George Whale

“ He also remarked that, "it having been conceded that the scope of the airship is long-distance travel, the only type which need be considered for this purpose is the rigid. The rigid airship is still in an embryonic state, but sufficient has already been accomplished in this country, and more particularly in Germany, to show that with increased capacity there is no reason why, within a few years' time, airships should not be built capable of completing the circuit of the globe and of conveying sufficient passengers and merchandise to render such an undertaking a paying proposition." ”

“ A disturbing feature to the advocate of the large airship, has been the destruction of raiding Zeppelins by heavier-than-air machines, and the Jeremiahs have not lost this opportunity of declaring that for war purposes the huge rigid is now useless and will always be at the complete mercy of the fast scouting aeroplane. There is never any obstacle in this world that cannot be surmounted by some means or other. On the one hand there is helium, a non-inflammable gas which would render airships almost immune to such attacks. ”

“ Experience in the war has proved that for military purposes the large rigid, capable of long hours of endurances and the small non-rigid made thoroughly reliable, are the most valuable types for future development. The larger non-rigids, with the possible exception of the North Sea, do not appear to be likely to fulfil any very useful function.
Airship design introduces so many problems which are not met with in the ordinary theory of structures, that a whole volume could easily be devoted to the subject, and even then much valuable information would have to be omitted from lack of space. ”

“ A sharp look-out was always kept for mines, and many were destroyed, either by gunfire from the airship herself or through the agency of patrol boats in the vicinity. This was the chief work of the S.S. ships, and was brought to a high pitch of perfection by the S.S. Zero. These ships proved so handy that they could circle round an object without ever losing sight of it, and yet could be taken in and out of sheds in weather too bad to handle bigger ships.
The hunting of the submarine has been likened to big-game hunting, and certainly no one ever set out to destroy a bigger quarry. ”

“ From the war two new methods of transportation have emerged--the aeroplane and the airship. To the business man neither of these is at the present juncture likely to commend itself on the basis of cost per ton mile. When, however, it is considered that the aeroplane is faster than the express train and the airship's speed is double that of the fastest merchant ship, it will be appreciated that for certain commercial purposes both these mediums for transport have their possibilities. ”

“ The disasters experienced by all early airships and most particularly by the Zeppelins were always seized upon by those who desired to convince the country what unstable craft they were, and however safe in the air they might be were always liable to be wrecked when landing in anything but fine weather. Those who might have sunk their money in airship building thereupon patted themselves upon the back and rejoiced that they had been so far-seeing as to avoid being engaged upon such a profitless industry. ”

“ We accordingly find from the foregoing observations that at the start of a voyage the lift of an airship may be expected to be greater when the temperature is colder, and the greater the barometric pressure so will also the lift be greater. To put this into other words, the most favourable conditions for the lift of an airship are when the weather is cold and the barometer is high. ”

“ We have endeavoured to show that the non-rigid airship has potentialities even for commercial purposes, but there is no doubt whatever that the future of the airship in the commercial world rests entirely with the rigid type, and the airships of this type moreover must be of infinitely greater capacity than those at present in existence, if a return is to be expected for the capital invested in them. ”

“ The development of aeronautics generally in this country was behind that of the Continent, and the airship had suffered to a greater extent than either the seaplane or the aeroplane. Our attitude in fact towards the air had not altered so very greatly from that of the man who remarked, on reading in his paper that some pioneer of aviation had met with destruction, "If we had been meant to fly, God would have given us wings." ”

“ The single-wire system is at the same time the simplest and most obvious method which suggests itself, and means that the ship is secured by a wire cable attached to a suitable point in the ship and led to some fixed point on the ground. It has been found that an airship secured in this way requires constant attention, and that steering is always necessary to render her steady in the air. Considerable improvement is obtained if a dragging weight is added to the wire, as it tends to check to a considerable extent lateral motion of the bow of the ship. ”

“ Rivalry existed between private firms for aeroplane contracts which consequently produced improvements in design; airships could not be produced in this way owing to the high initial cost, and if the resulting ships ended in failure, as many were bound to do, there would be no return for a large outlay of capital. The only way by which private firms could be encouraged to embark on airship building was by subsidies from the Government, and at this time the prevalent idea of the doubtful value of the airship was too strong for money to be voted for this purpose. ”

“ The difference between the weight of air displaced and the weight of gas in a balloon or airship is called the "gross lift." The term "disposable," or "nett" lift, is obtained by deducting the weight of the structure, cars, machinery and other fixed weights from the gross lift. The resultant weight obtained by this calculation determines the crew, ballast, fuel and other necessities which can be carried by the balloon or airship. ”

