AIRSHIP INSPECTED.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 49, Issue 198, 7 June 1929, Page 6

AIRSHIP INSPECTED.

RlOl NEARLY READY.

SIZE IMPRESSES VISITORS

fc LONDON., May 26

Members of the Royal Aeronautical Society paid a visit to the airship RlOl to-day, taking advantage of the last date before the filling of the gasbags and the pumping in of 5,000,000 cubic feet of hydrogen. The visitors were impressed by the luxury of the accommodation, and the many amazing features in the design. The airship is at present housed in a giant shed, 812 ft. long and 157 ft. high, at Cardington. The fact that nearly all the sections of the outer cover have been installed enable a magnificent idea to be gained of the airship's smooth-flowing lines and the actual size, 724 ft. from nose to tail. Both of the tails are 80ft. from the floor, causing the upper rudder, now installed, to appear small, until the visitors discovered on the floor a tubular, strongly-braced structure 40ft. long, which is the companion lower rudder.

The visitors were also surprised at the spaciousness of the passengers' and public rooms. The dining room only seats 50, and the smoking room is also restricted in size, but the main lounge is a fine apartment, 60ft. long, extending across the full width of the airship, with a verandah each side, 7i't. wide.

Leaning on the handrail of the verandah, passengers will get a wonderful view through the safety glass panels. Gracefully-shaped pillars, with clusters of electric lights, hide the essential structural members. Comfortable settees line the walls, and the centre is furnished with club chairs and tables.

The visitors' looking up to where the deck was not covered in, to the mazy mass of girders, bracing and suspension wires, found it difficult to adjust their pre-conceived ideas of ocean travel in steamers to the requirements of airships, where low structural weight and large volumes spell efficiency. Passengers rising in the lift installed in the mooring tower, and entering the airship through a long, enclosed corridor, will probably be surprised at her apparent solidity, although when they arrive at their berths they will recognise that solid wooden or steel partitions are impossible when every extra pound of structural weight means a pound less of paying load. They will appreciate, too, how ingeni-ously-painted fabric can make a partition, or a slight give in the flooring can be permitted in three-ply suitably stiffened and weighing only three or four pounds to the square foot, yet able to stand a uniform load of 1701 b.