How It Flies; or, The Conquest of the Air: The Story of Man's Endeavors to Fly and of the Inventions by Which He Has SucceededFerris, Richard
Science
How It Flies; or, The Conquest of the Air: The Story of Man's Endeavors to Fly and of the Inventions by Which He Has Succeeded
Ferris, Richard
Aeronautics
In his account of the journey from Berlin to Markaryd, in Sweden, with
Professor Berson as a companion aeronaut, he says: “The view over Rügen
and the chalk cliffs of Stubbenkammer and Arkona was splendid: the
atmosphere was perfectly clear. On the horizon we could see the coasts
of Sweden and Denmark, looking almost like a thin mist; east and west
there was nothing but the open sea.
“About 3:15 the balloon was in the middle of the Baltic; right in the
distance we could just see Rügen and Sweden. The setting of the sun at
4 P.M. was a truly magnificent spectacle. At a height of 5,250 feet, in
a perfectly clear atmosphere, the effect was superb. The blaze of color
was dimly reflected in the east by streaks of a bluish-green. I have
seen sunsets over France at heights of 10,000 feet, with the Alps, the
Juras, and the Vosges Mountains in the distance; but this was quite as
fine.
“The sunsets seen by the mountaineer or the sailor are doubtless,
magnificent; but I hardly think the spectacle can be finer than that
spread out before the gaze of the balloonist. The impression is
increased by the absolute stillness which prevails; no sound of any
kind is heard.
[Illustration: Landscape as seen from a balloon at an altitude of 3,000
feet.]
“As soon as the sun went down, it was necessary to throw out some
ballast, owing to the decrease of temperature.... We reached the
Swedish coast about 5 o’clock, and passed over Trelleborg at a
height of 2,000 feet. The question then arose whether to land, or to
continue through the night. Although it was well past sunset, there
was sufficient light in consequence of the snow to see our way to
the ground, and to land quite easily.... However, we wanted to do more
meteorological work, and it was thought that there was still sufficient
ballast to take us up to a much greater height. We therefore proposed
to continue for another sixteen hours during the night, in spite of the
cold.... Malmö was therefore passed on the left, and the university
town of Lund on the right. After this the map was of no further use,
as it was quite dark and we had no lamp. The whole outlook was like a
transformation scene. Floods of light rose up from Trelleborg, Malmö,
Copenhagen, Landskrona, Lund, Elsinore, and Helsingborg, while the
little towns beneath our feet sparkled with many lights. We were now at
a height of more than 10,000 feet, and consequently all these places
were within sight. The glistening effect of the snow was heightened by
the blaze which poured from the lighthouses along the coasts of Sweden
and Denmark. The sight was as wonderful as that of the sunset, though
of a totally different nature.”
Captain Hildebrandt’s account of the end of this voyage illustrates the
spice of adventure which is likely to be encountered when the balloon
comes down in a strange country. It has its hint also of the hardships
for which the venturesome aeronaut has to be prepared. He says:--
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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