Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-07-17
NEW ARMY A|RSH|P
PLANS FIRST TOUR
First American.Made, Semi
Raid Craft Will Fly Across
!. Country. slMk

p,;de Of the Army Air Corps light
er.than.air service, the RS-l' hi'
.ar,i.r;rid airship ever constructed 1T
this country, is making preparations
Of its base, Scott Field. Bellevue
Ill. for it's first extended cross
country fight since its comple''o'
several months ago.
The RS.1 is to the Army what the
rigid airship Los Angeles Is to the
NAVY. Under an agreement, the Nav!
"a combining it's lighter-than-air actlVi'
ties TO the development ana perIec'
ton of rigid ships while the Army
has specialized on non-rlgid ana semi
rigid air liners.
According to the present itinerary,
the RS-I will reach Boiling Field
about July IS, after having spent
day at Langley Field. Hampton. Va
From Washington 1t will proceed up
as far as Boston. thence across
northern New York and Ohio 10 Its
home station.
Equipped With Four Engines
Buoyed by helium. the non-explo'
sive and non-inflammable lifting gas,
the RS.1 is equipped with four Liberty
engines which develop 800 horsepower
when turned up at 1850 revolutions
per minute. The ship is 2S2 feet long,
66h feet wide at its widest point and
70 feet high. A keel. similar to the
keel of a surface ship. gives the air
shin it's semi-rigid characteristic and
everything is built onto that keel.
h. A.CalnC the Shan-
andoah. the bag or envelope is not
built about ribs and framework, but
is unsupported like spherical or
sausage" balloon.
Four gas cells carry total capac.
fty of ga 900 cubic feet of gas. The
cabin, with accommodations for a
crew of nine is attached to the Keel.
like the Los Angeles control car. and
is s feet wide and 35 feet long. 1t
is made of aluminium alloy frame
work. covered with airplane fabric.
The control room Is separated from
the remainder of the car by par
tition. The equipment in the car. in
addition to the latest aeronautic and
navigating instruments, includes
radio set and aerial camera. The
cabin also houses a bomber's pit and
equipment and four sleeping berths.
Designed for Instruction.
In addition to serving as a flying
laboratory in which the Army Air
Corps hopes to gain many data about
the operation of lighter-than-air craft,
the ship will be used as an important
stepping.stone in the training of
officers who later will command rigid
airships. Much space in the cabin
has been arranged for just such in
struction.
Three years were spent in fabricat.
ing and assembling the ship. 1t was
built at Akron. Ohio. and as the parts
were constructed they were shipped
to Scott Field, center of the Army's
lighter-than-air activities, and assem-
bled by airship experts Of the Air
Corps. All the materials used met
rigid Air Corps specifications and the
question of the ships safety factor
was given more consideration than
any other part of 1t.
Nose Built for Mooring.
The nose. Is constructed in such a
way that the ship can tie up at moor
ing masts, which 1t VIII do on two
trips to Lakehurst, N. j., the Nays
airship station. 49,
The ships engines are housed In
two power cars suspended from the
keel. The four engines. geared to.
gether. drive two huge propellers Of
171z feet in diameter. Two engines
are geared to a propeller and the
blades may be driven in reverse as
well as forward, to have the effect of
braking power when coming into a
landing.
Lieut.. Col. John A. Paegelow, COM
handing Scott Field, and a veteran
airship pilot, will command the RS.1
on its maiden cross-country voyage.
Since its formal launching, the ship
has made several test flights into
nearby territory, but has not been
placed in the position of flying into
all varieties of weather that aircraft
In long cross-country flights usually
encounter