THE ZEPPELINS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 99, 22 September 1914, Page 3

THE ZEPPELINS.

LNVILVfOR'S OWN STORY.

THE CONQL'J&T OF THE AIR,

In view of the report that Germany tliad fifty Zeppelin dirigibles ready fcrr the war it is particularly interesting to nave the views of Count Zeppelin himself on the subject ef 'the muetery 01 tlie air. An. article he wrote last year has no special reference to war, but it indicates what he wag aiming tit in liia work.

Tlie mightiest achievement of the present generation towards tile conquest of the air, lie wrote, was the construction of conveyances in which a man could rise in the air not only as an appendage to a balloon, but ae a pilot, himself controlling a mechanism which wiould caTry him to th« destination he had choeen.

in an investigation as to what extent we have conquered the air, I hope to convince readers of the fact that I avoid both (scientifically ungrounded chimera find unscientific doubts -about itliings that are positively attainable.

To carry out an investigation as to ' the extent we nave conquered the air, wo must know the maximum efficiency of aerial navigation, which has been already attained or is expected to be attained in the near future, in regard to reliability, speed during long .flights, and carrying capacity. I emphasise t.he expression "maximum efficiency," because we wish to learn to what extent we "may hope to increase our command of tile air. If thereby all air-vesscle with only small efficiency are omitted from our investigation, it does not jiican that they arc una'blo to render useful services cn a smaller scale. For reliable work during long journeys at least two driving appliances are required entirely separate and distinct from one another. That is to say, there must be two independent sets of motors with air screws on every airship. There arc not, there probably never will be, any motors which aTe not subject to interruptions in their running, any more than there are locomotives to-day in which troubles never take place; but, whereas the locomotive can be replaced by another one without any damage to the train, and whereas a steamboat, the engine bf which stops, remains still afloat, the airship, whem its sole motor comes comes suddenly to «. gtaiulfctill, has often to land before the trouble can be remedied.

| This is not »erious when it is possible tq reach a suitable landing place; but if the machine is oTer a rocky country, otit desert or sea, or the enemy'* land, the trouble with the motor may result in the destruction of "the crew and of the air-Tessel itself. •Th® same thing can happen if the gas bag of the airship loses its Btiff outer shape, which fact causes it to 'become unairigible; vrli i! st if its supply of petrol comes to bh find before a landing place can he readied, serious consequences may follow. My rigid airship alone up to now fulfils the necessary conditions of stability. \Y« will, therefore, only con- ' 'aider this system, even if it has not j shown in its journey's the high speed ; attained by ovbera which cannot, koweTer, ofTer the same safety. When tho speed c 4 an airship exceeds tliafc of the most frequent winds, about twelve metres per second, the duration of tfoe journey, winich is dependent on the amount of working material that is carried, is of greater importance than the siicA An airship which is able to fly at fifty kilometres -per hour during lifty hours travels during this time 2T)00 kilometres; hut the airship which flies at only forty kilometres per hour, and is capable of maintaining its flight for 100 hours travel* 4000 kilometres. The speeds given a,s examples Jire approximately those which my airshin attained in the years 1905 and 1807, sometimes will all its propellers and sometimes witjh only one of them workm#. My airships which are now in construction will certainJy attain these figures, if they do not exceed them. Everyone krvjws this much .10 out motorlets captive balloons—'viz., tliat in a dead calm they remain stationary over the same spot of earth, and that the rapidity which the balloon exhibits in ehiftin" its position diows the strength and direction of tlhe ftir currents—that is, of the wind or storm around him TIIO reason is obvious: ft. balloon flcKufl with the current of air at exaeUy the same rate as though it were a component part cf it; only in the case of a difference between the two movements can pressure, he fc!t. The smallest »oam-bul«hle beUves in exactly the 6 aane way as the largest balloon. As long as it is imnEiiig on tli6 utrfcw whence it ; issued, the breath which impels it and tins air currents coming from all sides cause it to assume the most grotesque shapes; directly the bubble is free and driven by the wind, it immediately asbiunes the shape of a perfect sphere, a Mire sign that 110 extra pressure and no reiisUsee it? exerted on any Aide. This similarity between the smallest soap bu'jb'u »U'l the most enormous baKoon prove* that it is absolutely ot no coßri'quenco whether an airship is lurge or wnall, as long fle it floats freely. But another and very important factor in mot(jr airship navigation arises from the principles juft referred to. When a hitherto passively floating airship sets its own machinery in motion, it can move without the encircling air, in all directions and at the same rate, beeausc oil nil sid<v it meets with 110 resistance other than that which tin 1 air opposes to bodies moving through it. Coosequenlly for powerful airships like mine, the Hgmn c t wind and storm, whieji peopls picture ss so terrible, wniply does not ex t*t. Manv also imagine that such a monster cannot climb as high as a smaller and much tighter airship, lint this docs 11 t depend on tho to be lifted; it depends rather upon how mii'h wi'ight the airship can spa.re in proportion to the original total weiffht to he lifted. Ah air«2)ip rise.-* about SO metres in proportion t" each hundredth part of illlOS 9 in weieht. li' a sapll motor airship of only 2109 ki'owuns _ in_ total j weiifht,, driven bv a motor of S> h.p., and cam-in? at the uimn-t t»Mro! weighing GOO kilogi-un-S, calculated for a voyage (f twenty hours at the out.= 'd--\ is to rise to a height of metrea. then it must leave Iwhind, sacrifice. or '"e up 3fio kilograms of petrol, VliWi. rnlww i(« navigiUnii life to a hare five '-ovr*. For practical purpose*, this is o-'of-ficient. A lirge airshi.o of lfl.MI gross weight, with a norn-'.! "im : - : on of jiefrol for KH) hours, and with 1 mo'nr of corresponding power, nffer rsln" to a bright, of 1200 metres. '< at''! • of travelling for over thiriv-s'x h or twice the t'me the e v-Mi eonlii remain in the air nf a lowr «'fitudo. 11 is evident. Ilia* for h'fh the larger air.-drp i» a! war;* so" ' o the smaller one. Although niy prwat n']-h''n* ' 1 1 f - tain a height of over iWft ™*o'r - Vvf that can lie taken as the !ir>i* io tice. To reae.i 'Utoo r-.-i 1 ~.lrol wou/d hnve to !»."> •i.isrilieeo. thr'-n-- c«rr a,;, ballast, that but liil.li' won'' left for continuing •' ~ iorrne*- 'V-ii a';itude. After reaching a of ! metres only, there would ]>« - petrol left f.T ?. Ihrfe days' io'irjey.

