AERONAUTICS: Zeppelining

(See front cover)

The grandest deliberate advertising stunt, grander than the Prince of Wales' warship jaunts to the U. S. and his Dominions, ended at Friedrichshafen last week, when the Graf Zeppelin snuggled into her home schuppen (hangar). "Speaking frankly," said Dr. Hugo Eckener (in Manhattan last week), "the Graf Zeppelin's voyage around the world was to demonstrate the expediency of her mode of travel, to intensify public interest and to get financial support for the construction of the ideal Zeppelin which we know how to build." The trip served its purpose. It led last week to banker negotiations to provide Dr. Eckener with money for the construction of four more Zeppelins.

Lakehurst to Friedrichshafen. Except for brief electrical storms, navigation was simple for Capt. Ernst A. Lehmann on the Grafs final 5,300 miles from Lakehurst to Friedrichshafen. He kept lookout for the lost Swiss flyers (TIME, Sept. 2) and detoured over Santander, Spain, to salute King Alfonso and Queen Victoria. This detour was a prudent courtesy, because Spain is planning a dirigible hangar at Seville, which will be useful when the Germans establish their Europe-South America Zeppelin line. But some passengers were vexed at the out-of-the-way delay. Their nerves were jumpy because one Frederick S. Hogg, retired Mount Vernon, N. Y., businessman, had smoked a cigar in the ship's lavatory. One spark might have blown up her hydrogen lifting gas. Some of the other passengers wanted Passenger Hogg imprisoned. Capt. Lehmann only reprimanded him, took his cigars and pocket lighter ignominiously away. The ship made the Lakehurst-Friedrichshafen trip in 67 hours. Her time around the world from Friedrichshafen to Friedrichshafen was 20 days, 4 hours—26 hours less than from Lakehurst to Lakehurst.

Graf's Future. The Graf Zeppelin was built for demonstration purposes. It is aerodynamically imperfect. Because it is a cylinder with conic ends, air does not flow smoothly over it. It should have no straight surface lines or level planes as in the Los Angeles, "best product of the Zeppelin works" (Dr. Eckener). Building of a new Friedrichshafen hangar will be completed about Nov. , when construction of a huge, fattish dirigible will be begun. Imperfect, the Graf Zeppelin will never be put on a commercial line. It will be used as a training ship for dirigible crews, for excursions and sight-seeing trips.

Biggest results of the Graf's flight were: