LINERS OF THE AIR

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 214, 4 June 1919, Page 7

LINERS OF THE AIR

COMMERCIAL FUTURE OF THE AIRSHIP

AN OFFICIAL FORECAST

Tho relatively small part played in the war by tho rigid airship is no doubt responsible for the popular belief that the giant aeroplane would soon render tho lighter-thnn-air typo obsolete. The Air Ministry's view, however, is that the airship within (he next few year.-; will take a distinctive and very important place in air traffic. Sir F. H. Sykcs, Chief of (he Air Staff, spoto recently of the probability of the construction of vessels large enough to complete the circuit of file globe. In n memorandum, "Notes on Airships for Commercial Purposes," issued by the Air iUinistrv rceenlly, Ihe role of Hio airship is forecasted in llic light of the experience gained during the remarkab.y rapid war-time development of Ihe rigid type. Tho view is advanced that for transport over distances from .100 to 80(1 miles the aeroplane will be used, whilst for transoceanic and transcontinental journeys tho airship will prove, commercially, the belter machine. Sn from Lisbon the air service to New York would be by rigid airship, whilst from London, Paris, P.ome, and other centres the passengers for New \o;-k would bo carried by aeroplane to Lisbon for embarkation. The airship am! the ocean liner, the aeroplane and the boat express will thus be in rivalrv—and as the aeroplane is quicker than the express, so the airship would reduce the hours of travelling by at least: 50 per cent.

Dealing with the development, and potentialities of rigid airships and aeroplanes, the memorandum enys that during the. last four years sufficient experience lias been obtained in the construction and use of rigid airships to enable future developments to bo forecasted with some assurance of accuracy, and it is therefore possible to consider the lines along which progress should be sought, and the performance which within the next few years can be obtained from mid airships. In view of the widely held opinion that the development nf tha large aeroplane will ultimately kill the largo airship, it is necessary to institute a comparison between the future possibilities of both typos. This result shows that in ei-.eli case certain inherent qualities' govern progress, and Hint these quahtic-i, being widely different, will cause, (he iwo types' to cover different fields of utility. It appears also that, whereas incicnxe in size of aeroplanes brings manr difficulties in its train with no eomnctiiahiii! improvement in efficiency, ineifiswe m size of airships results in a mluction of the difficulties exporieneed at present, and gives improved efficiency, thereby opening up future possibilitiob of extraordinary value. Airships are the most suitable aircraft for the carrying of passengers where safety, comfort and reliability are essential. An airship.can remain aloft while ensine repairs are effected; 6he always remains on an oven keel, and there is, therefore, no danger in flying at night or in fog or clouds.

Rapid Development of the Airship. The development o£ rigid airships has been even more rapid than that of aeroplanes. In 1914 the average endurance of a German rigid airship at cruising speed was under one day and the- maximum full speed about fifty miles an hour In 1918 (German L7I) class, 2,19ri,000 cubic feet capacity) the endurance at 15 miles an hour had risen to 177.5 hours (7.4 dnys) ami the maximum full speed to 77 miles. The. ceiling has correspondingly increased from GOOD feet to 23,01)0 lent. The British H3B class cubic feet capacity) has an estimated cruising endurance at 45 miles per hour of 211 hours (8.8 days), 3-1 hours greater than llin German L7O class. Summarising the results of a detailed comparison between the two types of machines, it would appeal , that the line of policy to bo adopted is lo develop the aeroplane for transport over distances under. Hay, 500-800 milw, and the rigid airship lor transoceanic and possibly UaiMcontinental flights of over this length. Meeting the Bad Weather Difficulty. Bad weather will not appreciably endanger a rigid flight, says the memorandum, and its chief operational handicap has so far been the probability that it will sooner or Inter be caught out in a high wind lustini; for a longer period than tho eadurance of tltj sJiip, no lhat the ship would then have to attempt to "land before thn wind dropped and would probably be wiccked. If the meteorological reports for previous years aro examined it will be seen that oven under unfavourable conditions it will be possible for a ship with a three weeks' endurance to ler.vo the shed during any temporary lull in the wind, curry out n fortnight's (light, and calculate on beinK aislo to return and laud during another iuli in tho ensuing week. .Should the largo ship meet, a storm, she will not able to Ro rounJ or )ver it, and could afford to wait in the air for fine weather in which lo land.

Thus, if the endurauce. of a Tigid airship is increased to a suilicieiit extent, it will be possiblo to carry out flights willi a regnlarily comparable to that maintained by surface craft. Tlip range, practically speaking, is almost unlimited, and the. weight-carrying capacity large. A 10,009,01X1 cubic feet rapacity rigid airship will linvo a disposable lift of over 200 lons, which is available) for petrol, ballast, crew, passengers, freight, in varying proportions ns desirable. Tlip. ust's to which such an airship could bo put are clearly of great importance. With a rigid of about M.000.C00 cubic feel capacity, and endurance of approximately three woeke at 40 to -If) miles per hour, with a maximum speed of 70 to B0 miles per hour, u ceiling of some 30.000 feet can be obtained, and a maximum range of over 20.0W miles, or nearly once round the world

Official statistics show tlm'. only ono airship has been lost in Britain owing to witching lire in the air, although S3,3fiO hours havo been down and over 2J million miles covered during the war. In the case referred to the flight was an experimental one with a now type of ship, and the cause has since been ascertained and eliminated.

The opinion is expressed that, for commercial purposes, largo rigid airship eta l tions should be (.'.stubliihcd at distances of 20<K)-3(!00 inilcs apart, mainly for transoceanic traffic, while (lie aeroplane would be used for bringing passengors and mcrchaiidiso to these from tin neighbouring countries. ]?cr example, a Continental airship service could nin from Lisbon to New York, passengers being taken In Lisbon from .l?uri«, Romp, etc., by noroplane. In this way tho aeroplane would compete with the train and the airship with tin steamship, over which she would have the advantage of reducing thi! average timu of transit by at least 50 por cent

It is stated that for purposes of shortdistance pleasure trips from, for example, south coast towns, it would not bo necessary to establish largo stations at each (own, but the following principle, which has been found most economical and successful during the war, might be adopted. This consists of building a'station provided with permanent sheds, quarters, etc., at isoine convenient contra, nnd forming temporary buses, consisting merely o( a small, cheap portable shed, and a few tenle or hub; at other plnces, from each of which oiio or two airships aro run, main supplies being drawn from tho "parent" station, where all large repairs are cll'pctpil. Jn addition to tho uso of portable sheds at sub-station, experiments have been carried out in mooring out nirships in the open, which havo had such a largo moasuro of success as to promiso well for tho future.

It is of interest lo learn that nine airship stations of various sizes will in nil probability shortly cease to be in use liy tlio /ulmirnlty. 'I'liesu will therefore Ik>(■nine nvailablit for commercial purposes, tlimigli I.lm iirenter part of llio ground is occupied under the Defence of Hie Realm Act. In addition a certain number of K.S. Zero airship* and coustal Star nirnhips will become available for disposal. The following details of rigid airships are given:Grass Dieposnblo length, lift. lift. Cost. Type Feel. Tons. Tone. £ 2.000,000 fillip ... 697 66.6 38.0 150.000 10,C00,0C0 ship - 1100 303.6 200 200,000 to 300,000 The estimated apeed of the ships is given as: Smaller ship, full, 74 miles; cruising, ■10.52 miles per hour. Larger ship, full, 8C.3 milee; oruicing, 52.69 miles per hour. Tho running cost of hydrogen per Hour is put at .13 and j66 reepectively.