The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1921-08-24

LAKEHuST, N. j., Aug, a.
Tho daily routine In the handling
Of the giant American dirigible
ZR-2, which starts this week on its
trans Atlantic flight from England,
requires the combined services Of a
large crew Of expert mechanics,
Irtggers, clerks and naYigators.
Both on the ground and In flight
the zR-2 is ''nursedo constantly,
for thousands Of the minute details
in her construction require con.
5stant iIssp egtion; s.'s---s
Taking s'life, and trimming" is
the first thing done in daily rou-
tine. This nieRRs calculRtion Of
the ships total LIT by adding the
amount OF ballast (watcr, gasoline,
oil, ETC., on board and noting It's
location on q chart.
In this, manner the total lift Of
the ship from day to day is noted
and, II there is a decrease and no
gas has been Waived, an inspection
Is made for leaks. By noting the
location Of ballast, any tendency
Tor uneven distribution may be seen
and remedied It Is desirabut to keep
weights distributed as evenly as
possible along the length Of the
ship to avoid stresses on the hub
structure.
The ship is thoroughly policed.
or eleansed, thcn the engineers test
and repair engines, the riggers in
spect controls, gas bags, valves, the
outer cover and fin surface.
There always is a considerable
amount Of breakage Of small braces
and wires ,necessitating a constant
hull inspection. The outer cover
fabric gets torn or blown loose at
joints and repairs are made imme.
diately to prevent tho holes from
becoming larger. Gas bags are In
spected by going over them with
leak detector which registers any
trace Of escaping hydrogen. FAB.
nc in the bags is very thin and
light and often chafes through,
consequently, there Is loss Of gas,
lowered purity and lift reduction
Once a week the purity Of each
bag in the ship Is taken, this serv
ing as check on the general con.
dition of gas tightness. Other
routine work consists Of weekly
checking Of the tensions Of the va.
rious wires and correcting any dis.
erepancics, cleaning and reseating
water ballast dischnrge valves and
a general inspection Of all con-
trois.
In preparing for flight it is nee.
essarY to learn how large a crew
will be carried and the length and
nature Of the flight. It is then
possible to determine how much gas
viii be needed to give the necessary
lit, how much fuel will be needed
and how to distribute the weight.
Having determined these thingA
the commanding officer directs the
gassing. He Is assisted by tho gas
sing eoxswain and a number Of
men who station themselves at the
valves and note the flow. Riggers
are detailed to put water ballast
and gasoline aboard. as they are
needed when lift increases with the
incoming gas.
When the ship Is sassed, fneled
and ballasted, careful '1ift and
trim Is taken and charted. The
charts are placed in the control
car 30 that the navigating officers
may refer 10 them during flight,
The crew then is taken aboard, suf-
ticient ballast to compensate their
weight Is discharged, the engineers
make final test and the flight
command Is given.
The ground party mans tha
handling guys and, under the di.
rection Of an experienced officer,
tows the ship, to the taking OF
point. Here the ship Is again
weighed OF to make afinal check
Of lift and trim and, Il satiEfae.
tory, the release order Is given.
In tight the ship Is operated 50
fas as possible along the lines Of
seagoinR operation, orders being
Riven and watches maintained IN q
similar MANNER. Normally, on duty
N the control car are the csptairl
or the drst lieutenant. tie senior