IN A ZEPPELIN.

Wanganui Chronicle, Issue 12881, 2 May 1913, Page 3

IN A ZEPPELIN.

PASSENGER'S EXPERIENCES.

In the "World's Work"Jor March > passenger gives an interesting-; description of an air trip from Dusseldorf to Berlin in the Zeppelin airship Viktoria Luis©. The start was made at 4.30 in the moruingi and tho journey is thus described:— ~''.; -

After the arrival of my fellow passengers, who numbered 23, the automatic docking apparatus drew the ship ir.ito tho open, and as w© entered the cabin there was'not one of us who did not show evidences of a foyer of excitement. Air was pumped into the last Ullonet at th© stern, and tho Viktoria Luiso ■.tilted; her nos© at a rather sharp 'Angle toward the sky. So nicely balanced was the ship between lift and dead weight that the driving power of the. motors was required to send her upward like an aeroplane. As soon as a satisfactory level was reached the air was discharged, and we assumed a perfectly level position. A Zeppelin airship-leaves .the estrth with noii© of th© balloon's soaring motion. It^ is just like a train, started without perceptible jar smd kept in »uotion upon a perfect road-bed; Infect track, and perfect wheels. W© glided up into a south-east wind, and the low-handing moon showed that wo, were speeding almosc due northward. Beneath us fog added to th© darkness. Leaving Dulmen behind, tho northern foothills c-f th© Teutoburger Wald aiiotched across our course. All thiee motors wer© running, though riot, I was told, at top speed, rjjd we were makuip. about 44 miles an hour. On <£intther trip tho Viktoria Luise, under normal conditions, covered' a fraction rVore than 49 miles an hour. ■ '

Bremen came to v's .a little before soven o'clock, and as we swept in wide circles ahove th© city w© could see its armies of men going to their work. They were littl© interested in v*. Tho (unship is an old story iv Germany ccßionally ono in th^. street_would wav»> twiswer to our frantic greetings, but lor tho most part they went their way giving to us no apparent thought. Over Lljo country it was different. Farmers with, their wives and thejr children wer© willing to pause in their work and iviiteh tho droning 'monster -overhead. Cattlo seemed to regard us as a;.dir©ct menace to themselves. Perhaps they >diought the airship some great bird of \ vVoy. For an instant, they would stanii giizing up at us, th©n would eourry away, apparently seeking coyer. OVER HAMBURG.

Hamburg was reached just an houl tnid a-half after w« left Bremen he'pud. ■ Again w©' mado gr©at loops over , tho city, which, with its harboui, v/harves, and houses was spiead out .«>• j tl'ough it had been modelled of cla\ The hum of thousands of voices cair«« up to us and could be heard-iabov +I'clatter of our own motors. From Ham-biu-g, wo took <a, soutb-^east counse. rp,ain(3t t the wind,1 travelling in th*> direction of Berlin. At noon we wer© I'lying up the Elb© "\ alley by way of Bergsdorf and Domitz. In another two !;ours we reached Wittenberg. In the meantime individual table* 1?a«3 been placed in position, and lun tin' Oil wa9 served much as it is in the ordinary dining-car. There, was soup, uv. entree, -a roast—all piping hot—, vegetables, salad, cheese, and ©offeo. Jfo-r© of a dinner than a luncheon, and nil served ns though the chef and wait • cv« had tho conveniences of a' groat hotel at their command. The principles of ,th© firoless cooker had been brought into service in preparing the food; tho exhaust fiom the engines b»iug mad© to supply heat. After luncheon several passengers dozed comfortably in thoir armchairs enjoying tho *i.n that shone through the starboard windows. A better plac© for ian aftei--niibn nap "than the cabin of a Zfeppulin nirship cannot well b© imagined. The clroh© of the motors bocomcs » lullaby. There is the sens© of motion—swift motion—and yet not even th© slightest jar. An almost imperceptible vibratiou is felt only when a hand" is placed on a E*Je wall of tho cabin.

For th© purposes of a laboratory toe p.trahip is ideal. It has been proposed, tuid uoriously, by German siu-geons, to iurn th© cabin of tho Vikcorisi J-iui<st h:lo a temporary oporatmg-room where (x«rtain delicate surgery lias to bo por{ormed. The upper air is so puio thax ir really acte as an antiseptic wnd roiroves all danger of poison. After Nauen, Spandau, and Charlottenburg »am© quickly into view. We were over Hie Imperial palace fifteen minutes b«;foro' four o'clock, having mado th© fight from Hamburg in less than four hours. .Following th© Spree River w© crime in five minutes to tho Air Traffic Company's dock. The Viktoria Luiso pointed her bow toward the landingplace and th© three motors drove tho big ship downward as though w G intended to crush tho group of workman waiting to receive tho landing ropes as uiey wero cast off.

WEIGHT OF THE FUEL. Here wo experienced the only difficulty of th© voyage. During our trip ->' 400 miles, w© had lost nearly a ton of veigjht as the result of< the burning of 'fool. The ship, in consequence, wasiso Kuoyant that when the motors wer© sbwed down it shot into the air befor© Ihc dockm©n could make the landing ropes secure. At a height of iibout lOOOrfc. a small amount of gas was dis'.v.arged. Again the bow of ithb ship aas pointed earthward and our motors sent us to th© landing-place. This time th© Jiawsei-s wer© caught, and in another moment tho Viktoria Luis© was clamped to the heavy motor trucks which drew us into tho great barn-like filial where w© disembarked. the timo we took our places in tho cabin of th© Viktoria Luise until wo again stepped on solid ground, jubt twelve hours had elapsed. During that Urn© wo had com© from Dusseldorf— against a wind that at times had a velocity of 20 miles an hour—by way of th© seashore to Berlin. There had been no i< u toward incident. Every moment of tho voyage was filled With ploasuro. 'Vo cam© to ©arth rested and r--ca. with none of that duety, worn foeling that fastens upon a person during *t railway trip. That we wer© fortunate v th© weather encountered is true, bm it is also truo.thnt no Zeppelin airship has ever had a sc-rious accident while in tho air, though several hav e been rt€*troyed while riding at anchor. rho Viktoria Luise, crude compared ■vrith th© aircraft of the future, is as tt-u© a. ship as any that rides on tho water. Th© air is its element, and in the air it prceents a pictui-e of safety. it Mas launched early in 1912, and from its first trial has been a success. Ih© viktoria Luis© is just short of 436 ft. in length, and has a breadth of ibtt. It hastthr o six-cylinder Diesel Esotors with a combined horse-power of <!00. A speed of fifty miles an hour has been made with atmospheric conditions normal. 'If, by some rare accident, two of its motors should be rendered iiftcJess, the third would be sufficient to give headway against a 27-milo wind.