Discussions had taken place at various times as to the
practicability of rendering a balloon navigable, but no attempts
had been made to put these points of argument to a practical
test.
Airship history may be said to date from January 24th, 1784. On
that day Brisson, a member of the Academy in Paris, read before
that Society a paper on airships and the methods to be utilized
in propelling them. He stated that the balloon, or envelope as
it is now called, must be cylindrical in shape with conical ends,
the ratio of diameter to length should be one to five or one to
six and that the smallest cross-sectional area should face the
wind. He proposed that the method of propulsion should be by
oars, although he appeared to be by no means sanguine if human
strength would be sufficient to move them. Finally, he referred
to the use of different currents of the atmosphere lying one
above the other.
This paper caused a great amount of interest to be taken in
aeronautics, with the result that various Frenchmen turned their
attention to airship design and production. To France must be
due the acknowledgment that she was the pioneer in airship
construction and to her belongs the chief credit for early
experiments.
At a later date Germany entered the lists and tackled the
problems presented with that thoroughness so characteristic of
the nation.
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