COUNT VON Zeppelin's dirigible air ship. 565 



Thi.s, in brief, is the general construction of the supporting part of 

 the (contrivance. 



Every moving body, such as a ship or ])icycle, can l)e steered. That 

 it has hitherto been impossible to direct an airship is due partly to the 

 form adopted in the construction, partly to insufficient motive power, 

 and inadequate steering appliances. Count von Zeppelin chiinis to 

 have remedied all these faults. He will drive his airship backward or 

 forward by four ahmiinum propellers, a pair of Avhich will be mounted 

 at each end of the cylindrical body, somewhat l)elow the central axis. 

 The ship will be steered by rudders placed at the front and rear ends. 



Rigidl}' connected with the balloon cylinder are two aluminum cars, 

 each located beneath a pair of propellers. These cars are 21.82 feet 

 long, 5.96 feet wide, 3.28 feet high, and taper from top to bottom. 

 Beneath the bottom of each car are wheels provided with coiled springs, 

 which deaden the shock when the air ship strikes the ground and set 

 the wheels in motion. In each car is a benzine motor, developing from 

 12 to 15 indicated horsepower, by means of which the propellers 

 are driven. The connection between the propellers and the motors 

 consists of gearing and of driving shafts passing through Mamicsmann 

 seamless steel tubes. Variations in the position of the framework can 

 be compensated for by means of two movable joint couplings. 



Benzine is the most suitable motive power for aerial navigation. 

 Electricity can not be used, for the necessary accumulators are far too 

 heavy. Hvdrocarl)on vapors, to be sure, are highly intiannnable, and 

 their use in air ships provided with gas bags is therefore attended with 

 much danger. But the benzine motors, in the present instanc(\ have 

 been so carefully constructed that there is no danger of tire. More- 

 over, the lower side of the balloon cylinder inmiediately above the cars 

 has been covered with fireproof material. The cars are connected by 

 a passage 2 feet wide, which rest on T rails and which are tied 

 together with aluminum wire. The crew of five men can thus pass 

 from one car to the other. Beneath the cars and connecting passage a 

 cable is loosely suspended, to which a sliding weight is secured. By 

 adjusting the position of the weight the ends of the ship can l>e raised 

 or lowered. When the weight is shifted to the rear, the forward end 

 of the air ship is raised, and the air pressing on the under snrfaci', as 

 in a kite, will force the vessel upward. AVhen the weight is shifted to 

 the front, the rear end is elevated, and the ship will descend, owing to 

 the pressure of the air on its upper surface. 



The first trials of the ship are soon to be made. The supporting 

 cvlindrical body is almost completed, and only the pointed ends are 

 still to be placed in position. The cars, motors, propt^llers, and acces- 

 sory apparatus will be shipped to the housing ready to be mounted, an 

 operation which will require but a few days. 



