Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-08-19
BY HARVEY ANDERSON.

NEW YORK, August 10. -- News of
Germany's big new dirigible, expected
TO float over here from Friedrichshafen
early in September, has started Ameri-
can aircraft designers to wondering
whether the lighter-tha ship hasn't
somewhat Of bulge over the airplane--
commercially speaking. With news of
his new Ship Ernst Lehman. manager
Of the Friedrichshafen Zeppelin works,
makes the emphatic declaration that for
long-range transportation the Zeppelin
far outstrips the heavier-tnan-air ma
chine as commercial carrier.
Inquiry at the offices of the Daniel
Guggenheim Fund for Promotion of
Aviation, sponsor and benefactor OF
aviation in America brought the reply
that the Guggenheim interests were not
concerned with dirigibles and that all
their support was being given to heavier
than-air development. Other inquiries
revealed that, so far as the facts are
observable, America has left dirigible
development pretty much TO Germany,
and that the aircraft industry in this
country has concentrated almost entire
iy on airplanes Not only in Germany.
but in other European countries. there
has been much insistence recently that
the dirigible will begin to pay its way
long before the airplane
x
While Congress has made an appro-
priation of $1,000 900 for the beginning
of work on two ships of 6,000,0 900 cubic
feet displacement each, commercial
dirigible experimentation and conStruc-
ton in America have been almost neg
ligible. The Aircraft Development Cor
poration Of Detroit has done great
deal of research and expects to begin
building soon; the Slate Aircraft Corpo-
ration of Glendale, Calf, Is planning
to put out some all-metal dirigibles: the
Goodyear Zeppelin Co. of Akron. Ohio,
announces some small non-rigid ships
Of the Puritan and Pilgrim types, and
there is company engaged on plans
and promotion in Philadelphia. This
appears to be about the sum of Amer
icas activities. as contrasted with to-
tai OF more than $50 rigid airships built
elsewhere,
Proponents of the dirigble as the
most Immediately useful maintain that.
even with airplanes reaching their
maximum size, their useful load will be
only IL pounds per horsepower. The
dirigible, they say, increases Its useful
load with the size of the ship, and the
maximum now proved to be possible in
dirigible operation Is as high as 30
pounds per horsepower Designs for a
250-ton rigid airship provide for IS tons
of pay cargo on two-day flight from
New York to London. 1t is estimated
that IL flying boats, with total OF
$4,000 horsepower would be required TO
match this performance in useful load
carrying, flying via Bermuda and the
Azores
Comdr. Charles Z. Rosenberg OF the
u. s. Navy dirigible Los Angeles, flown
here from Germany in 1924 agrees with
the Germans In their contention that
dirigibles are better than airplanes for
overseas flying. He predicts that air
ships Is times as large as the present
Zeppelin will be built, and that, with IN
creasing skill and engineering effective
ness, the dirigibles will become virtually
weatherproof and free from the dangers
which menace airplanes in transooeanlc
flying,
u X
Engineers here eagerly await the ex-
PLANTATION of the new gaseous fuel which
the new German dirigible will use, As
this fuel is OF the same weight as ar,
which viii replace 1t as 1t Is burned, tle
Germans will be able TO remain ON an
even keel without releasing hydrogen
from their envelope. The United states
Bureau Of Standards met this problem
four years ago by chemically recombln-