British Airships, Past, Present, and Future

Ballooning had been carried out both as a form of sport and also by the showman as a Saturday afternoon's sensational entertainment, with a parachute

DGE'S

named Partridge. Very little information is available concerning this ship. The envelope was cylindrical in shape, tapering at each end, and was composed of a light rigid framework covered with fabric. The envelope itself was covered with a light wire net, from which the car

ccessfully accomplished owing to difficulties encountered with the planes, and, except in w

ELL'S

he diameter 21 feet 4 inches. A keel composed of metal tubes was attached to the underside of the envelope from which the car was suspended. On either side of the car screw propellers

N'S A

interest was aroused in this country by the performances of the ships designed by Santos-Dumont and Count

mboo framework which served as a car for the crew, and a housing for the motors supplying the motive power of the ship. This framework was suspended from the envelope by means of steel cables. Installed in the car were two 50 horse-power Buchet engines which were mounted at the forward and after ends

were fitted at either end of the framework, the water bei

intervals along the framework to

year. She, unfortunately, did not come up to expectations, owing to the difficulty in co

OWS

hips of a small type, and considerable success attended their efforts. Each succeeding ship was an improvem

as made of Japanese silk, cylindrical in shape, with rather blunt conical ends. A long nacelle or framework, triangular in

feet diameter propeller. In front were a pair of swivelling tractor screws for steering the

OWS

s suspended by steel cables a small car. At the after end of the keel was mounted a small rudder for the horizontal steering. For steering in the vertical plane two propellers were mounted on each side of the car, sw

OWS

000 cubic feet, and contained two ballonets. The gross lift amounted to about half a ton. As before, a 30 horse-power J.A.P. engine was installed, driving the swivelling pro

s, and was the first British-built

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, which was gradually tapered towards the stern. A different material was also used, varnished silk being tried as an experiment. The envelope was attached to a keel on which was mounted the engine, a 35 horse-power Anzani, driving two swivelling four-blad

the outbreak of war she was lying deflated in the shed at Farnborough. As will be seen later, this was the envelope which was rigged

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gave a volume of 50,000 cubic feet, and contained two ballonets. A 60 horsepower engine drove two swivelling propelle

L FOX'S

ship, having a wooden net-work around its envelope. The hull was composed of wooden transverse frames forming a polygon of sixteen sides, with radial wiring fitted to each transverse frame. The longitudinal members were spiral in form and were built up

. The propeller drive was obtained by means of a wire rope. The gross lift of the ship

rk was suspended. She was afterwards used for carrying o

ed and actually flew. It is impossible to view this lack of enterprise with any other feelings than those of regret, and it was entirely due to this want o