We now have had examples of the three leading types of motor balloons; the rigid, the semirigid, the flexible. The rigid type, as exemplified in the Schwartz and Zeppelin air ships, is characterized by its solidly trussed hull of invariable size and form to which all other parts are directly attached. The semirigid type, exemplified in the Lebaudy vessels, has a flexible hull, generally of woven fabric, with a trussed floor or platform for its ventral part, from which the car is suspended. The flexible type, as seen in the _Ville de Paris_, the _France_, and its predecessors, consists of a flexible hull entirely devoid of stiffening framework, together with a car, usually quite long, suspended from the bag directly. These are all of the important kinds in use at present. A combination of balloon and aëroplane has been tried by Santos-Dumont, Malecot, and others, but thus far has not resulted in a very successful and distinct type. Of the many powerful, swift, and elegant balloons which sprang into being after the success of the Lebaudy vessels, all could be classified under the above three types. Neither kind proved preëminently the fittest for all service, but the semi-rigid and flexible balloons multiplied most rapidly; partly, no doubt, because of their cheapness and convenience of management. We may review briefly this new crop of air ships, before turning to the novel and huge rigid vessels of Count von Zeppelin.
The _Ville de Paris_ was followed, in 1909, by the _Clément-Bayard_, a slightly larger vessel of very similar pattern, constructed for the Russian government for $40,000. It also, like the _Ville de Paris_, was built by the Astra Society. The most striking feature of this new balloon was its curious stern with its bulblike steadying surfaces. These fin surfaces were not flat, as in the _Patrie_, nor cylindrical, as in the _Ville de Paris_, but of pear form, with the blunt ends pointing rearward and inflated like the rest of the hull. Apparently these tail bags were not economical of power, since, as is well known, a pear shape encounters greater resistance when moving sharp end forward than when moving blunt end forward. However this be, the stabilizing force proved very effective. The vessel was driven by a Clément-Bayard motor of 100 horse power actuating a wooden screw placed in front of the long car, as in the _France_. A speed of 30 miles an hour was attainable, and the ship could accommodate eight passengers. On one occasion it made a round trip from Sartrouville, traversing 125 miles at an average speed of 27 miles an hour. It was acquired by the Russian government on August 23, 1909, having on that day completed its third official test, and satisfied the requirement of rising 1,550 meters and voyaging two hours at a height of 1,200 meters. Two notable incidents of that voyage were that the air ship made a new record for altitude, and on landing was caught by a squall which tore it from the hands of thirty men, after which, owing to motor failure, it drifted freely across country, tripped on a willow, and fell into the Seine, whence it was rescued after considerable pains and labor.
