AIRSHIPS VERSUS AEROPLANES.

King Country Chronicle, Volume XII, Issue 1223, 12 June 1919, Page 2

AIRSHIPS VERSUS AEROPLANES.

_ _ .*- AN EXPERT REPORT. A memorandum prepared by thn British Air Ministry institutes a comparison between Hi*? a»lvantage» or airship* ami aeroplanes for commercial purposes and appendices discuss lit* relative development and potentialities of rigid airship* and aeroplane* and some of Ihe commercial consideration relating to airships. The opinion is expressed that tha ftttitre use of aeroplanes and airships for commercial purposes will not conmot The airship is essentially a longdistance, weight-carrying craft in comwith the short-distance, highspeed aeroplane: yet the airship to-day with a speed of 77.6 miles an hour, can be considered slow only in comparison with the aeroplane, and is unquestionably fast in comparison with existin.tr methods of land and sea transport. >he has, farther, the advantage of not being dependent on her speed through the air for her ability to remain aloft, and is. therefore, not liable, like the aeroplane, to forced descent in case of engine failure. In fact, quite repairs, such as the changing of a cylinder, are possible in the air. The airship is thus worthy or consideration for commercial flights over tea or over land of a wooded or broken nature, such as would be unsuitable for the landing of aeroplanes, and on journeys involving non-stops nights or 1000 miles and upwards. In addition. she is Ihe most suitable type or aircraft for the carriage of passengers, where safely, comfort, and reliability are essential. She can always remain on an even keel, and there is therefore no danger in nylng at night or in Toe and clouds. The great lift permits or much more comfortable accommodation being provided than in an areoptane. and there is room to move about it being possible, for example, in the case of a rigid airship, to take a walk of 400 ft or 500 ft along the keel. The fact that the envelope is filled with an inflammable gas need not cause any missivings as to safely, when it is remembered that during Ihe war large numbers of motor vehicles have been used carrying bags filled with equally inflammable coal-gas at no greater distance from the engine than n the case of an airship. Official statistics show that only one airship has been lost in Ihi* country owing to catching fire In Ihe air. although 83,360 hours were flown and over 2J million miles covered during the war. In that case the flight was an experimental one with a new type of airship, and the cause has since been ascertained and eliminated. It appears that for commercial purposes large rigid airship stations should be established at distances of 2000 to 3000 miles apart, mainly for transoceanic trafflc, the aeroplane being used for bringing passengers and merchandise to these from the neighbouring countries. A Continental airship service, for example, might run from Lisbon to New York, passengers being taken to Lisbon from Paris. Rome, and other places by aeroplane. In this way the aeroplane would compete with Ihe train, and the airship with the steamship, over which she would have the advantage of reducing the average time of transit by at least 50 per cent. In addition airships would be used for Hnkins up the railways in such places as Central Africa, where the country is difficult Tor both aeroplanes and land transport. Though airships are generally considered fair-weather craft, up to the end of November there were last year only nine days on which no airship flight look place in the British Isles, which are notorious as possessing almost the worst weather conditions of any country in the world. In Ion? voyages advantage could be taken of favourable winds and the routes chosen accordingly, while, owing to her lons endurance, an airship could afford to fly over or round a depression should one be encountered.