Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1921-09-08
BUILD WORLDS
BIGGEST HANGAR
Navy Air Terminal WIN House
Two Giant U. S. DirigIbIes
Now Building.
MANY WONDERFUL FEATURES
Monster Doors Are Opened and Closed
BY an Electric Motor-struesars I
Would Cover Three Ordinary !
City Blocks. ~

4
New York.-America's first great
terminal for giant aircraft Is nearing
completion at Lakehurst, n. J.
The structure. the largest Of It's kind
on earth. Is 500 feet long. ga feet
vide and 1o5 feet high. Some idea OF
It's immense size may ba Cleaned
from the fact that II set down In n
city the hangar would occupy three
solid blocks Its doors at each end
stand more than 10 feet high and are
264 feet wide. A 16-story skyscraper
could be pushed through the space
disclosed by the doors when they are
opened.
The hangar Is officially known as
the United States navy airshIp hangar.
and represents the latest word I'm con-
structicn for buildings Of this type
IL Is planned to have Il ready In the
early summer to house the two giant
dirigiblcs now under construction, the
zR-l, building at League island navy
yard. Philadelphia. and the ZR-2, near
Ing completion in England. The trans
Atlantic flight OF the latter f. sched-
nied for late in July &C early In Au-
gust. and the Navy department plans
20 have the hangar completed for
service before the airships are ready
TO sail.
Giant Mooring Mast q Feature.
Incidental 10 the hangar is a gigan-
tic mooring mast to which great
dirfgibles may be tied when it Is i'm
practicable TO house them inside the
hangar. The mast Is so constructed
that the giants of the air will be
moored. bow on. and win swing I'm
the direction of the wind, thus avoid.
Ing the dangerous force exerted by
high winds.
The result OF experiments with the
Lakehurst moorlng mast will deter
mine the policy OF the Navy depart.
ment Ia erecting similar mooring
masts at various air stations through.
out the country. such as Chicago. 81.
Louis. Kansas City, Denver, San Fran.
cisco. Seattle. New Orleans, Atlanta.
Columbus, o.. and San Diego,
The new airshIps nearing compile
ton are or such large proportions,
each being zoo feet long and SIS feet
In diameter. as large as many of the
great ocean liners. that the manner Of
docking them presented serious
problems In engineering. but Il II be-
ieved that the Lakehurst hangar will
go far toward solving many Of these
problems.
Door Leaf Weighs 500 Tons.
First In importance came the ques-
ton of doors TO the hangar. Each leaf
or the two doors, there being two
leaves to door, is made up Of 500
tons OF steel and corrugated asbestos.
These leaves are supported on con-
crete trucks which In turn rest on
wheels the size OF those on a freight
car. The leaves are rolled apart by
2o-horsepOwer electric motor. IL
man-power were needed to open the
doors, II Is estimated that 1900 men
would be called on.
Naval experts calculate that the
giant doors can be rolled wide omen
within ii minutes and the entire proc
ess or housing one Of the dlrigibIes
VIII consume approximately 40 min
utes.
Running lengthwise through tho
hangar Is n railroad and three trolley
slots technically described AZ docking
rails. The dirIglble about to enter the
hangar Will he cable-fastened to these
rails. which extend on n 1.5O0-foot run
way Mt either end. and guided to its
berth.
Under the roof among n network Of
steel rafters. five monorail cranes sup
port movable platforms which enable
workmen To repair an aircraft after It
has locked. These rafters are 80 far
above the floor Of the hangar that the
workmen resolve themselves into mere
specks.
SO large are the glass windows In
the sides and the roof that individual
motors are necessary to open each