218 THE ZEPPELIN AIR SHIP. 



themselves against untoward delay and accident in the consummatiou 

 of their great plan. If, for instance, we could row up to this immense 

 floating structure we shoidd tind it resting gracefully on ninety-live 

 pontoons, and we could understand the advantage which such a shed, 

 floating on the bosom of an open lake, would have for the inventor in 

 the experimental trials of his machine. No ground to fall upon, and 

 nothing to run against! Again, by anchoring his .shed at one point 

 only the inventor allows it to turn, as on a pivot, with the wind, and 

 thus gains the aid of the wind in getting his ballon out of the shed with 

 the minimum of damage and the maximum of speed. 



The cost of the construction of the building in which the balloon was 

 housed alone exceeded ^00,000 marks. The plans of the workshop 

 were made by Herr Tafel, a well-known Stuttgart architect, and the 

 construction of the balloon was intrustsd to Herr Kaubler. The con- 

 struction was carried out by seventy carpenters and thirty mechanics, 

 and that the work was done well and carefully is shown l)v the fact 

 that every separate piece of material used in tlu^ air ship had been 

 tested at least twice. 



A word or two more about the shed and We may leave it, with the 

 balloon. If we examine closely we discover that part only of the pon- 

 toons support the shed, and that the remainder support the balloon. 

 In other words, the balloon, on its own supports, can be easilv moved 

 in and out of the shed. The exit, taking place, for reasons already 

 given, in the direction of the wind, and assisted by it, is particularly safe, 

 as the danger of pressure in the balloon against the sides of a shed — 

 so common in sheds built on land — is avoided. It is reasonably certain 

 that all experiments in air-ship construction will in future take place 

 on water, owing to the success and ease with which the Zeppelin l)al- 

 loon has l)een taken in and out of its house on Lake Constance. 



AVhen the balloon is ready for an ascent it is pulled out of the shed 

 on its own pontoons; and when its flight is over it is placed on the 

 pontoon floor and drawn into the shed. Each operation takes l)ut a 

 few minutes. Our second illustration and several succeeding illustra- 

 tions gives an excellent idea of the floor upon which the balloon rests 

 before flight. It also afl'ords us our fli'st real view of the huge cigar- 

 like structure that has so frequently flown itself into world-wide fame. 

 Conical at both ends, in order that resistance to the air may be lessened, 

 and cylindrical in shape, it measures 3'JO feet in length, and has a 

 diameter of about 89 feet. It looks, even at a close view, like a single 

 balloon, but in reality it consists of seventeen small balloons, because 

 it is divided into seventeen sections, each gastight, like the water- 

 tight compartments on board a steamship. The interior is a massive 

 framework of aluminum rods, stretching from one end of the bal- 

 loon to the other and held in place by seventeen polvgonal rings 

 arranged 24 feet apart. Each ring is supported by aluminum wires, 