This height could be temporarily attained without throwing out ballast at ail by a run oWiouely upwards. In special cases, in war time, for instance, to avoid hostile guns, sane of the heavier fittings of the airship could be sacrificed, and much greater heights could be reached-. My airships would not, however, surmount mountains exceeding 3000 metres in height except in emergency; they would go round .them. In the case of airsnips intended for long voyages, it is certainly desirable that they should be able to descend without injury, no' only on water, (rat on all landing places, prepared to receive them. Many doubts are still expressed a« to whether my huge rigid airships are abjc to do this. Experience has shown, however, that mv assertion of the possibility of a smooth landing was absolutely justified. I would take , this opportunity to point out how possible it is for stronglybuilt airships, with a weather-proof covering, to lie in a spot moderately sheltered from storms, as, for instance, i> a narrow valley or behind large buildings, etc., for months and weeks, without the shelter of a regular refuge shed.

Theso refuge sheds need not be revolving, no is very generally supposed. The length of the voyage my airship's can take is determined not by their lifting capacity, bupt by the amount of petrol that can be carried. The loss of eas by diffusion is not a great factor in the question, the decrease in lifting power, due .o this cause, being more than counter-balanced by the reduction in .the gross weigtit ns the petrol is used up. Ar evcrv ship is eoui.pped with two sets of independent motors, it is practically certain that one or other will always be in Tunning order, so that descent due to engine troubles is practically unknown. Another reason wiry these ships can keep the air so long is because they can caJry a crew large enough to provide for three watches, so that no one is exhausted by continuous duty.

Thus I claim for my ships that they can be safely steered to their "destination with a certainty and ease unapproaehed by any other type. There, is no ground for doubting that airships of this construction can travel in the air just as long ae their supply of petrol holds out, just as surely as* a steamer «an continue to plough the waves to iU port as lomg as its coal supply is unexhausted. There is no doubt whatever that in this 'typo of airship we possess the newest and most Teliable method of aerial locomotion. Perhaps the strongest point in favor of the rigid system I have evolved is the case with which the general efficiency of the airship can be developed.