Evening star., 1926-05-11

ever it joins another. comes to
point and is set in ball and socket
or ball-bearing Joint.
| This makes the keel of the Norge
| so flexible that it can be bent and
| twisted about without any danger of
| breaking in two. 1t is triumph or
| dirigible construction, and particu-
larly adapted to the strains which
must be put upon this ship in her
dangerous flight.
Precari0us Paths to G0ndOlas.
| About amidships are two fairly
| large holes in the skin OF the Clirigi-
BILE, and from the holes run narrow
| footpathS to the motor gondolas, one
on each side. The paths are about
| a foot wide, ridged to prevent slipping,
and with only q tiny steel tube at
| one side to support whoever walks
| on them. over these paths the me-
| chanics Chamber nonchalantly, with
nothing between them and the ground
but their nerve and their grip on
' the rail. That walk won't be so pleas
ant when the footpath is coated with
ice. and the ship is in fog so thick
| one cannot see more than few
yards ahead.
The gondolas are about four yards
| from the side Of the ship, the tops
| of the propellers being about twice
| their diameter from the sides of the
l gas bag.
| It had been thought that moisture
| freezing on the propelerS might be
| thrown off in the form of tiny pieces
| of ice with such force that the bag
| might be cut, but when this was called
| to the attention OF the Italian con-
structors extra strips of fabric were
| fastened on the sides of the bag.
Built for Cold Trip.
The gondolas are of a new design
for dirigibles because of the low tenn
pe.rature to be encountered and the
| necessity for protecting the mechan-
| les sitting out there far from the side
of the ship, exposed to all weather
there is in the Arctic. They are of
lduralumin, the only duralumin on
the ship, and built so that they may
be almost entirely inclosed, leaving
only openings for ventilation.
In each gondola is a Maybach motor
of the type used on Zeppelins, of 24O
| horsepower. The motor at the stern
of the ship is directly below the keel
and In entered more easily.
| Only two of the motors will be used
at a. time so as to conserve 1uel, ana
| Il is possible that If it were neCeA
| sary to tighten the ship one OF them
might be dropped overheard, probably
one on the side, which would give the
ship a list but which would not be so
serious as the lack of weight astern II
| the aft motor were dropped.
| The duckwalk runs by the entrance
| to this stern motor and curves upward
to where it joins ladder which en-
ables any of the crew to climb up IN
| the extreme stern and adjust controls.
! Sometimes a man Is stationed pack
there to shift weight in the ship
quickly. He sits IN a rather precarious
| nerye-trying place. in the dim light
which comes through the balloonets
and the canvas around the keel, en-
tirelv surrounded by cloth which
shuts him off from whatever IL 60
ing on.
26 Gasoline Tanks.
| AS one walks back through the
; shin the long rows of huge gasoline
tanks on each side stretch away in
seemingly interminable line and up
tbe ascent to the bow until they are
| lost TO view. There are 26 OF them, 10
on a. side, and in all they nold ot2
| tons of fuel. They are carefully con-
| nected by metal tubes, and every pre-
caution has been taken TO make the
| Joints tight so that there Will be no
| leaks. ,.;
o,,s conseouences. AS the tanks are
emntied. and each one of them holds
from so to 100 gallons, they Will DE
| thrown overheard to compensate 1or
| the loss of hydogen from the pal
| loonetS. ., ,,,d
II There are dozens of little wires and
control cables along the sldes Oh elle
| triangular tunnel of the keel, Whlch
are noticed only when the con@sIr'lc- @
| tion is more carefully examined. 1hey
ave- the wires to the rudder, the ele-
vators. the signal wires to the gon-
dolas and other things of which only
| pucer.T ARISEN and Mobile know the
exact use.
Ton Must Be Patroled.
| In the bow the walk goes up more
| sharply and then one comes TO
ladder. which leads to the very Top "
the ship. 1t may seem 1ncredlnle' pue
one of the duties on board uIrlS lple
| is TO walk along the top or IL every
| once in O. while to see or the valves,
which stand out like big eyes in pairs
of four along the top are "oi Nihs
| properly. ,.;., olo,c,
| There is a slight depression along
the seam at the top and through TINS
q. strong rope is strung. Nhen the
man gets to the top Of the ladder ne
sims a rope over this longltudlilai
rope. fastens it about his waist ana
goes on an aerial promenade which
| for thrills ought to make anything
else in the world seem tame.
This duty will be particularly neces-
sary in the North, for as ice forms
on the top of the ship and snow
falls, some one will have TO go up
and shovel off the snow ana 1l preak
the ice. The ice is removed easily
For the bag undulates beneath the
| feet much like the thin ice on ponds
| which small boys delight in skating
over. SO that one walks in hollow.
AS the bag moves under the aerial
sailor the ice cracks and 1t IS easy
TO brush it off This will be the spe-
cial task off Lieut.. Gustav Amund-
sen. nephew of the explorer. He
says it is easy!
Nine Always on Duty.
There are nine men on duty in the
airship all the time-three IN tne
| motors. three in the cabin, one Wire
less man and two men in the keel.
whose duty it is to watch for leaks
| and see that the structure is not
weakening in heavy weather.
There are Is men in all on board,
but they will not be able to take regu-
lar shifts on. and off duty because
| the duties of some of them are con-
slant, such as those of the meteor
ologist. Malmgreen. and the historian.