AIR LITERS.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 18894, 8 January 1927, Page 8

AIR LITERS.

HOTEL LIFE IN THE AIR. DAXCE FLOORS AND SHOWER BATHS. LONDON. November :?j. Prime Ministers and other representatives of the Dominions have had an opportunity or seeing !io-,v the airship is tein;: adapted lor use in both war and peace, luis was at the Royal Airship \\ orKs, Cai'dingtou, near Ued- ! :ord, where one or the new State airI -nips is oeiui bunt. Ifte programme included the slipping able veteran or the o!«i British airships, from th.e. new i'Wti mooring ma.-.: which will be the point of Cepuriure of the future air traveller to ai! j parts of the British Empire; and it also provided fur a repetuioii of the experiment of dropping two singleseater service fighters from the ship in flight. The weather, however, was as contrary as it could be. In the mornni2 a stiff cross wind on to the .-lied prevented the R33 being brought out. and in the afternoon, when the wind changed. and the R33 could come out, she was lost to sight when tJOOft above around in a wet mist. The pilots of the Grebe lighters, as a measure of precaution, required 1000 feet of clear nir before they released themselves, and as at this level they were in a thick blanket of cloud, the experiment regretful!v was abandoned. Sir Samuel Hoare, Mr Bruce. 'Mr Mackenzie Kins, Mr Coates. and Mr Havens.-! (who represented General Hertzog 1 ! had all postponed afternoon encasements in London to witness the flight, and as the R-'W fitfully ed and disappeared in the =eud above, had at last n practical demonstration of the en=e of oneration of even an oldtvpe airship in bad visibilitr condition. They made. too. a close inspection of the new mnorlnn - mast, were shot up in a lift to the landing nlatform, 170 feet above the ground, afterwards Himbinz the remaining distance into the masthead chamber, where n mass of machinery and metal, weicrMn:: tons, can he swunz round at will in all directions to take a direct null on the air-bin cable as the shin is drawn down to the nvsl:. If is from thi; nia = t that the new State airship will start on its first voyage fn Tndia. and tli" "last will nlso be the terminal point in Great Britain of the main Empire airship route? to the Dominions. For 100 Passengers. The lUOI is one of two airships of the programme sanctioned in 1024, the other ship being RIOO, which is being built by the Airship Guarantee Company at Howden. Yorks. Both ships are of <3,000,000 cubic feet capacity ami will be required to fulfil certain general conditions; they must he able to fly at 70 m.p.h. at an altitude of oOOOl't, and must conform with certain air-worthiness requirements laid down by the Air Ministry. They must have a range of cruising speed, with an ordinary commercial load, of about 1000 miles. Subject to such general conditions, the designers have a free hand. The type of mooring mast at Cardington is, however, the standard Air Ministry mast, and both airships must- have mooring gear suitable for it.

Both airships nr« beiiv.4 designed to carry approximately 100 passengers, luj£gage, and 10 tons of mails. The accommodation will include sleeping cabins with two or four berths, promenade decks, lounges, and smoking room: the dining-rooms will bo capable of seating fifty people at .1 time. The kitchens will make it possible to serve normal meals l'or passengers and crew, and a five or six-course dinner should be well within the capacity of the airship steward.

The whole of the passenger accommodation will be continued within the hull of the airship, while the control car will project slightly underneath the hull. The accommodation will he amidships, divided into upper and lower decks. On the upper deck there will he the lounge, fitted to seat ali the passengers, the dining-room, and the main part- of the sleeping accommodation, nhile running along each side of the airship will be two promenades. Fares Same as by Sea. Among other features which are contemplated may be mentioned shower baths, accommodation for dancing and games: and there should be no difficulty in providing headphones or loud speakers, so that passengers will bo able to listen-in to the wireless programmes of the various countries over which the airship will travel. The fares at first will be the same as the first-class rail and steamship fares on the same routes, but it is confidently believed that it will be possible at an earlv date to reduce the charges. The length of_ the RlOl will be approximately 730 ft, and the maximum diameter 130 ft; the overall height will be about 140 ft. The gross lift will be approximately 1.50 tons, of which about <0 tons will be available for fuel, water ballast, goods, and passengers. She will have five engines—housed in an equal number of cars slung from the ship—which will burn heavy gas oil fuel, and are expected to be remarkably economical in consumption. The experimental work in connexion with these engines is being carried out by William Beardmore and Co., Ltd., Glasgow. 'The engines are expected to give about 600 h.p. each. Mooring Masts in Dominions. A mooring mast has been erected at Ismailia on the Suez Canal, and another mast and a shed are under* construction at Karachi, India; and whereas the enlarged airship shed at Cardington is 157 ft high and 812 ft long, that at Karachi is 170 ft high ami 8-5011 long. Tho actual assembly of this airship will probably not be commenced until next year, but all sections of the work are now well in hand. Alter the new airships have carried out their home trials successfully the} will each be required to carry out flights to Egypt and India, and 'if the Dominion Governments provide the necessary mooring masts and refuelling stations, as suggested recently by th? •Secretary of State in his speech to the Imperial Conference on "Air Communications," demonstration flights to the Dominions will- also take place as early as possible.