Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1924-12-28
MONSTER ZEPPELIN
A|RSH|P PLANNED
Plane of 100000 Cubic
Feet, Double Los Angeles
Size, Projected.
Special Dispatch to The Star.

plans for the design of the Zeppelin
airship of more than 100000 cubic
feet capacity, projected by the Good
year-Zeppelin Corporation of Akron,
Ohio, p. w. Litchfield, vice president
and general manager of the corpora
ton, has made the following state
ment:
Working plans for this superair-
ship, to be more than twice as large
AS either of the United States naval
airships Los Angeles and shenandoah,
were started with the recent arrival
in Akron of Dr. Karl Arnstein, for
merly chief engineer of the German
Zeppelin Co., and a selected stan of
IL technical men from Friedrichshaf-
en-, Germany. the former nome OF
Zeppelin operations
Before entering into any discus
sion of the design problems involved
in building a rigid airship OF 5.0oo'ooO
cubic feet or more, 1T might be Wen
TO answer the question of why we
have started plans on a ship or TINS
size at all.
THE Shenandoah. with a capacity
of 2,115, 900 cubic feet of gas. is able,
with a few intermediate stops Tor
fuel. to make a 9,000mile journey
around the rim of the Nation AMI
hack The ZR-3, or Los Angeles, flew
from mid Europe across the Atlantic
10 I,akehurst, n. J., for delivery TO
rhe United States Navy journey OF
more than 5000 miles, the longest
nonstop trip ever made by any
4ehicle created by man.
why Larger Airships:
why should we not be content
with this for the present and proceed
toward the solution of whatever
nperated difficulties there are in the
way. of a ship of this size rather
than to take up the PROJECT Oh d snip
twice as large?
..The most important consideration
is that the airship reaches its highest
efficiency in the larger units Inc
larger the airship is, the higher is
the proportion of useful lift freight
carving capacity in comparison TO
size.
The earliest airships built by
count Zeppelin could carry only from
10 TO 20 per cent of their weight in.
freight or passengers. The ZR-5 car
ries between 30 and so per cent
Stated another way, the FRS in
nated with gas and under normal
temperature and pressure conditions
weighed when empty about 40 tons
but it was able to lift a total weight
of some 80 tons, this being distributed
between the large amount of fuel
and water, crew and so on.
The ZR-3 started from Friedrich
shafen with % tons of gasoline for
fuel little less than % tons was
actually used on the 5000 mile jour
ney.
"A ship twice the size of the IRIS
would not require twice the amount
of fuel or twice as large crew, and
would have considerably larger
percentage Of space for passengers
or mail or express matter.
"A 10000. 000-cubic-foot ship could
carry q proportionately greater pay
load than a 5000, G00-cubic foot ship
and could fly around the world in
nonstop fight-could fly it either
way, indeed-around the equator or
around the poles.
However. it is logical to start first
in the intermediate size of A 100000
to 5000, 600 cubic-foot ship and learn
what problems are involved there
before going to the next step.
British order Big ships.
In taking up the design of the
10000 to 100000 cubic-foot ship
we are Undertaking new problem.
This ship will be twice as large as
any airship ever built. although
Great Britain has let contracts for
signing them for closer contact
with their. overseas possessions with
= projected route from England to
Malta then to Mesepotamia on to
India, the Straits Settlements and to
Australia.
"In undertaking the design of a
ship there are various considerations
that must he taken into account.
Whether the first requirements of
Il l..
commercial ship is primary factor,
involving many variations in design.
IF the ship is commercial ship
built for speed, then something can
lie sacrificed in the pay load it may
carry. Ifet is to he built primarily
for transport and the matter of 10
or Is miles per hour difference in
the rated speed of the engines is not
important, the engineers must include
that fact in their computations. If
the ship is designed for travel over
the land, let us say between the two
oceans, the altitude to be reached, the
ceiling of the ship Is an important
factor
For the ship starting on it's return
journey from Los Angeles, let's say,
with fuel to carry it to New York,
must carry this maximum weight
over the Rocky Mountains, and in
is less and the temperature is lower.
both factors affecting the lifting
power of the gas.
The routes to be followed and the
tasks to be done by a Zeppelin ship
arc primary facts to be studied be-
fore the final lines of design can be
settled.
Sizes of New ships.
However, we are compelled to rec
tz1 i,,ta
public in the Goodyear-Zeppelin Cor
poratfon to set down working plans
for the first American super-Zeppelin
and 1t is possible to set down II
approximate figures at least the gen.
eral limitations somewhere withir
which the proposed ship will fine
itself. Let us set the capacity of tn,
gas bags as being between five ant
six million cubic feet.
The Shenandoah is $50 feet Ions
and rs feet in diameter The ZR-S
or Los Angeles, somewhat shorte
and fatter, is $50 feet long with ;
height of 1915 feet. This gives ;
ratio of slenderness for the Shenan
doah of S.7-that is, ST. times as Ion;
As it is in diameter. The ZR-3 rat1.
Is about 7.2.
The proposed 100000 cubic foo
ship may be between $50 and 90
feet long, the maximum diameter IL
to 40 feet. with the overall heigh
from the ground-that is, with thu
control car 10 feet higher, and wit
Il slenderness ratio of around rs
Let us set down the engines neces
sary to drive this big ship at 400
horsepower, as against $500 horse
power of the Shenandoah and 200
horsepower of the ZR-3.
with the engine of this size a shi
should develop a speed of so to s