LIKE FISH

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 428, 9 August 1928, Page 9

LIKE FISH

Airships “Breathe" SAFETY FIRST NEW BRITISH MACHINES ' LONDON, August 1. j Many new details of the sensa- i tional British airships KIOO and j RlOl. now in course of construction, ! are revealed by the aeronautical correspondent of “The Times.” Special precautions have been ) taken to ensure the vess< Is* strength under the worst conditions, and one j ingenious adaptation of the principle i of fish gills will per * •' - lope to “breathe.” The main framework of the RIOJ is now half-erected, and the sliip> should be ready for flying trials before the end of the year. The main rings of the ship are in position, and joined up, allowing whole passen- i ger accommodation to be installed. 1 The nose and tail portions are being erected separately, and will be joined to the ship • later stage. A number of ingenious ideas b ■ been incorporated in the conditions the existence of which has now been accurately estimated as a result of an immense amount of patient research and study of earlier ships. Probably the greatest advance, apart from actual constructional methods, is in ensuring strength under the worst operating conditions. The greatest danger lies in vertical currents. iD the neighbourhood of thunderstorms, because any alteration in the altitude of the airship results in alterations to the gas pressures inside. Accordingly the RlOl has been designed to withstand the most rapid vertical current known. Special automatic pressure valves have been incorporated. Provision is also made for maintaining the shape of the outer cover at the maximum efficiency if the fabric becomes slack. Considerable advance has been made in the method of transferring the lift of the gasbags to the actual hull. The engines will run on crude oil instead of petrol.