THRILLS ON AN AIRSHIP

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 12 January 1929, Page 9

THRILLS ON AN AIRSHIP

KARL 11. Von Wiegand, special correspondent of the “Springfield Republican, declares that Dr. Eckener has demonstrated Avith the Graf Zeppelin the feasibility and practicability .of commercial transatlantic air traffic. It would be unfair to this giant silver ship of the air, for Avhich I have come to liaA T e a genuine affection for having brought us from Europe to America through storm and stress, he says,, not to tell the truth about the storm incident which damaged the ship and ■brought us into peril.

In part, at least—now ?ar, it will be difficult to establish —it was due to the helmsman, on the wheel which controls the elevator fins. When the first shock of the heavy squall, into which we went at 70 miles an hour, struck the ship, the elevator helmsman lost his head, and, instead of countering and correcting the downward depression of the bow 0 f the ship, he threw over the wheel the wrong way, thereby accelerating the dive downward. Almost immediately he discovered his blunder, and then so strongly threw the wheel in the opposite direction that he brought up the nose of the ship so suddenly ancl so sharply that one of the stabilising fins, which carry the greater , part of the aero-dynamic load and, so to speak, is the “hinge” on which the airship moves upwards or downward, could not stand the strain. Both Staff Captain Ernest Lehmann, though on duty at the time, and 'Commander Eosendahl, saw the _ mistake, but too late to interfere in time Ihe loss of the British ESS was attributed to some such error on the part of the helmsman. The strain ancl stress of buffeting winds that th e Graf Zeppelin'stood successfully after the accident demonstrated beyond doubt the structural strength and stability of the great ship of the air. The epoch-making voyage revealed certain weakness, too. The wireless station should have a greater radius. Because of the vital necessity of weather reports, the wireless is of' vastly greater importance, to airships than to seagoing vessels for the wireless should, not. r>e dependent on an automatic, generator that runs only when the airship has considerable speed. AVhen the accident to the stabiliser occurred ancl the ship had to stop, it was impossible to send a call for help, until the emergency set was got ready. The administration of the wireless room left much to be desired. The feeding of passengers and crew was wholly inadequate. No inexperienced cook'and amateur steward, however willing, can.cook ancl wait on 60 people with hearty appetites.

GRAF ZEPPELIN S VOYAGE

A PASSENGER’S STORY

Wo looked upon it as a ‘.‘picnic’ party and few of us minded it. i At 9.30 came the cry from the control bridge “land.” Everybody rushed to the AvindOAA’s. ' Eyes sparkled, voices had the resonance of joy. Only Lady Drummond Hay said almost sadly: I shall be sorry to leave our silver ship. It has carried us safely through Avinds and storms and at that being ’handicapped by being crippled like a bird. It has given us an experience that never again Avill AA r o haA’e in life.” She meant it, too. Fifteen minutes later Ave reached the coast line of Virginia betAveen Cape Charles and Machipongo light. A lighthouse tender saluted us AA’it'h her siren. Wo crossed the sandy shore line at an altitude of 1700 feet. An airplane gieeted us a feAv minutes later loping and spinning .like a bird trying to express the joy that Ave felt. Commander Rosendahl came to the bridge and remarked to Echener, “Look out for fog, ’’ for iioav Rosendahl, the ablest airship man in America, and, as I have had opportunity to learn, one of the ablest fin the Avorld to-day, was at home in the air here. Sure enough, within 10 minutes a blanket of fog blotted out Virginia from us as we I headed up Chesapeake Bay. As Ave crossed the coast line the commodore handed the A\ r ireless operator a telegram of greeting to President Coolidge: — ’ “At the moment of arrival on. the American coast line on this diversified and very interesting crossing of the Atlantic’Oecan by airship with passengers and mail from German)' to | America, in which avc have had as com-1 r ade and experienced friend, Lieuten-ant-commander Rosendahl of the United .States navy, the commander and creAv of tho Graf Zeppelin beg to extend to the President of the United States their most respectful greetings.” The reaction among the passengers was strong. At least one or tAvo, perhaps more, had at one time or another reckoned Avith the possibility of never reaching this side of flic Atlantic. One, Frederick Gilfallen, OA-en wished 'he had brought a revolver along because it. would be easier to die that Avay than by drowning. Another passenger expressed his conviction to me more than once, “We will merer get there.” Eckener has been the personification of calm and confidence throughout the flight—even his eyes shoAved a ucav light. His son, Knut, has been one of the real heroes of this great achievement in the air. No man’s heart, on this aii' voyage Avns at. the stage of such drama as that of the commodore. When .so large a part of the vital ' stabilising fin was torn away Knut

Eckener was the first volunteer to crawl out into that perilous place ten begin repairs. With him were ILedewig, one of the wireless operators. Helmsman Samt and Navigation Officer Marx. A little later when the stern of the ship began to sag under the deluge of rain and other causes, Captain Flemming, then in command on the bridge, turned to the commodore and said, “We must start two engines.” The ship was practically standing still. The motors were partly stopped, partly idling. Eckener knew that his son was on that fin. He knew, too, that if lie ordered the motors to 'be started that in all probability th e wind would tear his sen, perhaps others, off that perilous place and hurl them into the angry sea below. “I must have-two motors,” again said Flemming. Eckener’s face suddenly aged. He looked out of the window from his favourite place in the corner of the bridge? He swallowed hard. Huskily came the command, “.Start the motors.”

There is no telephone communication from the bridge to where that fin is. What Eekener lived 'through in the minutes before word was brought to him that his son Knut and the others were safe, only he and his 'God Know. On the entire trip since we left ITiedrichshafen Thursday morning, Eekener had had but about eight hours sleep. I was on the bridge at all hours of the night and day, sometimes sitting with him there, always I found him on his post of duty. Always he took his meals there. Saturday night after the accident he laid down once but could not sleep. The night Sunday to 'Monday was critical. I was so worn out that I threw myself in my berth without any dinner at 9. Even a glass 'of champagne and some caviare Avas no temptation. Soon I was awakened by the ship dipping and rolling. We were fighting with buffeting A\-inds. One could feel how the big ship struggled bravely to overcome the elements. There was nothing dangerous or critical in that. The danger lay, however, in that crippled “vying,” if I may so call it. Report came to the -hriclge that a part of the upper surface had been carried away. Knut Eekener, Ladewig, Knorr, Saint, and others worked like Tro.jans fastening the remainder so that it would go. About 10 we were through. Eekener laid down and slept for a short time. Toward morning a south-easterly wind drove us along at increased speed. When we heard “Land in sight,” all knevv'that the pioneer blazing of a path through the air over the Atlantic from Europe to America for commercial traffic had been achieved.