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Aviation History
1909
1909 - 0227.PDF
APRIL 17, 1909. "Zeppelin I "'Aloft All Night. WHAT is reported as a secret military flight was suc- cessfully carried out by the Zeppelin airship early last week, when it remained in the air all night, and com- pleted a return voyage of over thirteen hours' duration. Exactly what happened is, of course, unknown, but the movement was evidently attended with considerable success. The start took place at 10 o'clock from Friedrichshafen on Tuesday evening, April 6th, and the airship did not return to its shed until eleven o'clock the next morning, an altogether very creditable performance for " His Majesty's Airship ' Zeppelin I.'" It is improbable that any further trials will be made until the airship is taken to its permanent head-quarters at Metz. As the exact duration of this latest flight was 13I1. 20m., it constitutes an improvement of n minutes upon that established by the Gross airship on Sep- tember 12th, 1908. It also appears that a 24 hours' flight would have been undertaken but for some slight mishap which made an immediate return advisable after the duration already mentioned had expired. "Zeppelin" to visit Austria. AFTER the " Zeppelin " makes its projected visit to Berlin, it is probable that her next long-distance trip will be over Austrian territory, in order that her powers may be demonstrated before the Emperor Francis Joseph. Extensive experiments with dirigibles are being made by the Archduke Ferdinand at the aviation ground at Linz, not far from Vienna. "Zeppelin II" nearly Ready. S.M.S. "ZEPPELIN II" is now nearly ready for delivery. Available particulars regarding her give the envelope as 446 ft. in length and 42^ ft. in diameter, with a capacity of 530,000 cub. ft. It will contain 17 ballonettes, and one of them will be covered with goldbeater's skin, while it is reported that the rest will be covered with lacquered cotton. The cost of filling the vessel with hydrogen gas will amount to about ^75. In order to try and do away with the whirring noise which is a noticeable feature on the old airship, the new one will be fitted with two-bladed propellers instead of three- bladed ones. Germany's Aerial Port. COLOGNE has been selected as a site for one of the great German airship stations, and it is reported that the next Zeppelin, together with a Gross and a Parseval airship, will shortly be quartered there. At Leichlingen, in the Rhineland, there will be erected a huge dock for emergency purposes. All being well, " Zeppelin II " will visit the Frankfort Exhibition during September en route for Cologne. Aerial Passenger Service. AGAIN has the subject of inaugurating a passenger service been brought to the fore in Germany, and the rumour that an actual attempt will be made between Dusseldorf and Frankfort-on-Main, which was announced in FLIGHT a little while ago, receives further confirmation. A committee of important manufacturers and bankers has already held a meeting at Dusseldorf for the purpose of investigating the scheme, and it seems that they have been led to support the idea by their expressed convic- tion that the trials of the " Zeppelin " have demonstrated beyond doubt that such an airship can safely descend on land, even under difficult weather conditions. French Government Airship Competition. THE competition which, as already announced in FLIGHT, the French Government have decided to hold among selected makers for the supply of military dirigibles, nominally commenced on April 5th, from which date the entrants have four months in which to submit their designs. The first prize will be 5,000 francs, and of course the more or less assured order for an air- ship. The principal rules of the competition specify a speed of 50 kiloms. an hour, with six passengers averaging 75 kilogs., for a duration of 15 hours. An ascent to an altitude of 2,000 metres must also be possible and the envelope must not exceed 6,500 cubic metres capacity, 90 metres in length, 20 metres in height, and 13 metres in width. Certificates for Airship Pilots. ; THE airship committee of the Aero Club of France which decided to issue certificates to airship pilots, has now awarded the first series to Messrs. Capazza, de la Vaulx, Julliot, Kapferer, Renard, Santos Dumont, Juchmes, and Surcouf. The Schio Airship. COUNT PA SCHIO'S airship, " Italia," made a short trial trip on Wednesday, April 7th, which terminated somewhat unsuccessfully, for in making a forced descent a certain amount of damage was done to the framework. AERO CLUB OF THE UNITED KINGDOM, OFFICIAL NOTICES TO MEMBERS. ^ Lecture by Mr. F. W. Lanchester. Mr. F. W. Lanchester will deliver a lecture entitled " The Dynamics of Flight" at the Institution of Civil Engineers, Great George Street, S.W., on Wednesday, the 28th inst., at 8 o'clock, before the members of the Incorporated Institute of Automobile Engineers. An invitation has been extended to the members of the Aero Club by the Institute of Automobile Engineers to attend the lecture. Members desiring tickets are re- quested to make application to the Secretary of the Aero Club. War Office and the Aero Club. Mr. V. Ker-Seymer and the Secretary, representing the Aero Club, attended at the War Office on Wednesday last, before a Special Committee dealing with the question of the use of Government grounds for flying. Shellbeach Flying Ground. The levelling of the ground at Shellbeach is proceeding rapidly, and it will be ready for use in the course of a week or so. Special arrangements are being made with the railway company for reduced fares for the members of the Aero Club and the Aero Club League. In order to facilitate the arrangements, the Committee will be pleased to hear as soon as possible from those members who are building or purchasing flying machines. Full dimensions and approximate date when the machines are to be ready for trials should be given. HAROLD E. PERRIN, Secretary. The Aero Club of the United Kingdom, 166, Piccadilly, W. 229
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