An Airtight Balloon Car for High Ascents

Extract

It gives us great pleasure to have this opportunity of submitting and explaining to you a specially constructed airtight car which we have designed for the purpose of reaching high altitudes.

In the past many attempts have been made to reach great heights in open cars for the purpose of making scientific observations and experiments, and from these experiments it appears that the only difficulty which has been grappled with is that of the insufficiency of air for respiration purposes. To overcome this difficulty the general plan has been to take up in bags or other receptacles a supply of oxygen.

As no attempt, however, has been made to overcome the great inconvenience suffered by the occupants of the balloon, due to the exceedingly low pressure at these high altitudes, these many attempts, in spite of the oxygen supply taken, have been fraught with great inconvenience and danger.