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Dawn of Aerial Navigation 241 Upon rising into the air and attaining the desired elevation, the motor was set going, and a course north to south from Chåtillon to Ver viers was set. At the level of the route running from Choisy to Versailles the airship was swung round towards the latter point so as to avoid collision with the trees. This brought the vessel in due course over Villacoublay, about 2} miles from Choisy. Now the aeronauts, Renard and Krebs, perfectly satisfied with the behaviour of their craft, decided to attempt the return to Chalais-Meudon, proposing to descend at the point whence they had started. The rudder was moved over and the vessel, answering her helm, wore round to the right, describing a circle about 492 feet in radius. The setting of this course brought the aeronautical centre somewhat to the left, but after bearings had been taken the course straight for home was set, to which the airship answered perfectly. A few min- utes later she was hovering 980 feet above the field from which she had risen. A point for landing was selected, and to make this the airship was run back- wards and forwards several times, until at last, when within 260 feet of the ground, a rope was thrown out. This was caught by soldiers, who speedily drew the ship safely to earth in the field from which she had risen. It was a wonderful aerial journey, which lasted twenty-three minutes. During this period the airship had travelled a distance of miles as measured over the ground, and during the run had attained a mean speed of 18 feet per second. The conditions were ideal for such an experiment, the air being virtually 2