Experiment

From the belly of the giant British dirigible 12-33, which moved majestically above a yellow haze that was the city of London, a trapeze was lowered on the end of which dangled a tiny airplane. For a moment it swung there perilously; then its motor took hold and it careered away, maneuvering all about the big dirigible, sniffing at air pockets, nosing through patches of heathery cloud, like a baby kangaroo which had got out of its mother's pouch. Presently the dirigible flashed a signal; the long metallic umbilical cord was lowered again and the airplane whined close, ready to try the hazardous feat of mooring. While both crafts drowsed along at the same speed, the plane was hooked by a special apparatus, hoisted to the trapeze, lifted back into the body of the dirigible. The British Air Ministry declared that this experiment has been attempted before but never successfully. If the technique is perfected, it will be of incalculable value.