Evening star., 1924-10-16
PROGRESS OF TRIP
/. TOLD BY CAPTAIN
Prospective Commander of
ZR-3 Keeps Diary of Flight
Across Atlantic.
r. the Assoc ated Press.

r! the Assoc sted Press
Each of the 80 passengers on the
ER-3 had his story to tell when he
diSembarked within the Lakehurst
hangar yesterday. But the most com
plete of them all was the story told
by the diary-log of Capt. George w.
Steele; prospective commander of the
dirigible
He related how 'on October 10, the
date set for the flight, such crowds
surged at the gates of the Frederick
shafen ardrome that he was lost in
the crush; how the big bag failed to
rise because of atmospheric condi
tons how he take-off was postponed
for two days
L. f-,n Of October came in on
fogey day" Capt Steele's record con-
tinued. When the hangar doors were
opened there was blue fog outside
But things were better. The ship had
been carefully trimmed and the tenn
perature was better: that it, colder.
At 6:2o the ground crew started to
take the ship out and at'6:35 the EN-
Slnes were started and We were off
There was d great cheer from the
crowd; the band played the national
air and there was much fiuttering of
hanukerchiefs.
Course Slightly Changed.
Several thousand people We're on
the field. but their view of the ship
was brief. She at once rose into the
fog and disappeared from sight.
In the manner we passed out ot
Germany. When the clouds at last
permitted a view of the ground, We
saw France. We passed some distance
from Belfort. Besancon, Manlin and
Rochefort But We made a slight de-
Walton to pass over CognaC.
AT $3.50 We passed over the mouth
of the Gironde River to the Bay of
BiScay. 1t had taken us only nine
fours to reach the Atlantic, averag-
ing over 50 miles an hour. The ship
felt the effect of the compile of
currents in the air. In addition. we
were near the ground-5O0 to 1000
feet-and the movement of air across
the hills caused additional eddies
The result was gentle roll and
pitch. but not uncomfortable. When
We reached the sea the brmpy motion
ceased.
Watch Is Changed.
"At 4 o'clock, when the watch was
relieved. the men stretched out com
fortably and began to bank up sleep
against their night watches. Somt
OF the more energetic ones played a
tune on the phonogra phi, but this met
with disapprovaI. Evening fell over
calm sea with clear sky. with
just enough red in the west to be
sailors delight
THE course was laid for Cape
Finisterre, but darkness fell before
we sighted the Spanish Coast. While
Dr. Eckener and / were in the diping
loom about o'clock the ship began
10 Jump about. We looked out OF
the window and there under full
moon lay the precipitous coast of
Spain. At 7:4O we had La Estacada
Lighthouse abeam and course was
laid for the Azores. During the
night the course and speed were
Checked occasionally by sighting on
torch bombs dropped from the ship
When the end of our watch
periods came we found the berths
very comfortable and enjoyed undis-
turbed sleep. ! bought large wooden
comforter and blanket in Fried
richshafen to take on this VOYAGE
The ship is not equipped by the build
ers with bed clothes. and those sup
pied for the crew were made of
kapok. | hesitated to bring my
comforter, on account of its bulk,
but l am glad I did. With it's pro-
lection ! was able to sleep in nothing
heavier than pajamas.
Find Ship Had Drifted.
Yin the morning of the 18Th
we passed directly above a British
steamship headed for the opposite di-
rection. BY radio the ZR-3 inquired
the steamers position, and reply was
received indicating that we had been
drifted about 60 miles southwark of
our assumed position. Course was
accordingly changed and at 11:40 San
Miguel Island was sighted on the
port bow.
AT 2:20 we reached the southeast
ern end of Terceira Island and ira
yersed its south coast After leaving
Terceira. the ship was driven to
height of about 5000 feet in order to
lift the safety valves and lose lifting
gas to compensate for the loss of
weight of gasoline used.
During this maneuver today some
thing happened which must be care
fully watched during all such ma
neuvers. Upon returning to flying
height. which was at this time about
1000 feet rip about two feet long
was discovered in the lower part OF
one of the gas cells. This was i'm
mediately repaired, and the result
was nothing worse than a small
amount of air finding it's way into
the cell to mix with the hydrogen and
reduce its purity. If, however, the
hole had been larger or had not
been SO soon discovered, enough air
might have found it's way into the cell
to form dangerous mixture of gas
and also to reduce the lifting power
of the cell. 1t is, therefore, standard
practice to have men carefully inspect
the bottoms of the gas cells-the only
part they can see-during each con-
siderable gain or loss of altitude by
the airship.
'At a height of 5000 feet, down to
1000 feet, We were approaching Pico
Island, and all we could see of the
island was its peak, ,>triangular in out
line, projecting above the clouds.
From 1920 we were passing through
and over the islands of the Azores.
Calamity overlook us earlier in the
day. The wash water gave out We
have Joined the ranks of the unwash-
ed and unshaved. The commissary
promises to ration sufficient water for
a shave just before 1anding-if we
land soon enough. He is, meanwhile,
furnishing good. hot meals, and we
are at least well fed. We are we'll
housed. too, and any one who will make
a couple of trips day through the
corridor from the tip of the nose back
and down to the depths of the lower
else.
Adverse Winds Found.
The night of the 18th was marked
by adverse winds of considerable
strength. AS soon as weather re-
ports cama in, next morning it was
decided to head up to the northwest
In the meanwhile a steamer seen on
the horizon was asked for her posi-