers. This latest novelty has been designed by Mr Scott-Snell, a clever engineer. -who was in the service of.the War Office for many years, and was engaged chiefly in the designing of submarines. The cars start I'ronr rails on a platform at the foot of the mountain, and only when the end of the rails is readied do they take to the air. All the motions of a free aeroplane will then be imitated, and there will also be included in the entertainment the peculiar thrilling sensation of falling through space as the aeroplane makes a sudden descent. At the present point of the flight the passengers find themselves in. mid-air at a height which not only gives a general view of the exhibition, but of the country around London. From this poiut a descent is made in a series of horizontal flights, each of a hundred yards. In the words of tho inventor these will enable the passenger ." to enjoy that exquisite sensation of being air-borne, which has been so often described iu connection with aeroplane flights." ' This is the first time such an experiment has been tried either in Europe or America, and its safety is vouched for by the fact that the London County Council has granted the necessary permission.