Two years ago I began to see news releases on the invention and development of a new-type building; a tabernacle type held up by air alone—no poles, ropes, or rigid supports of any kind. It is now a reality. It is very light in weight, simple and easy to erect, can be heated easily in winter or air conditioned in summer. It provides a dustproof, waterproof sanctuary. You may say, "That sounds too good to be true! What are some of the facts?"
A forty-by-eighty-foot tabernacle (called an air house by the manufacturers) , seating about three or four hundred with ease, weighs only three hundred pounds, and can be put into the luggage compartment of a station wagon. It takes only a few hours to erect it. There are no poles in this auditorium to block the view. Every square foot of space is usable.
This building is made of a thin, lightweight but very strong nylon fabric, covered with fireproof vinyl on both sides. It passes the most stringent flameproof requirements of our cities.
The cathedral consists of a single layer of this material. Into the side of the building is introduced the air output of an ordinary 6,500 c.f.m. squirrel-cage type air conditioner, and this slight air pressure, about the same as you have in a room cooled with such a unit, upholds it—one-tenth-ounce pressure per square inch.
How is it anchored? Around the base of the walls is a trough filled with sand (it takes about five yards) . This ballast holds the building down to any type surface—grass, dirt, concrete, or macadam—so that the air is held inside. The rigidity is sufficient to sustain the weight of several men on the roof of the building. With the help of an extra air-conditioner blower, the doors may be left wide open and still the building remains firm. There is therefore no necessity of air-lock doors for entrance and exit of the audience. It is just the same as any other building.
Perhaps before going further, it would be well to ask and answer a list of questions that are often asked.
- What happens if there is a power failure? We have a gas-driven generator for stand-by emergency power. The building will remain firm for several minutes without air input. When it is closed, it takes hours for it to come down. With the doors open, it takes at least thirty minutes to deflate it.
- Suppose some prankster cut a hole in it with a knife? That happened in one city. He cut a hole about five feet long but it could hardly be seen. It would take a very large cut to let out enough air to give difficulty.
- When it does deflate, does the dome ever cave in on the people? No, the dome goes up first and is the last part to come down. The weight of the vertical material along the sides causes the air house to collapse first at the bottom. It wrinkles at the edges and slowly lets the dome down. I have worked inside a long time after we started to let it down. There is no danger of the material falling on people. There are, of course, no poles or pulleys as there are in a tent to fall on the audience. The public say they feel much safer in this building, in storm or calm, than they do in a tent! Even if the material did come down, it is as light as a sheet and could hurt no one.
- How does it react to heavy winds, to rain and snow? A strong wind presses it a little. We have had an audience in it in a seventy-mile-anhour storm and no one was frightened, and we did not have to dismiss the meeting. Rain is not a problem. The building is virtually waterproof, and even if there are holes in it, by turning on another blower and increasing the pressure the air can blow the water back 'through the hole! In other words, increased air pressure will actually keep it from leaking through any small holes that may be in it.
- How is the building lighted? Since it is white, indirect lighting is a natural. We have lights in boxes, or troughs, around the edge, and they shine up on the white ceiling, giving a nice indirect-lighting effect over the whole building. Viewed from the outside at night, it is a glowing wonder.
To sum up this brief introduction to the Cloud Cathedral: Here is a structure that is really representative of our message. It has a nice neat appearance. It is worth its price in advertising alone. We have not yet erected it in a city but that the newspaper sends out a photographer and gives us a nice story. It is cheaper to own, Jperate, move, erect, and dismantle than any other portable auditorium. It is easier to heat or cool than any other type of portable building. Its original cost per square foot of floor space is comparable to a tent.
Hundreds of evangelists of all faiths have come to see it and are prepared to discard their tents and metal tabernacles as soon as possible and move with the most amazing new portable building this wonder-making age of ours has produced. I believe it is the coming thing.
The makers of our Cloud Cathedral are:
A. E. Quest and Sons, 222 E. 34th Street, Lubbock, Texas.
We will, of course, be glad to answer any question we can on this new type of tabernacle.
Airatorium Evangelism
That must be what we are going to use to get to the moon," said a puzzled but enthusiastic visitor as he pointed to the Airatorium.
We admit that the blue dome-shaped Airatorium may appear to be a hangar or ticket station for a moon-rocket trip. In fact, the 40-foot messages "Crusade for Christ" and "Around the World With the Gospel," painted on the sides, are pointing many people heavenward. Indeed, we are moving in our part of the world owing to this new air-borne type of building structure. The plan calls for six campaigns in six different cities each year.
The Lexington, Kentucky, district consists of twenty-one counties in the Bluegrass Country and poses a great challenge to a district leader. How can a man get around to all these little towns and hold an evangelistic series in each one before the Lord comes? We believe that short campaigns with the Airatorium are a partial answer.
This new tentlike structure developed by Irving Air Chute Company of Lexington started a new idea in the thinking of H. C. Brownlow. He obtained one for his evangelistic use. It is actually like half a balloon, anchored to the ground by a steel ring and ground anchors, and is supported entirely by air pressure from a blower. The blower runs constantly to replace air lost through two ceiling vents and through the doors when they are opened. A double set of double doors called the air-lock prevents excessive loss of pressure when people are entering or leaving. One set of doors is often closed while the other is open. This automatic air conditioning makes it just right on summer evenings. A heating unit is provided for the cooler seasons.
The Airatorium is of single-wall construction and is supported by the air inside. Therefore there are no posts, poles, or supports of any kind to trouble the evangelist while he is preaching. With indirect lighting around the walls, the beautiful interior induces more reverence than is usually found in a tent.
It is a pleasure to preach under a softly lighted blue dome to people enjoying the added beauty of a brightly lighted stage with a sea-scene background. A burlap rug adds comfort underfoot. The running of the fan is barely audible, and with the platform situated properly, the acoustics are perfect. We use a public-address system, an electric organ, and hi-fl recordings.
"Now what are we going to do? This is slippery and we are catching a pool of water!" We were on the top of the Airatorium for the first time. The excuse was that we were washing it with mops and hose. It was quite an experience when we tried to stand and walk in the giant dimple that our weight made in the big balloon. We knew there was no danger of its ripping or tearing, as this material, made of nylon fabric with a layer of plastic on each side, is extremely tough. It was really a pleasure to wash it, and to make the red-and-white lettering stand out against the blue.
A portable baptistry is being made for us of the same material and will be small enough when folded to carry in the trunk of the car.
The greatest advantage of the Airatorium is that it can be assembled in one day by three men and the fan inflates it in half an hour. The nylon-plastic fabric rolls up into a 600 pound package, 68 inches long by 18 inches wide. This ultraportability enabled us to hold four evangelistic series this summer in towns within a fifty-mile radius of Lexington, our home.
The Brownlow-Darnell evangelistic team is working on a somewhat different plan of evangelism. Their series consists of two phases. First, a sowing campaign of two or three weeks' duration. This first section brings an interest-holding message before the people and enrolls many of them in the Bible correspondence course. Then the Airatorium moves on to another city. For about a year the interested ones have an opportunity to pursue a guided study of God's Word.
The second phase brings the Airatorium back to the city where the team previously worked, this time to reap the results of the sowing and the intermediate study. A decision series is presented during this return visit. This unique twofold program is made possible by the easy maneuverability of the Airatorium. Good success is attending this program.
EDITORS.
