The Nome nugget., 1924-01-26

HE Frlday.
 At first these polar excursion air liners will be able to hover over the roof of the world for only few min utes before starting on the return voyage. But there seems to be no reason why some day steel anchor ing masts can not be erected at the Pole so that the airships may sto' there for considerable time to Iet their passengers inspect the desolate arctic wastes and refresh themselves after the heat of the southern lati- tudes.
 The hangar where the new Navy ship is housed is itself considered something of an achievement In tn" first place
 Ii is of such enormous size that the Capitol at Washington could be put inside of it with plenty of space to spare. The dome of the Capitol would rise eishty-odd feet above the roof of the huge balloon stable. but otherwise. including the great white marble wings. it would fit in.
 The greatest width of the Capitol, from east to west. is $50 feet. The width of the hangar at Lakehurst is exactly the same. But the Capitol is only 75l feet long. whereas the hangar has a length of 943 feet.
 The dome of the Capitol is 2S7 feet above the ground. Thus in al titude it considerably exceeds the hangar. But the latter is all ore vast room. it's ceiling being the roof, 2cO feet above the floor.
 Westminster Hall in London is 200 feet long. 6S feet wide and 90 fee. high. Thirty structures of the same dimensions could be put inside of the Lakehurst hangar. and there would be enough space left over to accom- modate an office building 73 feet wide and 200 feet high.
 The hangar is a gigantic shed built of steel. covered with corrugated as bestos sheets, and it opens at the front with two immense swinging doors-the biggest doors in the world
 The ZR-3. a,dirigible still larger than the ZR-1. which an American Naval crew is soon to sail here from Germany, will also be housed in this hangar.
 The first trial flight of the big new air liner reused the enthusiasm of all who saw it. One special cores pendent of the New York World writes of this event:
 Into the misty red glow of the set ting sun over the navy aviation field here nosed the ZR-l. the first Ameri- can-made rigid dirgible. after her first trial flight-a complete success.
 Like a mammoth silver fish sus- pended in the sky. the big dirigible moved gracefully to her landing place and settled by alternately tilt ing her snub nose and her tail to- ward the earth gently to the ground. The ship touched the ground at 7:5O o'cIock-exactly one hour after she had risen in the air.
 After she had been safely tucked away in the cavernous hangar. where she has been in course of construc- ton year and half, the throng of a,00O spectators, including Rear Ad- miral w. A. Moffatt, head of the Naval Bureau of Aeronautics. and numerous Navy aviation officers. breathed easily for the first time.
 Not until the tip of her tail. where Tapped a jaunty little American Flag. was safely inside the shed was the trial considered to be full sue cess.
 The last moment. when the dirigi- ble was being hauled slowly into its hangar, was that of greatest danger of injury to the ship. A freak gust of wind, sucked down by the open doors of the shed. might have driven the big gas-bag against the side O! the shed and caused irreparable damage. It was in such a manner that the R-34 was put out of com mission after flying successfully across the Atlantic and back. Although 1t was this moment thar was feared most by the Army ant Navy experts who watched the dem 1 onstration. the spectators who filled the field saw the test flight with di 1 ferent fears.
 Tn their eyes. as the great shiI moved over their heads, were imag 1 inative pictures of the test flights O 1 tfe ZR-2 at Hull. Engalnd, and tn, i Roma, which burst into flames ant