ZEPPELIN COMFORT AW SAFETY

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 175, 25 July 1936, Page 8 (Supplement)

ZEPPELIN COMFORT AW SAFETY

Interior Of The Hindenburg.

DETAILS OF ITS CONSTRUCTION REVEALED,

REPEODUCED on this page are drawings and diagrams showing the interior arrangements and construction of the Zeppelin LZ-129, better known a-s the Hindenburg, which has been making such remarkable trips between Friedrichshafen and Lakehurst in the present northern summer. This is the first of the giant airships which was conceived from the beginning and built from the drawing boards for passenger traffic over long distances of sea and land. According to its builder and great pilot, Dr. Hugo Eckener, it surpasses in comfort and safety any other airships of to-day. Intended from the first for the north Atlantic crossing, the big airship has the lift necessary to carry enormous reserves of fuel and stores which are essentials for safe operation on its route. The maximum capacity of all its gas cells is 7,062,800 cubic feet, but the normal capacity is 0,709,000 cubic feet. The gas in the balloonets is hydrogen, since helium, the noninflammable gas, is not available in commercial quantities anywhere outside the United States. The length of the huge ship is 803 ft, Bome 13ft less than originally planned. The length was cut down so tlrat the

airship would just fit inside the hangar at Lakehurst, the naval airship station in New York State which is the Ameri-

can terminal. The greatest diameter of the huge bag is 135 ft. When the air wheel on the floor of the control cabin resting on the ground the overall height is 145 ft. The ratio of length to diameter is 0:1.

The outside of the ship is covered with a heavily doped cotton or linen fabric stretched' over the 30 longitudinal girders. The colour is a silver gray, determined by the aluminium dust mixed in the dope. This is both a preservative and a reflector, aiding in keeping the bag cool when (jirect sunlight is on it. The gas cells are not made of goldbeaters' skin, as in other Zeppelins, but from a specially prepared filmstoff. This is a thickness of film sandwiched between two layers of light material. It retains the gg.s better than any other suitable substance. Each of the four engines is of the Diesel type of compression ignition motor, manufactured by Daimler-Benz especially for airships. Each motor develops between 800 and 900 horsepower while cruising and has a maximum

horsepower of 1200. The drive shafts are geared 2:1, so that the giant propellers, 19.7 ft in diameter, with four blades, are driven at half the speed of the engine crankshafts.

Motor Gondels Open Front and Rear. Each motor is carried in a gondel hung at a considerable distance outside the main envelope. The motors are constantly watched by mechanics stationed in the gondels. Ladders connect the cars with the ship. The engines are started by compressed air, and may be stopped and reversed in 12 seconds. Their reversal is part of the landing manoeuvre. The gondels are open at front and rear, so that a stream of air blows

through, emptying them of any dangerous fumes which might otherwise collect there. The motors use fuel oil, which cannot be accidentally ignited. The engines are set at an angle of four degrees to the axis of the main hull, so their slip streams blow clear. In the drawings the Zeppelin is shown at top in a side view, in the centre in a plan view—or from an angle immediately above the ship. At bottom there are cross-sections which show the airship from bow to stern. As may be seen there, and in the drawings of the passenger quarters, these cabins, lounging, smoking, bathing and dining rooms take up only a small area in the forward portion of the lower hull. Entirely enclosed, although provision has been made for ample windows, they are cool and quiet. The crew sleeps in relatively cramped space just aft of the passengers, while the officers sleep forward, above and slightly ahead of the control cabin. A gangway for communication runs the full length of the ship, beneath the

passenger quarters. Another similar gallery runs through the middle of the structure, as shown in the diagrams. Ladders connect these runways with observation stations 011 top of the hull, in a special control station in the lower vertical fin, and with winches in the nose where the handling ropes and chains are located. No Roll, Merely Slight Pitch. Fuel, water, lubricating oil, cargo and storage stations are distributed throughout the lower portions of the hull, so that they trim the ship in the proper fashion when loaded. Among these tanks are containers to hold many thousands of gallons of water ballast, which is accumulated from rainstorms and dew as the fuel is used up. Passengers who rode the Hindenburg to Rio (le Janeiro say that even in rough air there was no roll, merely a slight pitch. This is unlike the largest aeroplanes, which • sometimes are severely tossed about by rough air currents.