Jasper County Democrat, Volume 12, Number 19, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 June 1909 — BALLOON RECORD STILL IN THE AIR [ARTICLE]

BALLOON RECORD STILL IN THE AIR

All Depends on Whether Indiana Tagged Earth. OTHER RETURNS COMPLETE If Air Craft Merely Dropped Buckets to Obtain a Water Supply For Thirsty Aeronauts Then New Mark For Others Has Been Set, But If Pilot or Assistant Touched Terra Firma Rules Were Violated. Indianapolis, June 8. —If the balloon Indiana has not disqualified by touch- | ing earth, it has broken the American endurance record, which has stood for a year as forty-four hours. Starting in the national distance 1 I race of the Aero Club of America, from this city Saturday, two reports have been received from the Indiana. The first one was that it had touched the earth in Tennessee and had taken on water and proceeded toward the south. If this be true, the balloon is disqualified. A second dispatch, received in this city and signed by the pilot, Carl Fisher, and the aide, G. L. Bumbaugh, has stated that they dropped down near enough to earth to let down a line and draw up a bucket of water, thereafter rising for further travel. Under the latter conditions the Indiana has not disqualified. It is not possible according to available information that the Indiana has broken the distance record of 852 miles,, for it was traveling due south, and would come to the gulf coast almost a hundred mil4s short of the record established by the German balloon Ponmiern In the international race last year for the James Gordon Bennett trophy, starting from St. Louis and landing at Asbury Park, N. J. The last of the six balloons entered In the national distance race from which a definite landing report has : been received is the St. Louis 111, which dropped at Keteo, Tenn., having covered about 340 miles. A. B. Lambert was the pilot and H. E. Honeywell the aide. The other balloons | landed as follows, covering the follow* | ing approximate distances: The Xew York, A. Holland Forbes pilot, landed at Corinth, Miss.; ,covering 375 miles in 36 hours and 10 minutes.

The University City of St. Louis traveled 340 miles, landing at Blanche. Tenn. Time, 25 hours and 24 minutes. The Hoosier, Captain Baldwin pilot, traveled 240 miles, landing atJJreen Brier, Tenn. The Cleveland landed at Columbus, Ind., 40 miles, in 2 hours and 55 minutes.