Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-10-25
BY DANIEL ROBERT MAUE.


Special Dispatch to The Star and the NORTH
American Newspaper Alliance.
LONDON, October 22.-"Airships
have a melancholy past. largely because
they were war-made, yet believe the
next 10 or Is years will see the fast
ocean liner for mails and passengers
replaced by this some lighter-than-air
craft"
This was Sir well VyVyan's reply
when went to him with the question
of the future of the airship. Sir Vyell
Is one of England'S experts of aviation,
He was air vice marshal for England
during the World War in command OF
the air fleets of the Mediterranean. He
Is now a director of the Imperial Air
ways. He is a K c. B., holder of the
d. S. O., the Cross of the French Legion
of Honor and the Distinguished Service
Medal of the United States.
Americans within two decades viii
have adopted the practice OF group
chartering of airsl1ips for crossing tc
Europe" Sir well said. There is
every reason to believe that the trans
atlantic voyage will require no more
than about IS hours"
Now Look to Dirigibles.
"The success of transoceanic, cross
>ade by airplanes seemed to indicate
Ctat the heavier than-air craft would
be developed first. Many engineers
however, are now looking to the diri-
gible, of the rigid type, for the pest
solution of long-distance air travel.
when say that the airship Will
replace the ocean liner must add that
the length of replacement time depends
largely upon the setbackS encountered
during early exploitation.
"a single setback in the passenger
trade viii probably delay the more
general usage by about 5, perhaps 10
years. Following repeated flights made
BY the few great airships in existence
particularly the zeppelin-built craft
public confidence is growing.
'War usage, remember, demanded
that the airShip rise rapidly in order
to escape pursuit planes, the anti-air-
craft batteries and all that. The ship,
of a necessity, had to carry tons Of
water or other ballast that could be
dropped quickly. In carrying this
weight, then, the fuel capacity was cut
to only enough for about three days.
When an adverse wind beSet the war
time ship Of the air Immediately there
was danger from lack of fuel. In .ad-
dition such a ship required the service
of from four to six hundred men in
the business of landing or entering
hangers.
Conditions Are Altered.
SNOW" continued the former air
vice marshal, conditions have been
altered. Commercial usage does not re-
quire the rapid ascent. Since such
great quantities of ballast need no
longer be carried, the ships may carry
fuel enough for fortnight. Further
more, equipment now includes that
used for the manufacture of water
ballast.
at is no longer necessary to enter
the ships in unwieldy hangers. They
can be easily moored to the masts that
are springing up all over the world
to say nothing Of the portable masts.
The lighter-than-air craft affords
the most comfortable means of travel.
Planes today are used all over the face
of the globe, it is true, but these are
operating commercially only for short
hauls; and it has been calculated that
the average passenger tires of plane
travel after period of four hours.
1.-THE airships, because of greater
space, can offer the more commodious
comforts, such as smoking rooms, social
rooms, or even baths and long prom
enades through the hull itself.
Travel in Greater Safety.
"They can travel in greater safety
both night and day, whereas the planes
cannot do this except at certain risks
even on the most brilliantly lighted
routes.