A GREAT RECORD

Evening Post, Volume CXVII, Issue 51, 1 March 1934, Page 11

A GREAT RECORD

THE GRAF ZEPPELIN

TRANS-ATLANTIC FLIGHTS

VISIT TO AUSTRALIA ?

While the exploits of tho fast airmail aeroplanes overseas are receiving i increased attention, the remarkable i feats of the great German airship, Graf I Zeppelin, are apt to be neglected. And c yet this wonderful lighter-than-air craft r is, in many respects, unique. She is the i world's only successful airship with a I long and practically flawless record; tho ' money for her construction was sub- I scribed by the German people at a time * ■when Germany was bankrupt; she represents the ideas and creative designs 1 'of the. originator of the Zeppelin, and c she was designed and built by Dr. a Eckener, who has remained her com- c mander ever since her trials five years ' ago, writes a correspondent in the Melbourne "Herald," suggesting that a s visit of the giant airship during the t centenary celebrations, might, be ar- s ranged. . ■ And since her trials she has made re- I markable aerial history, despite the x disasters which have befallen other J lighter-than-air craft—notably the ElOl ' and the Akron. I No other airship, indeed, has such a J brilliant record of service. She was completed in 1928, and in October of that year she made her first voyage l across the wind-swept Atlantic—a voy- I age that was highly successful. In 1929 s she was re-engined with five Maybach f engines to give her greater, power and speed; and then she circumnavigated * the globe in twenty days—an unprece- : dented feat, carried out with the ut- * most.efficiency and freedom from acci- ' dent; In August,. 1931, this sky voyager ( made a prolonged and Tomantic trip to the Arctic regions, and later, paid a visit to Britain, where her appearance created a sensation, and where, • mci- * dentally, L her commander, Captain ' Eckener, is much liked and respected. i For he has the bluff and hearty personality of a real seadog such as the E British love. (Only perhaps one should nowadays use.the term air-dog!) \ REGULAR SERVICE. i Since then,. the Graf Zeppelin has \ been engaged in regular mail and pas- • .senger trips across the stormy Atlan- 1 tic, ; from her base at Friedriehshafen c in German}^ to Pernajnbuco in Brazil. '- And you may picture her, like :t,mo t gigantic fish, roaring her way regularly over the leagues of ocean, amid the clouds—as regularly as any of the * steamers below. Only a few weeks ago she beat her * own lecord in crossing from Pernambueo to Germany in 71 hours, and a week later she made still another speed l record, flying from Germany to Pernam- c buco in 72 hours. Three days, in fact, I seems to be the average time.which she has now established for the long ocean * crossing, a remarkable performance c when it is remembered that there is no c other airship in the world carrying on * a- regular service anywhere. Indeed * all other nations have abandoned airships except America, which has now * on© naval airship— the Macon. * An aeroplane feeder service takes the * mails from Eio to Pernambuco, and 1 from Berlin to Priedrichshafen, and * thus the whole of Europe and. South * America is served by this new and re- * liable airship service, which runs to a regular fortnightly schedule. t , Without in any way detracting from T the merits of these fine performances f however, it may be pointed out that the } Graf Zeppelin flies on the fine weather ] route across.the South Atlantic, Ocean, * and that she is taken off in the' winter 6 months. \ fc DREAMS REALISED. " Nevertheless, in this great ship are a realised many romantic dreams. You' T may picture her— a familiar sight now * to thousands overseas—gliding like" some grey ghost amid the white, scurrylanflnioU<i,SVllo7 l and a«ain she «o««. a blue patch of sky, and turns in a flash flirt rt VePal-£ e sunliSht catches her s • fish-shaped bulk. From up there aloft l SET the-auU^ oile of her «■ ° ffc i SJ ey. dnve *he 772-foot hull x through the air at a speed of more'than * eighty miles per hour. , v It is siow by comparison with the T roaring passage of a great mail aeroplane of course. But it is fast enough " —and there is something majestic in r the. passing of this airship far over- * head, remote from land and vet con- 2 £a I 7'}? tOmh :vrith ib~hy tireless. a And, furthermore, there is surprisingly c adequate passenger accommodation in a the Graf Zep'pslin. None of the hardships of travel 3 here! Glittering aluminium and shin- a ing paintwork; cosy chairs and sweep- * ing windows through which the pas- i severs may watch the land sliding Z?7' fa I r., l)eloTr> in a coloured, magic pattern like a giant map; a kitchen. * where white-coated chefs prepare meals » ■ ™rthy of the best hotels; dainty sleep- « ; mg a.gwae of cards. . In another corwV a Pas9enger m busily writing a letter. Two more are battling over a chess board. I n the control £ - » - cers and crew are at their jobs—nlottmg the course of the ship, liUng^nd tending engines, carrying on all th» routine tasks-just as they do down there below in that liner which k ploughing through blue, heavy seas. '. EYES ON NORTH ATLANTIC. ' Outside the windows of the airshtn the wisps of drifting clouds pass by like wraiths. Sunlight streams in, warming the atmosphere; and always sounds the deep-throated drono of the big engines, and the rush of the wind round the giant hull. Will the airship ever be a.ble, though, to face the hurricanes of winter weather? It is Dr. Eekener's ambition to exploit the rich North Atlantic traffic, but hitherto, weather conditions have'prevented lighter-than-air craft and even aeroplanes from being placed in this service, and the big Atlantic liners still have that field to themselves. But time may bring the necessary improvements. In the meanwhile the Graf Zeppelin has now made fifty flights across the ocean, and still carries on her regular, service. ."Vow the new Zeppelin, LZ 129, is nearing completion. She is nearly twice as large as the Graf Zeppelin and, working in co-operation, the two could establish a weekly service or even make six trips per month. Why shonld not tho Graf Zep/slin make a flight out to Australia for the ' Centenary celebrations? It would interfere, perhaps, with her profit making schedule runs across the Atlantic, but she would not lack passengers and.during her stay in Australia she would earn money by giving sK«.":t trips. . | Sue,-a voyage -wi/trtA-be nothing Uo a ship that has made so ma-ny Tong voyages; she does not Tequire mooring masts and hangars; she can sit down in any large open space, with a ground • staff to take her lines and steady her down. But she must keep clear of gtorms. Weather plays the major part in these big: airships' Jives, and she only moves when the "All Clear" is given from the weather bureaux. Three times a day before the flight, •weather charts are traced and; telegraphed to Friedrichshafen, and ithese . charts determine the route to be fol-