The San Francisco call., 1907-03-24
COUNTS AIRSHIP MAKES
SUCCESSFUL FLIGHT
Navigates Around Lake Constance
for Two Hours Without
Mishap

on October Count Won Zeppelin sue
ceeded in the course of a two hours
trial in proving the steering and ma
neuvering capabilities of his airship
The Zeppelin vessel, in contradistinc-
tion to the principle OF the so-called
free or collapsible balloon" is of the
rigid airship" type. It takes the form
OF a cylinder having conical extremi-
ties. with a total length of 413 feet and
q diameter of about one-tenth of its
length. The framework is constructed
of aluminium hoops and ribs, over which
silk is stretched. Firmly attached to
the framework by suspended bearings
and braced up TO the aluminium skeleton
are two cars. likewise constructed OF
aluminium. To increase the stability Of
the body of the airship two floats, or
Naeroplanes, are attached, one at either
end. The vessel is driven by two pairs
of propellers actuated by two S5-horse-
power Daimler motors, one In each car.
These motors work the screw pro-
pellers, which are fixed in pairs on
either side OF the airship above the
cars.
IT may here be stated that this pos
sibility of employing two cars and the
two distinct motors is an undoubted
advantage of the cylindrical pattern
adopted for the main outlines of the
airship. This fact was demonstrated
on the occasion of the very first trial
voyage. for more than once during the
trip the rear motor ceased to work.
which threw out of gear the pair Of
propellers driven by it. In spite Of
this, however. with only the front
motor in operation, the vessel continued
it's progress steadily without Interrupt
ton Between the cars and the ends
of the airship are the rudders, con-
structed of aluminium, which are de-
A4,1
rudders are provided for steering right
and left, and others for moving upward
and downward Between the two cars
a gangway has been provided, which
also contains shifting weight, so ad-
justed that by its motion backward
and forward the center of gravity Of
the airship can be altered at will.
The first ascent was undertaken in
fine weather. In this voyage Count
Zeppelin travelled around the Lake of
Constance, executing numerous curves
and traverses. and finally landed at the
end of the trip at the point from which
he started The movement of the wind
ranged from two to two and a half
meters a second in the direction of
north northeast. up to height Of 300
metres above the lake, but toward the
close OF the trip the wind fell almost
to a dead calm. The ascent took place
at some distance from the shore near
Friedrichshafen, and the airship, with
it's screws in full action, mounted to a
height of $50 metres above the water
level At this point IT was steered
toward Meersburg. and then was turned
sharply and taken across the lake In
the direction of Constance, on the oppo-
site shore. IT then coasted along the
Swiss shore of the lake, passing in turn
the towns of Romanshorn. Arbon and
Rohrbach. as far as the mouth of the
Rhine, when it was put back to the bal
loon shed and easily and safely landed
at sea level.
During the course OF the trip several
evolutions and half and quarter circles
were carried out. and the speed at
tained, which was observed by means
of theodolites placed on the roof of the
starting shed, amounted to an average
of twelve metres (393 feeD second.
1t must, however, be remembered that,
owing to a defect in the back motor al
ready referred to- during q considerable
part Of the time only one motor was In
use. The brilliant success of this ex-
perimental voyage OF Count Zeppelin's s
navigable balloon is not only of great
importance from the economic point of
view, but it Will tend also to promote
the advance of the science of the aero
naut owing to the demonstration by
the inventor of the advantage of the
stable form of air vessel as opposed to
the unconf1ned or collapsible balloon,
over which IL no doubt showed its su-
Observation-Disclosures Times.