BRITAIN’S AIR LINER.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIX, Issue 5232, 27 January 1928, Page 2

BRITAIN’S AIR LINER.

THE LARGEST AIRSHIP. ACCOMMODATION FACILITIES. The RlOO now being built for the Air Ministry will bei the largest and most powerful air vessel, nearly twice the size of any Zeppelin. The most \vonderful part, perhaps, is the for accommodating the passengers and crew. Just forward of the; centre of, the framework a miniature hotel will be constructed into the ship which is four "storeys” high. On what may be caH ed the ground floor, which projects slightly below the keel of the ship, will be the cOhtral and navigating room, while the second floor will be reserved for the crew, accommodation being reserved for 50 men. ;The two top floors have been! equipped to pro’vide; living accommodation and amusement for 100 passengers. On the third floor is a dining-room, which, when cleared, provides a smooth dapcihg floor- On long transcontinental flights passengers will dance in this aerial ballroom to wireless music picked up from the broadcasting stations of various countries. K'itchejns and two and four-bunk berths are also to be foiund on this floor while oh either side is a long, broad verandah. All the hundred p'asserigers can be seated on these verandahs, which are quite weatherproof, the whole of the sides' of the airslrp being covered in glass to allow an open view of the country overwhich the ship is flying. The top storey contains the remaining berths and a lounge, from which passengers can look down into the dinung-room and ballroom.

The framework of the ship is virtually completed, and a. large part of the outer covering is ready for fixing to the frame. The first gasbag, the largest ever made, will be ready next week. It is hoped that the ship will be colmpleted next April. It will cost, all told, £450,000, and on this basis the passenger fare for a transJAtlantic flight would be £lOO. This compares favourably with £125 charged by some ocean liners, and, ini addition, the journey from London to New York would be made in forty-eight hours.