The Monmouth inquirer. [volume] (Freehold, N.J.) 1865-1933, 1924-11-27
AMERICAS BEST
KNOWN VEHICLE
SiIvery Shenandoah Has
Been Watched by Mil
lions of People.

Washington, D. C-Already Amer
teas best known vehicle is the Shen-
andoah, says a bulletin of the Ma
tional Geographical society from It's
Washington Cd. c. headquarters.
Hundreds OF thousands have seen
some of the country's crack trains
and giant liners; literally millions
have watched the silvery Shenandoah
steal silently across the sky" says a
communication to the society.
Incidentally, the Shenandoah and
the ZR-3 are not, strictly speaking,
dIrigibles. They are technically called
rigid airships.
"The Shenandoah comprises many
wonder stories Of modern science. Its
length, $50 feet, is two-thirds that of
the Leviathan, yet its weight of only
81 tons is tiny fraction of the Levi
athan's $4,000 tons.
Hangar Near capito's Size.
'To house 1t and bigger sister
ship TO come, a hangar was built in
a clearing Of the New Jersey woods,
which building is POI feet longer than
the United States Capitol building,
Just two feet less than the CapitoPs
widest part, and more than two-thirds
as high The sliding doors at one
end weigh 1900 tons.
'As the airship floats mysteriously
overhead, 1t looks like magnificent
cigar, wrapped In tin foil, with six
sany baskets suspended from It. In
ride the covering are 20 great gas
bags, with a total gas capacity equal
Do the cubic contents Of train of 100
freight cars. These are interspersed
with from 40 to 70 gasoline tanks and
q complement of one-ton water tanks.
~This equipment Is supported by
mstaI framework which is a veritable
nAAza 81 Orders, struts and beams;
there are 5000 struts alone In the in
Rfeats design.
cit is FOR this metal framework that
6uralumin La Hsed-an alloy so light
and strong that a girder 16 feet long
e&n be balanced on ones little finger,
yet II the tips are placed on blocks
Il will bear the load Of eight men sit
ting upon It
"ln one OF itS six cars Is a pho
Eographic laboratory, so that motion
pacturs reels and photographs may be
developed on board and the pictorial
story Of a flight be ready when the
snip lands, or even thrown overheard
By perachutes at designated places.
Another car has a sound-proof radio
compartment with a powerful sending
apparatus and telegraphic instru-
m@ntg.
the most astonishing mechanical
censrivance on the Shenandoah LIS the
nswiy Installed water-recovery ap-
paratua. which replaces the gasoline
Hzrned with an equivalent weight of
water, and thus saves the valving Of
precious hslium.
"You will recall from your chemis-
try courses that gasoline consists of
hydrogen and carbon. When gaso-
nne 10 burned, the carbon combines
with some Of the oxygen from the air
% form carbon dioxide, and the n.y.
drcgen, with other oxygen, forms wa
ter.
Automobiles notice in cold wealth
er that their exhaust pipes steam.
Oecasionally the moisture freezes and
forms a frostlike ring on the vent
The apparatus for recovering water
on the shenandoah consists Of sew
ewal tiers Of long, light pipes, exposed
70 the cooling air, so that the super
heated steam condenses and fills water
kanks This manufactured water COM
Densates for the weight Of the gaso-
cline consumed.
Formerly, as fuel was burned, the
zhip grew lighter and tended to rise.
Therefore the gas expanded, and II
was necessary to release enough
helium to equaliEe the lift Of the gas
to the weight Of the ship.
gwen though helium cost has been
brought from a radiumlike luxury
prica Of $S1 for a thousand cubic feet,
the amount the Shenandoah had to
valve on long trips was an expensive
operating item. On Its st. Louis
visit. for example, 100000 cubic feet
Of helium had to be waived. The wa
ter-recovery device means a saving on
enc such trip of $4,000 enough to
pay for the experimentation and in
Tnilaalae sk fAs Bschanisa."