The first Englishman to invent an air-ship was Mr.Stanley Spencer, head of the well-known firm of Spencer Brothers, whose worksare at Highbury, North London.
This firm has long held an honourable place in aeronautics, both in the construction of air-craft and in aerial navigation.Spencer Brothers claim to be the premier balloon manufacturers in the world, and, at the time of writing, eighteen balloons and two dirigibles lie in the works ready for use.In these works there may also be seen the frame of the famous Santos- Dumont air-ship, referred to later in this book.
In general appearance the first Spencer air-ship was very similar to the airship flown by Santos-Dumont; that is, there was the cigar-shaped balloon, the small engine, and the screw propellor for driving the craft forward.
But there was one very important distinction between the two air-ships.By a most ingenious contrivance the envelope was made so that, in the event of a large and serious escape of gas, the balloon would assume the form of a giant umbrella, and fall to earth after the manner of a parachute.
All inventors profit, or should profit, by the experience of others, whether such experience be gained by success or failure.It was found that Santos-Dumont's air-ship lost a considerable amount of gas when driven through the air, and on several occasions the whole craft was in great danger of collapse.To keep the envelope inflated as tightly as possible Mr.Spencer, by a clever contrivance, made it possible to force air into the balloon to replace the escaped gas.
The first Spencer air-ship was built for experimental purposes.It was able to lift only one person of light weight, and was thus a great contrast to the modern dirigible which carries a crew of thirty or forty people.Mr.Spencer made several exhibition flights in his little craft at the Crystal Palace, and so successful were they that he determined to construct a much larger craft.
The second Spencer air-ship, first launched in 1903, was nearly 100 feet long.There was one very important distinction between this and otherair-ships built at that time: the propeller was placed in front of the craft, instead of at the rear, as is the case in most air-ships.Thus the craft was pulled through the air much after the manner of an aeroplane.
In the autumn of 1903 great enthusiasm was aroused in London by the announcement that Mr.Spencer proposed to fly from the Crystal Palace round the dome of St.Paul's Cathedral and back to his starting-place.This was a much longer journey than that made by Santos-Dumont when he won the Deutsch prize.
Tens of thousands of London's citizens turned out to witness the novel sight of a giant air-ship hovering over the heart of their city, and it was at once seen what enormous possibilities there were in the employment of such craft in time of war.The writer remembers well moving among the dense crowds and hearing everywhere such remarks as these:
"What would happen if a few bombs were thrown over the side of the air-ship?" "Will there be air-fleets in future, manned by the soldiers or sailors?" Indeed the uppermost thought in people's minds was not so much the possibility of Mr.Spencer being able to complete his journey successfully--nearly everyone recognized that air-ship construction had now advanced so far that it was only a matter of time for an ideal craft to be built--but that the coming of the air-ship was an affair of grave international importance.
The great craft, glistening in the sunlight, sailed majestically from the south, but when it reached the Cathedral it refused to turn round and face the wind.Try how he might, Mr.Spencer could not make any progress.It was a thrilling sight to witness this battle with the elements, right over the heart of the largest city in the world.At times the air-ship seemed to be standing quite still, head to wind.Unfortunately, half a gale had sprung up, and the 24-horse-power engine was quite incapable of conquering so stiff a breeze, and making its way home again.After several gallant attempts to circle round the dome, Mr.Spencer gave up in despair, and let the monster air-ship drift with the wind over the northern suburbs of the city until a favourable landing-place near Barnet was reached, where he descended.
