Page:O que eu vi, o que nós veremos (1918).pdf/23

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What We Will See

It was a general feeling that five years would pass without the prize being won.

The steering of the balloon, in those days, was a wish without promise.

The day after the Deutsch prize was established, I started construction of my No. 4 and a hangar in St. Cloud.

I again decided on the fusiform balloon, as I needed to reach a speed of about 30 kilometers per hour, which would be difficult with an ovoid balloon. I bought the lightest motor I could find on the market; it had the power of 9 H.P. and weighed 100 kilos. It was the wonder of that time.

With this balloon, in the year 1900, I did very little that was successful. My only competitor for the prize was Mr. Rose, whose balloon never managed to go up; the interest on the Deutsch prize was given to me.

During the winter I put under construction my famous No. 5, which I tried out in the Aero Club Park.

On July 12, 1901, at 3 o'clock in the morning, assisted by some friends and my

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