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Aviation History
1920
1920 - 0474.PDF
APRIL 29, 1920 f^ THE COMMERCIAL FUTURE OF AIRSHIPS By Air-Commodore E. M. MAITLAND, C.M.G., D.S.O., A.F.C. (Royal Air Force). (Concluded from page 457.) (4) Comfort.—Comfort in aerial transport is essential ifit is to have any extended future. The advantage of this speed is completely thrown away if the passenger on landingis physically or nervously exhausted, and has to recuperate before carrying out the object of his journey. In the largeairship this need never be. Ample accommodation can be provided, both sitting accommodation during the day andsleeping accommodation at night. It is suggested that in passenger cars special attentionshould be given to the importance of giving each passenger a good view, the windows so arranged that they can seeboth outwards and vertically downwards should they wish to do so. Passengers could sit facing each other with a table betweenthem, rather like a large Pullman car, and they could arrange the chairs and tables for bridge as they felt inclined. Sleeperswill be provided in the shape of bunks which fold down and allow the passengers to sleep athwartships. My experienceup to date is that one sleeps uncommonly soundly in an airship. On the first night of our journey in R. 34 to AmericaI went to bed at 9 p.m. and slept soundly till 9 a.m. next morning. The whole of the passenger car will be heated by steamgenerated from the engine. Air will be admitted at the forward end of the car, where it will be warmed over radiators.The pressure inside the car will be maintained slightly higher than that outside, so that if there are any leaks inthe sid? of the car warm air will be passing out, rather than cold air passing in. This will prevent draughts and ensure'an even and suitable temperature. The car will be arranged so that it will not be necessaryto restrict smoking any more than in a railway carriage, as the car will be completely isolated from any possible riskof fire from gas or petrol. A kitchen with at least.as good accommodation as any railway restaurant-car will be pro-vided, and our experience to date is that one's appetite in the air is extremely good. One is struck by the absence of vibration and noise in alarge airship, and the absence of smoke or dirt generally is a distinct asset. Compared with transport by sea, thealmost complete absence of sea-sickness is an important consideration. Being a shockingly bad sailor myself, Ican sympathise with others, and I can assure you the motion such as there is in a large airship is so slow that there is noexcuse whatever for sea-sickness. Pleasures of Travelling at Low AltitudesI shall never forget the feelings, not only of myself, but of every member of the crew of R 34 as we passed over NovaScotia on our outward journey to New York last June. We were all feeling rather jaded, having been 59 hours on endover those weary wastes of water in the Atlantic, and the joy we felt at again passing over terra firma is difficult todescribe. And such a country we found spread out beneath us !Huge expanses of dense forest on every side with hardly ever a sign of habitation—-lakes, rivers, and here and there a tinyclearing where an enterprising settler had succeeded in penetrating. We were only 800 ft. above the trees and goingvery slowly against a head wind, and there appeared to be no detail that we couldn't see. We could see the trees eachsettler had cut down during the previous winter neatly stacked and looking exactly like little bundles of asparagus ; wecould see where he got his water, the extent of his housing accommodation, and the amount of land he had cultivated.We could tell the nature of the soil. We got quite an in- sight into the rainfall of the country ; the types of treeswhich did best ; the bird life ; depths of the lakes and so on ; the natural drainage of the country stood revealed,and last, but not least, the glorious smell of those pine woods acted as a refreshing tonic and put new rife into us. Present MailTransit (5) Speed.—-The time taken over the whole journey is theimportant factor, and the actual air speed is not the sole consideration, although obviously of great importance inreducing the time taken. In considering long journeys of 1,500 to 2,000 miles, theintermediate landings for refuelling or for trans-shipment, if relays are provided, must necessarily greatly increase thetime for the whole journey. Further, the question of flying throughout the night is a most important factor in thetime required for the journey. Airships have a great ad- vantage in the fact that they maintain a continuous airspeed throughout the 24 hours, and owing to their great range have no intermediate landings. A continuous landspeed of 60 m.p.h. is reasonable to assume. It should also be remembered that the airship, by deviating from its course,can take advantage of favourable winds or slants, or at the worst the effects of unfavourable winds can thereby be veryconsiderably reduced. It is, therefore, safe to assume that on the average this air speed will be made good over theground. Where trade winds, monsoons, and westerly drifts can be made use of, which will be the case on many of theroutes, the speed made good can, and will be, considerably increased. Assuming, therefore, an air speed of 60 m.p.h., and allow-ing for the probable effect of wind on the various routes, our principal Dominions can be linked up independently of basesin foreign countries as follows :— Inter- ; '" mediate Duration,#». Journey Landings of (i-day halt Flight allowed)England to Egypt .. o 2 days 4-6 days England to India [via Egypt) 1 4$ days 14 days England to S. Africa (via Egypt) . . . . . . 2 6 days 17-19 daysEngland to Australia [via S. Africa) .. .. 3 10 days 25 days Night flying is of the greatest importance, and it is herethat airships are of special value. In fact, it may be stated that airships can be more easily and efficiently flown atnight than in the day time. If a passenger can leave after dinner, sleep comfortably on board, and reach his destinationin time for breakfast next morning, where, owing to existing means of transport, it would have been necessary to spend,say, 24 hours in the train or boat, a great saving is achieved. Thus, one complete business day would be saved, providedalways that the accommodation is sufficiently comfortable not to impair the efficiency of the passenger. The journeybetween London and Copenhagen is an admirable illustration of this. (6) Cost.—If I were asked suddenly today " Is the bigairship a commercial proposition or is it not ? " I should hedge a bit and say, " Now, this is rather a difficult questionyou've asked me ! " but having recovered from my astonish- ment, I should reply: " I am convinced that the big airshipwill be a commercial proposition, but I am not in a position to say that it actually is today, for the very good reasonthat it has not yet been proved one way or the other." Air- ships have not yet had an opportunity of showing what theycan or cannot do commercially. Up till now they have only been used for military purposes in this country. I sayadvisedly " in this country," because in Germany they have been tried out very considerably for commercial purposes,and the answer they would give in that country to the question I have so carefully shirked would, without doubt, be in theaffirmative ! I will now endeavour to give you some idea of the costof rigid airship transport. I think you will agree with me 474
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