Phoenix (balloon)
Phönix is the name of a balloon of the German Association for the Promotion of Airship Travel , which was used from 1893 to 1896 during the Berlin scientific aviation to explore the free atmosphere .
After the explosion of the Humboldt club balloon on April 26, 1893, Kaiser Wilhelm II approved another 32,000 marks from his highest disposition fund for the construction and operation of a new balloon . The construction plans for the Phoenix were drawn up by Prime Lieutenant Hans Groß from the Berlin airship department. In order to be able to quickly empty the balloon envelope on landing and thus to prevent it from being lifted off again or a dangerous grinding run, Groß had developed a new type of tearing device , which every gas balloon still has today. The envelope of the balloon consisted of two layers of a fine cotton fabric supplied by the Berlin company Rudolph Hertzog . The inner layer had been rubberized and vulcanized on both sides by the Continental Caoutchouc and Gutta Percha Compagnie in Hanover. The second layer was rolled diagonally onto this fabric with great pressure. The outer layer was impregnated with a special paint to protect it from damage from the strong solar radiation at high altitudes. One square meter of the balloon fabric weighed 330 grams.
The balloon basket made of Spanish tube had a base area of 1.60 m by 1.20 m and a height of 1.25 m. It was so spacious that three people could stand comfortably and two could sit at the same time. To protect against the cold, there was a mattress on the wicker floor and the inside of the walls was lined with felt . A rattan box served as a seat and as a place for provisions, maps, clothes and the like. Further utensils could be stored in a canvas bag. A smaller basket (1.20 m × 1.00 m × 1.20 m) for a maximum of two people was used for ascents. The ballast was partially attached to the outside of the basket. A 150 m long tow rope was carried next to an anchor . The temperature and humidity measurements were taken outside the basket. For this purpose, an Aßmann aspiration psychrometer was attached to a retractable arm. The envelope of the Phoenix had a capacity of 2630 m³ gas and weighed 775 kg with the large balloon basket before the gas filling, and only 713 kg with the small basket.
23 manned flights were carried out with the phoenix for scientific purposes. He was in the air for about 180 hours and covered a total of 6290 km. At the end of the second voyage on July 25, 1893, near Berent , the tear track proved its worth for the first time, as the anchor could not hold the large balloon at a wind speed of 20 m / s. On December 4, 1894, the meteorologist Arthur Berson reached the then record height of 9155 m on a solo trip with the Phoenix . The balloon was then sold to the airship department. After a trip on May 2, 1896, during which the tear belt was blocked, the Phoenix was so badly damaged on landing that repairs were no longer profitable.
See also
literature
- Hans Groß: The balloon material . In: Richard Assmann and Arthur Berson (eds.): Scientific aviation , Volume 1: History and observation material , Vieweg, Braunschweig 1899, pp. 139–163.
- Karl-Heinz Bernhardt : To explore the atmosphere with the free balloon - the Berlin scientific aviation (1888-1899) . In: Dahlemer Archive Talks 6, 2000, pp. 52–82.
- Hans Steinhagen : The weather man. Life and work of Richard Aßmann , Findling, Neuenhagen 2005, ISBN 3-933603-33-1 .