“ The usual method is to insert the parachute, properly folded for use, in a containing case which is fastened either in the car or on the side of the envelope as is most convenient. In a small ship the crew are all the time attached to their parachutes and in the event of the ship catching fire have only to jump overboard and possess an excellent chance of being saved. In rigid airships where members of the crew have to move from one end of the ship to the other, the harness is worn and parachutes are disposed in the keel and cars as are lifebuoys in seagoing vessels. ”

“ For short cruises about this country and round the coast a small airship, somewhat similar to the S.S. Zero, would be an ideal craft. In cost it would be considerably less than a small yacht, and as it would only be required in the summer months, it would be inflated and moored out in the open in a park or grounds and the expense of providing a shed need not be incurred. For longer distances, a ship of 150,000 cubic feet capacity, with a covered-in car and driven by two engines, would have an endurance of 25 hours at a cruising speed of 45 miles per hour. ”

“ As there is no shed in America capable of housing a big rigid, there was no alternative but to moor her out in the open, replenish supplies of gas and fuel and make the return journey as quickly as possible. ”

“ Thirdly, there is the streamline envelope with tangential suspensions, which has been adopted for all classes of the S.S. airship, and which has proved for its purpose in every way highly satisfactory.
Of these three types the rigid has the inherent disadvantage of not being able to be dismantled, if it should become compelled to make a forced landing away from its base. Even if it were so fortunate as to escape damage in the actual landing, there is the practical certainty that it would be completely wrecked immediately any increase occurred in the force of the wind. ”

“ Apart from these occasional visits to a shed, the airship, in the ordinary way at the end of a voyage, will pick up its moorings as does the big steamer, and land its passengers and cargo, at the same time replenishing its supplies of fuel, gas, provisions, etc., while minor repairs to the machinery can be carried out as she rides in the air.
A completely satisfactory solution of the mooring problem for the rigid airship has yet to reach its consummation. ”

“ On the other hand, the airship, being provided with engines to propel it through the air, and with rudders and elevators to control it for direction and height, can be steered in whatever direction is desired, and voyages can be made from one place to another--always provided that the force of the wind is not sufficiently strong to overcome the power of the engines. ”

“ As the balloon or airship ascends the density of the air decreases as the height is increased. As an illustration of this the barometer falls, as everyone knows, the higher it is taken, and it is accurate to say that up to an elevation of 10,000 feet it falls one inch for every 1,000 feet rise. It follows that as the pressure of the air decreases, the volume of the gas contained expands at a corresponding rate. It has been shown that a balloon filled with 1,000 feet of hydrogen has a lift of 70 lb. ”

“ It is therefore obvious that increased benefits are obtained by building airships of a larger size, and that the bigger the ship the greater will be its efficiency, providing, of course, that it is kept within such limits that it can be handled on the ground and manoeuvred in the air. ”

“ During the war we have built the largest fleet of airships in the world, in non-rigids we have reached a stage in design which is unsurpassed by any country, and in rigid airships we are second only to the Germans, who have declared that, with the signing of the peace terms, their aircraft industry will be destroyed. ”

“ The principle which has been found to be most satisfactory is to fix the points of suspension distributed over the greatest length of envelope possible proportional to the lift of gas at each section thus formed. From these points the wires are led to the car. If the car is placed close to the envelope it will be seen that the suspensions of necessity lie at a very flat angle and exert a serious longitudinal compression. This must be resisted by a high internal pressure, which demands a stouter fabric for the envelope and, therefore, increased weight. ”

“ The airship car contains all instruments and controls required for navigating the ship and also provides a housing for the engines. In the early days swivelling propellers were considered a great adjunct, as with their upward and downward thrust they proved of great value in landing. Nowadays, owing to greater experience, landing does not possess the same difficulty as in the past, and swivelling propellers have been abandoned except in rigid airships, and even in the later types of these they have been dispensed with. ”

“ The aeroplane is eminently adapted for certain purposes, and the greatest bigot in favour of the airship can hardly dispute the claims of this machine to remain predominant for short-distance travel, where high speed is essential and the load to be carried is light. For long distance voyages over the oceans or broken or unpopulated country, where large loads are to be carried, the airship should be found to be the more suitable. ”

“ In a balloon, therefore, which ascends from the ground full, gas is lost throughout its upward journey, and when it comes down again it is partially empty or flabby. This would be an impossible situation in the case of the airship, for she would become unmanageable, owing to the buckling of the envelope and the sagging of the planes. Ballonets are therefore fitted to prevent this happening. ”

“ To the envelope of the N.S. is rigged a long covered-in car. The framework of this is built up of light steel tubes, the rectangular transverse frames of which are connected by longitudinal tubes, the whole structure being braced by diagonal wires. The car, which tapers towards the stern, has a length of 85 feet, with a height of 6 feet. The forward portion is covered with duralumin sheeting, and the remainder with fabric laced to the framework. Windows and portholes afford the crew both light and space to see all that is required. ”