It is worthy of note that there has never been a fatal accident
or any case of a parachute failing to open properly with a man
attached.

The material embodied in this chapter, brief and inadequate as it
is, should enable the process of the development of the airship
to be easily followed. Much has been omitted that ought by right
to have been included, but, on the other hand, intricate
calculations are apt to be tedious except to mathematicians, and
these have been avoided as far as possible in the following
pages.



CHAPTER II
EARLY AIRSHIPS AND THEIR DEVELOPMENT TO THE PRESENT DAY

The science of ballooning had reached quite an advanced stage by
the middle of the eighteenth century, but the construction of
an airship was at that time beyond the range of possibility.
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,