AIRSHIP INSPECTED.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20272, 4 June 1929, Page 9

AIRSHIP INSPECTED.

, RlOl NEARLY READY. : SIZE IMPRESSES VISITORS. •Y." LONDON, May 26:. Members , -.if the Royal Aeronautical Society "paid a visit- 1 io'the airship KlOl to-day, taking advantage of the last dale '{u before'the filling of the gasbags and the pumping ,in of- cubic feet, of hydrogen:-•/ ' The visitors . werer. impressed bv the luxury ,of the 'accommodation, and the l Vj many amassing features in the design. , The airship is at^pj - egent, ; l)oused in a giant shed/812ft. long.-japji fls7>ti high, at Gardington. The TacV'-'that • nearly all the sections of the' ! outer cover *" have ,;1 been installed enable a nia'gmficent idea ; to be gained of-the airship's smoothflowing lines-and the actual size, 724 ft. from nose to tail. Both of the fails -I are 80ft. from ;the floor, causing the upper rudder, now installed, to appear small, until the discovered oil ; the floor a"huge tubularstrongly-braced structure , 40ft. long, which is the. companion lowerrudder. The visitors were also <i&rprised at the spaciousness of the passengers' and public rooms. The dining, room only seats 50, and the smoking room is also restricted in size, but the main lounge is a fine apartment, ,60ft. long, extending across the full v. idth of the airship; with a verandah each side, 7ft. wide. Leaning on the handrail of the \eiandahj passengers will get a wonderful \ie\\ through the safety glass panels. Grace-fully-shaped pillars, with clusters of electric lights, hide the essential. structuralmembers. Comfortable settees line tlie . walls, and the centre is furnished with 1 club chairs and tables. The visitors, looking up to where the deck was not covered in, to the mazy mass of girders, bracing and suspension wires, found it difficult to adjust their pre-conceivecl ideas of ocean tra\el in steamers to the requirements, of airships, where low structural weight , and large volumes spell efficiency. ' Passengers rising in the lift installed in the mooring tower, and entering the airship through a long,'enclosed corridor, will probably be surprised at her apparent solidity, although when they arrive at their berths they will recognise thatsolid wooden or steel partitions are impossible when every extra pound of structural weight means a pound less of paying load.. They will appreciate, too. how ingeni-ously-painted fabric can make a partition, or a slight give in the- flooring can be permitted in, throe-ply suitabiy -'i' fened aud weighing, only threo- °V "■ ?' u "-v poundsto the square foot, jot ao : ' e , stand a uniform'load of 17U'j.