The Celina Democrat. (Celina, O. [Ohio]) 1895-1921, 1913-08-29
Great Vessel for War, but Price
Is Prohibitive.
Difficulties Confronting Great Britain
In Organizing an Effective Fleet
Of Alrshlps-PlIots Are Very
Hard to Find.

London-For some time past 1t has
been very difficult to make people
think in anything but terms of dread
naughts and superdreadnaughts. Now.
however, the topic of thought, so to
speak, is slowly but perceptibly veer-
ing, and we are beginning to think in
terms of dirigibles. Almost every pa
per that comes to hand has an article
| in 1t pointing out the great value OF
| the rigid airship and the necessity OF
/ building a large number Of this type
| of aerial craft. There can be no
doubt as to our need of this class OF
air vessel, but few persons realize the
extreme costliness of building the
rigid dirigible and keeping it in an
efficient state. The price of Zeppe-
lin is about e5000O sterling, and a
hangar to hold two of these vessels
costs about sS0,OO0. Then there are
repairs, gas. wages and a hundred
and one other things which necessi-
tate a large running account to meet
them.
To build a fleet of forty dirigibles,
which we should have to do to en-
able us to get on even terms with the
aerial squadrons of other countries,
would cost us about e200O,O0O, and
then hangers must be provided for
all of these airships, which means the
expenditure of another 92,000,00O at
least,
Where these air vessels are to be
built and how long they would take
to construct are also matters of I'M
portance, seeing that we have not as
yet turned out any really satisfactory
airships of large size. Arrangements,
too, have been completed in Germany
whereby the same Of Zeppelin and
Schutte-Lanz dirigibles to foreign gov
ernments is prohibited.
Then, even supposing that we could
purchase forty of these aerial cruisers
in the space of year. we should find
considerable difficulty in obtaining
pilots qualified to sail them, The off,
cial list published by the Federation
Aeronautique Internationale shows |
that, up to Dec 81, 1912, thirty-two
(balloons) and eleven air
ship pilots certificates were granted,
to persons in Great Britain.
There is no gainsaying the fact that,
as compared with any other kind of
aerial craft, the rigid dirigible is the
air vessel of today. In carrying capac-
Ity and radius of action, in its pow
ers of remaining steady in the air
and flying noiselessly aided by the
wind, the rigid airship has no rival.
It has, of course, its disadvantages
It's immense bulk, which makes it
very noticeable object in the sky, and
It's unwieldiness, which necessitates
/ host of attendants to grapple with 1t
when 1t leaves the earth and when 1t
alights. The Zeppelin airships, too,
ire extremely heavy. The lifting ca
oacity of Zeppelin L is twenty-seven
.ons, but owing to its own great
weight its useful load is only some
seven tons.
AS regards the construction Of the
igid airship, in this type of air YES
,el the shape Of its envelope is not
dependent on internal gas pressure.
4 huge framework, made of aluminium
n the case of Zeppelins, is provided
With from seventeen to twenty sep
lrate gas chambers. Attached to the
framework is keel which. in addition
o serving other purposes. affords
between the two cars,
he latter carrying the motors, guns,
oomb dropping appliances, etc. The
,ropellers, of which there are four,
ire fixed to the frame above the cars.
The framework is covered with rub
jered cloth. The Schutte-LanZ diri-
,ible has a wooden framework. as has
.lso the French rigid lie Spiess. II