Evening star., 1935-06-30
BY LADY GRACE DRUNiMoND HAY

(Copyright. 1885. by the North American
Newspaper Alliance. 1nc)
FRIEDRICHSHAFE G erma any,
June 29.-The new Zeppelin LZ129 is
expected to make its first transatlantic
fight from Friedrichshafen to Lake
hurst late in October. DR.. Hugo Eek
ener told me. The giant airship will
carry SO passengers and about Is tons
of mail and freight.
The first American to make reser-
vations was William B. Leeds, who
was on the round-the-world flight Of
the Graf Zeppelin with us. He has
reserved places for party of four.
The crew for the initial flight Of the
new airship will number 40-odd. This
will be the first aircraft in history to
transport nearly a hundred persons
across the Atlantic.
DR.. Eckener, who has just returned
from the hospital after a six-week
illness, explained to me the delay and
the change in plans.
Construction Behind.
ct am sorry to have to tell you
that construction Of the new Zeppelin
is between two and three months be-
hind expectations" he said. 1--WE have
nearly $50 skilled workmen on 1t and
are pushing the work as fast as is
consistent with the high degree of
thoroughness and perfection of detail
that is called for on this huge craft.
"I have had conference with Dr.
Duarr chief copStr1lctOr. NV son KDlIt
who is in charge Of assembly and
erection of the ship; Capt. Lehman
and others, and we have come to the
conclusion that the LZ129 can scarce
ly be completed before the end of
September. Then there will be tests,
beginning with short flights and end
ing with a long flight with govern
ernment technical experts aboard
Therefore it looks as if it will be
October before we can start for Lake
hurst"
DR.. Eckener said the new Zeppelin
would embody lessons and experience
gained through all the previously con-
structed airships and would be the
strongest, fastest and most perfect
dirigible ever built at Friedrichshafer.
With her four 16-cylinder Daimler
Benz Diesel oil motors of 1900 horse
power each, throttled down to 900
horsepower, the Zeppelin's cruising
speed will be 80 or 81 miles per hour.
DR.. Eckener reckons that the west
ward flight from Friedrichshafen to
Lakehurst and New York will be made
in less than so hours, and that the
eastward return flight will be made
in 48 or so hours.
Unconcerned Over Rivalry.
DR.. Eckner is not much concerned
about the apparent threatening rivalry
and competition of the Sikorsky Glenn
Martin-Pan American clippers and the
giant flying boats that are being de-
veloped in France and England.
Speed is important, but safety,
comfort, range and load capacity are
even more so in transoceanic CONNER
cial air traffic" said the doctor. There
is as yet no flying boat that has crossed
the North Atlantic with passengers,
mail and freight in nonstop fight.
Compare the 10 transatlantic flights
with passengers, mail and freight pe-
tween Friedrichshafen and North and
South America, with never a single
passenger injured"
Knut Eckner showed me over the
new Zeppelin, pointing out many new
features. Two hundred forty-eight
meters long and So meters in diameter
at the thickest part, it was so colossal
that the hundred-odd workmen were
lost in the mass of spars and tremen-