The airship was built in St. Cloud Park; in length it was 52 feet
with a diameter of 82 feet, and was ellipsoidal in shape with a
capacity of 30,000 cubic feet. Oars were provided to propel it
through the air, experiments having proved that with two oars of
six feet diameter a back pressure of 90 lb. was obtained and with
four oars 140 lb.
On July 6th in the same year the first ascent was made from St.
Cloud. The passengers were the Duke of Chartres, the two
brothers Robert and Colin-Hulin. No valves having been fitted,
there was no outlet for the expansion of gas and the envelope was
on the point of bursting, when the Duke of Chartres, with great
presence of mind, seized a pole and forced an opening through
both the envelopes. The ship descended in the Park of Meudon.
On September 19th the airship made a second ascent with the same
passengers as before, with the exception of the Duke. According
to the report of the brothers Robert, they succeeded in
completing an ellipse and then travelled further in the direction
of the wind without using the oars or steering arrangements.
They then deviated their course somewhat by the use of these
implements and landed at Bethune, about 180 miles distant from
Paris.
In those days it was considered possible that a balloon could be
rendered navigable by oars, wings, millwheels, etc.
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