The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1921-08-25

Washington. Aug. Eth" air r"UrS"
.!uS 10 XR.@. 'Ac S?.upn.o00 TASTED
States navy observation d!riEibie wH'H
was % come Ccom Howdcn. England. -
l~,kchUrSt, y. j.. had been determine !"
according . navy department abT.'"S.
and barring al un:nwavd weather a"t
a'ur'S2 h"ric conditions would nave "'':
approximately a. follows:
II. XR-" w,s 80 sal from N"wirr
west ward over ireland nnI 'h"n h"hI
ah"u, vest by south, following me
curve o. :, grca; circle VIA Nrwt"UnI-
land - IS objective. II ca" "C S'"r'a~
or u,a"r hand:caNs the ncrsA. df"'G-
naN,,ht was 20 take Il more s"uthc?'F
Course. convoy Il! army and navy
aircraft. together VIII some destroy
crs vas to meet the riantcss "f m"
clouds or Newfoundland and escort A"f
down the coast. passing over Nova
Scotia. crossing the eastern points "'
New England and flying over New YORK.
70 New Jersey.
With fair Weather. ".'Hl observers
SAY. N" entire Trip ot %,-'' mixes Sh"E :
havo been made N from three :" ioAr
days No matter how hu!StcrouS IL"
conditions al"t, may h". h"NrNri, IN"
iIR-2 WAS supposed :" la' N''' "lH'nNci
Ito hazard them. Two O: IL" ~ pow"r'
y tNl enGlncS lUS(uI''h III I''"f' 'H'.'' 49,
the sireanl-l!ncd cars s!ung beneath 49,
'uuI.s are ca,l"l were rcvcrStH'~ an"
thus increased her maneuy"rAh'itN, en-
Gbling the ship 20 fly nStcrn - well a"
ahead
Unlike tho R-24 which made sim
liar trip IN July. lgl3. ;hc TIt-2 d!i H"'
have to nurse her engines "r conserve
her fuel supply &C 1000 gallons. S"e
had one more engine than The R-Si had
and each Of $50 Instead " @3"-h"rs"'
power, and her gaSN.!ac supply eNcc"d"!
tho RISES by 1900 gallons. She was
also faster. her crujs,H. seed being 80
niles an hour and her maximum 80
miles.
Tho Pilot House
The pilot house was small car pro
ject!ng downward from her nose ana
from there Commander MaNiieId would
control her movements Her hu" To-
lows the general lines OF Zeppelin
but Is Of lighter construction. the frame
work being OF dura!umin lattice grid
crs and rings. Within tn, metal fran"
IA seDarats HETEROGENEOUS compartments
constructed Of fabric. :: III with gold
bea;evs skin. q thin. iv"crv!Vus men,
brane.
In case OF war. III. IE-o could have
heen filled with -:uillmmah!e hcl!um
Eas and would no: DO affected by rite
or anti-aircraft gurtire except by actua!
punctures TO her IA separate gas bags.
and, as nor ceiling" or altitude capac!-
ty was $4,000 feet she could readily
seek and fnd comparative safety above
the range OF ground rifle fro which II
Is said. has never proved especially
effective.
I. has been pointed out that as n
naval scout, tho ZR-2 was tho equal OF
several scout cruisers. and that when
provided With hel!um she would nave
been practically invuln"rable. In this
connection It is Interesting 70 note that
tho United States government having
a practical monopoly on hc"um' - inc
only nation today IN a position 70 have
he.iuIn-hWcd at-sh!rs
HeI!uu,. besides hNIHr n"n-'Hhanma-
bla Is alm"S; as buuyaHt ~ hodroE"n.
Tho nary's kel!um plant ~ II. Worth.
Tex. the only one cNpah," uf extract
ing tho elusive element from Texas nat
ural gas. IL In daily operation. Naval
experts say however, tina; moro than
100000 cube feet OF helium are waste !
daily and they urge that extracting h'
dono ut all natural gas wells. since -"
process does not !njuro the gas /"
any way.
Was Convertible.
Ry a simple rearrangcmert. the nav!
department says. IN" IN c"Iid b" con
vertad into commercial a'rSh'p e.
pable OF carrying approximately ~ ions
Of freight and as many as ." i'2s&"h
gers on a single trip. She cost III"
United States government s2,oO"'o0''
the building OF tho hangar at LAX
hurst. y. j.. another s2.OOo.geV' a"d IN"
training Of her personnel. s9Ve'Vo'.
Work on the FRI. sister ship. WAS
stopped recently when congress failed
70 appropriate funds for her completion,
Nearly all her structural material IL
cut and formed. the fabric IS being
woven and prepared, six Liberty engines
are ready and only the assembling OF
her parts remains 10 be executed. men
tho money * made available the navy
department, it Is said. Will SGT up n"
ZR-l in III" lIakehurst hangar. TheT"
will DO abundant room. tn" N""r %rd""
within that gigantic building IL "sN'
mated TO be twice that OF the cUncours"
In the Washington Terminal station
while the roof Is three times as h!Gh.
The Daily Routine.
The daIiy r"U:tn" in the handling OF
the giant American dirigible IN.
which was To have started this week
on its transatlantic flight from Eng
land. requires the combined services OF
u large crow OF expert mechanics, rig
gers. clerks and navigators.
Both on tho ground and In flight tho
ZR-2 is "nursed' constantly. for thou
sands Of tho minute details in her con-
struction require constant inspection.
Taking MT" and trimming" is the
Arst thing done IN daily routine. This
means calculation Of tho ships total
| h,- adding tho of llu lll 81
(water. gasoline oil. etc. on hoardJ and
noting It's location on chart
In this manner the total INT OF the
ship from day to day IS noted. and II
there IS a decrease anrl no gas Inns boon
waived, an inspection Is made for leaks.
Ry noting the location of ballast. any
tendency for uneven distribution H"v
loo seen and rcm"d"d---it Is desirable -
keen weights distributed as evenly AS
possible along tho length OF the ship 10
avoid stresses on tho hui. structure.
Tho shlr IS thoroughly policed. or
ciransed then tho engineers t"st aad
repair engines. ~" r!Egcrs Inspect con
trolls. gas bags. valves II" outer cover
and fin surface.
There always is considerable
amount OF hrcaKagc IF smni braces and
wires. necess!tating n constant hall in
spcCtion. Tho outer cover fabric Er:S
torn or blown zoos" At joints and re-,
pairs are mada immed at.ly to nr~yHnt
| IN" holes from becoming larger. Cas-
bags ara inspected by going ov"" rh";t
with n leak detcCtOr which registers
any trac" 90 "SCar:ng hydrur' II. Fabric
IN the bags - very thin and ,iGn. anil
often chnr". through. consequently
there Is loss Of gas lowered purity and
III. reduction.