Tissandier was the next in the field. His dirigible was not unlike previous efforts in shape and construction; but now an electric motor and a bichromate battery were employed, and a speed of eight miles an hour was reached. Next came Captain Charles Renard, who made marked progress by building an envelope with a ‘true streamline.’ The car was suspended by means of a huge sheet placed over the back of the airship, to which were attached suspensory cords. The cubic capacity of the airship was 66,000 feet. It was kept rigid by means of an internal air ballonet, which was kept full by a fan blower coupled to a motor. It had a car 108 feet in length, which helped to steady the airship, and indeed played a somewhat similar part to the spar employed in later airships of the semi-rigid type. An electric motor, weighing 220 lbs., was installed, which developed 9 h.-p. The first trial trips were made in 1884, and were considered at the time remarkably successful so far as navigation was concerned. Indeed, it is recorded that on one occasion this dirigible flew round Paris at an average speed of 14½ miles an hour—a remarkable achievement at the time. Clearly there was now a future for airships. Germany had recognized this for some while, and had not been idle. Baumgarten and Wolfert built an airship in 1879 with a benzine motor, but when making an ascent at Leipzig the vessel got out of control, fell to the ground, and was hopelessly wrecked. In 1897 Wolfert made further experiments, which cost him his life. A fire broke out in the benzine container of the new ship, with the result that the inventor and his assistant were killed. The same year saw an effort on the part of an Austrian named Schwartz, who built an airship of sheet aluminium. This, however, proved a leaky structure. It descended and came to a sudden end. Schwartz, however, was the first to build a rigid airship with a petrol motor, and there is a sense in which his efforts led to the modern Zeppelin. With that airship—the modern Zeppelin—with its intricate construction and remarkable capacities of speed and distance, its carrying powers, its evil missions, its tactics when under fire—we shall deal later. CHAPTER III THE PIONEER WORK OF M. SANTOS DUMONT The efforts of M. Santos Dumont call for special reference. He contributed greatly to the science of aerostation, and may be considered one of the foremost of the flight pioneers. He was a man of remarkable industry, perseverance, and courage. His first noteworthy effort in construction was in 1898, when he made a cylinder of varnished silk, 82½ feet in length, with pointed ends, and measuring 11½ feet in diameter. An internal air ballonet was fitted, and an engine giving 3 h.-p. A balloon basket was hung beneath the envelope. There was a two-blade propeller, whilst shifting weights controlled the poise of the ship, steering being effected by means of a rudder composed of strong silk over a steel frame.