The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-05-15

that all sections OF the country may
have an early opportunity of seeing
the giant ship, which, ardent lighter
than-air enthusiasts believe. is but
the forerunner in the United States
OF many others both for military and
commercial use.
At Lakehurst the Navy is building
q huge hangar to accommodate the
ZR-2 and her sister ship the ZR-3
which Is to be constructed there.
This will be the only place in the
United States with accommodations
for an airship of the size OF these
and the first consideration is being
given for anchorages for them at va
rious places.
To meet this problem the mooring
mast has been developed and 1t has
reached the stage Of development
where aeronautical authorities claim
IL has increased the value of rigid
airships for commercial purposes 300
per cent, and reduced the expense Of
operation Of such ships 100 per cent.
Where, heretofore, IL has been neces-
sary to provide huge hangers to house
rigid airships at all terminals ana
intermediate stations whe,e transfer
snce OF passengers and freish: took
place, the mooring mast supplies
quick, safe, and economical means for
carrying out these operations wnere-
ever desired. ,.
SMALL TOWNS MAY BE LINKED.
Even medium sized towns along
main aerial transport lines may now
be linked up and used as way sta
tons by the mere provision Of lat
ticed steel mast from 100 to 100 feet
high. provided with an elevator for
conveying passengers. freight and ex-
IN n
the airship.
The great features of this "moor-
ing out" proposition is the fact that
where 1t requires from 300 to 400
men to moor u ship on the ground, or
to walk" her in and out OF the
hangar. six men only were required
to manipulate the mooring apparatus
in the new mast. In the winds of the
highest velocity only ten men were
required.
The mast itself is a web-steel struc-
ture, 115 feet in height. with a re-
volving circular platform housed-in
at the top, and above the platform
mooring apparatus in cylindrical
form swung on gimbals which per-
mits the ship when moored to sway
with the wind and swing to all points
Of the compass.
In addition to an elevator for
passengers and freight purposes. the
mast contains pipes for furnishing
water ballast, gasoline, lubricating
oil. and lifting gas for the airship.
In the spring Of 1919 the. British
Air Ministry carried out tests with a
mooring mast. A rigid airship was
moored to this mast for two months,
riding out storms and winds in per-
feet safety. Since then remarkable
improvements have been made In the
mast. and. ever since February =
1921. the great rigid airship R-33,
sister ship of the R-34, which crossed
the Atlantic to the United States in
1919, has been moored to one of these
masts.
She has ridden out gales when the
wind reached a velocity of ninety
miles an hour, and she has been
moored and released from the mast
with the wind as high as nifty miles
an hour without damage or mishap.
The method of mooring Is extreme
~ simple. When an airship ap-
proaches a mooring mast cable,
which runs from a winch from the
ground I'D the mast and through the
cylinder, is led down again to the
ground and out to a point about 500
feet from the mast in the direction
from which the airship Is approach
ine. Two men stand by the end OF
the cable, one man at the winch.
and three to i've others in the top
of the mast They transmit signals
and operate the cables and ma
chinery.
The airship approaches the end OF
the cable lying on the ground at
height of about 500 feet, her moor
ing cable being let down in a loop.
When the loop is over the end Of
cts nttf r.
face, the cupboard end of the cable
Is dropped to the ground. 1t is then
shackled up to the mooring mast
cable and at a signal from the men
on the ground. ballast is discharged
from the airship until she is about
two tons light, and trimmed down
at the stern She then rises to a
height of about 1900 feet above the
trim.
SIGNAL Is "HAUL DOWN.,
At signal from the airship,
Haul down." the winch Is started
and the cable draws the airship
down toward the head of the mast.
When the airship Is about 500 feet
above the top of the mast two other
cables about 600 feet long are let
out. leading from the bow of the
ship, and these cables are secured to
two surging cables on the mast and
the ends of the two cables are
drawn up by lead lines to the for
ward hatch of the ship. From then
on, a strain Ia maintained on all
three cables and the airship drawn
down until a cone on her bow Ats
into a cohe on the top of the cylin-
der OF the mooring mast. When the
two cylinders are firmly "set home"
locking springs lock the ship to the
mooring mast.
An airship moored to a mast must
always be kept trimmed down by the
stern. And this is also true when
landing or getting away. Otherwise
gusts of wind downward on the bow
Of the ship would throw her stern
up and cause her to surge about
and whip" in the air.
To release an airship from a moor
ing mast, II Is only necessary to let
down pendant from her nose
through the revolving cylinder where
a tension Is put on 1t by a hand
reel In the top of the mast, and the