The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1929-08-08
NAVY LINERS,
AKRON-BUILT,
DWARF Yep
Two New Eyes of Our Sea
Forces viii Be Faster,
Safer and More Efficient.
HANGAR IS IN HULL
No GondoIaS Hang From
Bags; Five AirpIaneS May
Zoom From Craft.

AKRON, O., Aug. 8.-You'Ve seen
the mighty Graf Zeppelin by actual
sight or picture, you've read about
it, you've heard everybody talking
about it.
Its great flights over land and
sea have thrilled the world.
But the Graf Zeppelin will be a
cumbersome old COW. stodgy and
Anticipated, when compared to the
Nays great, swift air liners now
being built in Akron.
Twice the size of the awe-inspir-
ing Graf Zeppelin, three times
larger than the Los Angeles, which
isn't any peanut of dirigible itself.
Faster, safer, more eff1cient--up
to American standards.
The ZRS-4 and zRS-5 won't be
passenger ships hauling chimpan-
ices, canarieS, apoplectic Milwaukee
brewers who kicked about the food
and society women who ran away
from their husbands to cross the
Atlantic.
Hangar in Hull
Eyes of the navy!
Two death-dealing Sea-Scouts
with airplanes looming out Of the
sides of the bag and machine guns
splitting terror from one end of the
dirigible to the other.
A complete airplane hangar will
be housed within the hull from
which five airplanes can be
launched from trapeze-like per-
formers at circus.
A regular warShip given wings.
And even while DR.. Hugo Eckener
sails his Graf Zeppelin around the
world in the hopes Of finding an
angel" they've started to assemble
the first of this monster ship at
the Zeppelin plant at one corner Of
the Akron airport.
In the United States they're burn
ing things up to produce a ship
which, when completed, will put
DR.. Eckener's ship and the Los An
geles in the baby dirigible class.
Double Gas Capacity
The Graf Zeppelin has a gas
capacity of 100000 feet. The ZRS-4
will have capacity of 100000
feet. The Los Angeles capacity is
only 2,470,o00.
The Graf and the Los Angeles
each have five engines. The navy
ship will have eight.
Horsepower of the Graf zeppelin's
engines combined is 2,750 and the
ZRS-4, 4.480 horsepower. The Los
Angeles horsepower is 1000.
The Graf Zeppelin and the Los
Angeles have their cabins outside
out Of the ship.
Everything will be inclosed on the
ZRS-4.
The safest gas known, non-in~
famable helium, is used on Aneri-
cas- ships.
Actual assembling of the ships is
scheduled to start Aug. Is in the
dock, or hangar, now under con-
struction at the Akron Municipal
Airport. The first ship will be fin
ished Oct. /, 1881.
This great hollow half eggshell
of building, big enough to clap
down over the Capitol at Washing
ton, is now half finished. 1t will be
completed by Dec. 1.
Arnstein in Charge
The dock, 1900 feet long and 200
feet high, will make any other
hangar ever built look like a cow
shed, both in appearance and in
scientific construction.
DR.. Karl Arnstein, famed German
airship builder, who came over on
the Los Angeles and supervised its
construction, is in charge of en-
cheering at the local factory.
He has started to test Orders for
the ship and other pieces of the
duralumin ribs have been manufac-
tured and are ready to fashion to-
gether in the dock even while the
Graf Zeppelin is on its history max
ing voyage.
The major part of the job isn't
the construction Of the ships.
Rather it's the construction of the
dock, which will be the largest
building in the world unsupported
by pillar or post.
The greatest part Of mile will
compose the site proper for the
factory and dock. In actual dinen-
sions, the building will be LIS feet
long, 325 feet wide and 205 feet
high.
Great Problem Solved
The greatest problem of all was
to determine the shape of the struc-
ture, so that it would offer the
least resistance to disturbance of
air currents.
This problem was solved by shap-
ing the building like an egg cut in
two the long way, in technical
language, a senli-ellipSoid.
OF all the engineering problems
involved In this structure, however,
probably the most unusual is that
of supporting and operating the
orange peel" doors, at the ends.
It is evident that these doors
must be of huge size, in order to
provide for ingress and egress of
the airship, with ample clearances,
and must be operated safely and
with reasonable speed.
When open, these doors must pro-
vide a clear opening 40 feet high
and 240 feet wide at the bottom, the
opening being in the shape of a
parabolic arch.