Who completed the first Arctic expedition flight?

Swedish August Andre focused on his career throughout his life and never married. After graduating from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm in 1875, he went to Philadelphia, the United States, to visit a science and technology exhibition held to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the United States' independence the next year. He became interested in ballooning and gradually developed a desire to explore the Arctic. After returning to his motherland, he worked as a mechanical engineer in a company and devoted himself to studying balloon flight in his spare time. He teamed up with a Norwegian to conduct the first balloon flight in 1892. Later, with the encouragement of the press and society. With financial support from a Swedish newspaper, he finally made his own balloon and named it "Swee". Andrei often travels on "Svi" and once flew to northern Finland. In 1895, Andre, who was the chief engineer of the Swedish Patent Office, solemnly proposed to the Swedish Academy of Sciences a flight plan to use balloons to explore the North Pole.

Europeans at that time generally believed that going to places north of Scandinavia was unthinkable and was tantamount to seeking a dead end. In order to study the possibility of this action, the Swedish Academy of Sciences held several demonstration meetings and defense meetings. Finally, the plan was approved and funds were allocated. King Oscar of Sweden also expressed enthusiastic support after learning of the situation.

Before departure. Andre made serious and detailed preparations. He chose two volunteer expedition members, one was 24-year-old professional photographer Sfinenberg, and the other was 26-year-old amateur balloon pilot and mountaineer Frankel.

On May 18, 1897, Andre and the other three took a boat to the Spitsbergen Islands, about 1,200 kilometers away from the North Pole, and built a roofless island there. The balloon room is waiting for God to blow the south wind. This wait lasted more than a month.

The expedition balloon designed and made by Andre for this trip is about 30 meters high from top to bottom. It is made of silk and is tightly sewn together. The inside and outside are covered with paint to prevent air leakage. The hanging basket is made of wicker and contains beds for three people. It is surrounded by protective panels to protect it from wind and rain. There are life-saving equipment placed between the balloon and the gondola, including three sleds, an oilcloth boat, tents, food, etc. It is estimated that it will be enough for three people for two years. In order to control the balloon more reliably, Andre set up a horizontal sail yard between the air bag and the hanging basket, and hung three sails on it, so that the course could be changed with the help of wind. He also prepared three hemp ropes, each nearly 3,000 meters long, which can be dragged on the ice to increase the lateral resistance of the balloon during flight. The alcohol stove is hung under the hanging basket, which can heat rice without igniting the hydrogen.

On July 11th. The Arctic expedition of Andre and the three of them officially began. The towering and huge balloon emerged from the open-top balloon room. Andre and the three of them stood in the hanging basket suspended under the big balloon, waving constantly to the people who came to see them off and watch. The balloon flew higher and higher, flew farther and farther, and gradually left people's sight.

One year has passed, ten years have passed, twenty and thirty years have passed, and people have never received any news from Andre and the three of them.

Thirty-three years later, a Norwegian sealing ship accidentally discovered the tent where Andre and the others last camped in the ice and snow. From the found diary, people learned about the process and details of their expedition. ending.

It turned out that shortly after Andre and the others rose, the balloon began to slowly descend. I don’t know whether it was the influence of the downdraft or the three long ropes that held the balloon. The hanging basket was like a dragonfly touching water. Bumping forward on the ice. Later, the balloon rose to a height of about 500 meters, but the three large ropes unscrewed their joints and fell down. In this way, the balloon can only be blown by the wind in the air, first heading north, then west, heading straight to Greenland, and then flying northeast again. Due to the influence of fog and ice, the balloon sometimes falls on the ice; sometimes the clouds and fog are smaller, and the balloon rises a little higher. What was even more serious was that the balloon continued to leak. On the morning of July 14, even after throwing away all the materials that could be thrown away, the balloon still fell on the ice and collapsed into a piece of skin. They flew for only three days before the expedition came to an end.

After the balloon landed, they used the sled to walk south step by step, and finally persisted until January 17. Schiffenberg died of exhaustion, and the other two people who were still alive were on the spot. Buried him. A few days later, Frankel crawled into his sleeping bag and never came out. The indomitable Andre continued to move forward, and finally died against a rock. They walked about 320 kilometers in ice and snow.

According to the diaries they left behind, it is inferred that the three of them flew to a place around 82 degrees 55 minutes north latitude, which is about 600 kilometers away from the north level and about 550 kilometers away from their starting point. far away. Under the conditions at that time, even if they knew where they were, it would be impossible to launch a rescue operation.

Although this Arctic expedition flight failed, it provided valuable experience for future generations. Their spirit of daring to explore also left a glorious page in the history of human aviation.