BRITAIN'S AIRSHIPS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20362, 17 September 1929, Page 9

BRITAIN'S AIRSHIPS.

SHED TRIALS PROCEEDING.

CONSTRUCTION OF RlOl.

HORSE-POWER REDUCED.

Australian and N.Z. Press Association. (Received September 16, 6.5 p.m.) LONDON. Sept. 15.

The Daily .Telegraph's aeronautical correspondent says thore is no possibility of tho new British airship RlOl emerging from the workshops beforo November. The weight of her engines and' their fittings exceeds the estimate by 5 tons and she is 1000 h.p. less than was expected. It is not likely that she will carry 100 passengers as was expected. She is intended for the Empire air route and will burn heavy oil.

Tho second new dirigiblo, RIOO, which will burn petrol, will be ready by tho middle of October. She will not be sont to the tropics.

The structural strength of both airships far exceeds that of the Graf Zeppelin. A British official wireless message says tho shed trials of tho Stato-built airship RlOl and the privntely-constructed vessel RIOO aro well advanced and still proceeding. Flying trials will bo carried out in an equally thorough manner. It is stated that RlOl will be tested in flights at home for about three months ana if successful these tests will be followed by a flight to India with tho Secretary of State for Air, Lord Thomson, as of the passengers. Although both dirigibles are of about the same capacity and will bo larger than any airship ever launched, they differ considerably in construction. The same crew will tost, both vessels. RIOO, which has boen built at Howden, Yorkshire, will bo taken to Cardington and moored to the mast erected there before her more important flight trials aro begun. While the airships have been undergoing shed tests in tho past month both have been air borne, or partly air borne. Tho navigation problems of these 700 ft. long airships are being carefully studied by specially-selected officers and crew.

Details of the construction of the State airship RlOl were recently given by the chief designer, Colonol V. C. Richmond, in a lecture to the Royal Aerouautical Society. Ho said the standard of comfort given must depend to a certain extent upon the locgth of the journey to bo flown between successive stoppingplaces. Non-stop journeys from two and a-half to three days were visualised for RlOl.

A passenger car located entirely outside the hull must porforce be long and add to the resistance, and the internal arrangement adopted in RlOl allowed of saloons of a much better proportion of width to length. The living-rooms of RlOl certainly avoided the cramped feeling which was experienced in long narrow train-like external cars, and ample outlook was provided from windows sloping at 45deg. located along tha promenades at the side of the mam liv-ing-rooms. The upper deck had an area, exclusive of the promenades, of 5550 square feet, and the lower deck of 1750 square feet, which could be increased if found desirable to approximately 4000 square feet by means of side wing decks. The top deck carried a dining room 32ft. by 20ft., to which daylight was admitted, and a small food . lift connected the dining room with the kitchen immediately below on the lower deck. The top deck also accommodated 52 passengers in two-berth cabins, the floor area of each cabin being about 6ft. 6in. by sft. 3in. Wash-basins were on the same deck, and were supplied with hot and cold water. The lower deck carried a small smoking room, 16ft. _by 12ft. 9in., lavatories, and crew's living room, while further sleeping accommodation for passengers could also be arranged on wing decks at this level, slung on either side of the central portion.