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<\/p>\nUnlike a different outcome to the Battles of Thermopylae, or Hastings, or Gettysburg, a dreamer dabbling with rigid airship history has a shorter working time period, and limited technological options. Narrowing our focus from the generally possible to the more likely scenario is much more complicated. Some have already speculated what might have happened if Captain Pruss had simply refused the American\u2019s request for a \u201chigh\u201d landing: LZ-129 could have made an ordinary on-the-wheel touchdown on May 6, 1937. A world in which Hindenburg\u2019s<\/i> return with 70 passengers on May 9th in time for King Edward\u2019s coronation, accompanied by the routine launch of Graf Zeppelin <\/i>on his scheduled May 11th South American run, has long generated speculative debate. Remember that, even after the fire, the Germans had started on LZ-131, whose extra bay would have given that airship a volume about 9 Mft3.<\/p>\n
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As we have seen on the ZRCV page<\/a>, logical arguments for much larger airships had been made by men in the know. VADM (then CDR) Rosendahl and even CAPT Buckley (then a young midshipman, later co-author of the 1943 privately published book at left) had flown aboard LZ-129. However these discussions came years after the harsh economic times of 1939. In the real world, where the US Government had been unable to spend itself out of a depressed economy, it was a sure sign of the Administration\u2019s contempt for Goodyear-Zeppelin when the bill HR 3519\u00a0of 1939 authorizing construction of a 300-ton Naval Airship never got off Capital Hill for a most certain Presidential veto. (Specifically, ZRCV would have been about 300 tons, vs. LZ-129’s about 242 tons.)<\/p>\n SIZE MATTERS<\/p>\n For the more airship-friendly \u201cZRS\u201d universe, Burgess\u2019 ZRCV is clearly too small a step. Author Rowan Partridge envisioned Long Island<\/i> as 12 Mft3 , and we\u2019ll show why we think this about right.<\/p>\n Later, with the German assembly shed extended and their LZ-131 \u201cSuper Zeppelin\u201d under construction, 9 Mft3 was the new target. The Americans, at first hobbled by the BofM fraud cutting H2 flight funding, would have continued to believe their own propaganda, and stood behind the eight-ball of helium\u2019s fixed, lesser lift for the dollar. As we see on the ZRS-4 Evolves<\/a> page, the Americans had been forced to enlarge, to avoid performance embarrassment.\u00a0 With R.101\u2019s announced capacity of 5 Mft3<\/sup> the Americans had revised to 6, then 6.5 Mft3, <\/sup>for the Akron\/Macon<\/i> design to keep pace. The Americans would have certainly repeated the airship enlargement process to stay \u201ccompetitive\u201d in performance.<\/p>\n These figures agree with a British study offering an explanation of their refusing the offer of American helium. P. L. Teed\u2019s paper showed that, to perform like a 9 Mft3 hydrogen rigid, a helium ship would have to be 12 Mft3. Thus we arrive at the first parameter of our hypothetical American rigid airship within the given time\/technology limitations \u2013 precisely at Rowan Partridge\u2019s envisioned, twelve million cubic feet. That\u2019s a good deal smaller than the Buckley\/Barkley vision of 1943, but correctly beefing up the ZRCV reflective of the helium penalty in relation to the LZ-131.<\/p>\n The especially good news is, given the circa 50% increase in payload by conversion back to hydrogen from any design originally enlarged to be competitive with helium, Partridge\u2019s Long Island <\/i>would be comfortable with full fuel load and aircraft complement even in the vast reaches of the trackless South Pacific that had swallowed so many airplanes (Amelia Earhart being just one) in the past.<\/p>\n In the film production we will stick with Rowan’s overall vision for the basic size and overall design. We will pay special attention to the previous state of the art. We will take direction from those men who flew rigids, and had their own ideas as to the design details of the next generation.<\/p>\n FINENESS COUNTS<\/p>\n The fineness ratio \u2013 defined as the relationship of length to diameter – delivered reproducible drag values in rigid airships. Therefore it is possible to predict performance of anything from the football-shaped ZMC-2 (above left) to the torpedo-like stretched L-59 (LZ-104) \u201cAfrica ship\u201d (above right). It comes as no surprise that all three of the last rigid airship designs\u2014Akron\/Macon, <\/i>LZ-129\/130, and ZRCV\u2014were all within a tenth of a point of each other. We think it logical to split the difference, resulting in Long Island\u2019s<\/i> fineness ratio: six.<\/p>\n Blessed with the assistance of Mr. Norman Mayer, who had relieved C. P. Burgess at BuAer, the next step was easy. Plugging in the fineness ratio of 6 and the desired volume of 12 Mft3<\/sup>, the formula that Mr. Mayer created (for his AIAA paper and presentation at Bedford, England) yields our airship\u2019s precise dimensions: Length, 944 feet; maximum diameter 160 feet.<\/p>\n From this point forward there are many options, each with their own followers and champions, and no preset formulas to plug in.\u00a0Dr. Richard K. Smith in his The Airships AKRON and MACON: Flying Aircraft Carriers of the U.S. Navy<\/i> discussed these options: \u201cThe British\u2026 in their R100 found their answer\u2026 using Barnes Wallis\u2019 novel geodetic structure\u2026 and by using deep rings in their R-101. The Germans found their answer by using a supplementary axial keel\u2026 the Hindenburg<\/i> and the Graf Zeppelin II,<\/i> which ran through their hull\u2019s centerline, of itself a radical departure from the so-called \u201cconventional\u201d Zeppelin\u2026 [USN BuAer\u2019s] C.P. Burgess believed that an appreciable increase in performance could be realized through a radical break with the past, by discarding the archaic redundancies of the classic Zeppelin structure for the simplicity of Ralph Upson\u2019s stressed-skin Metalclad design\u2026 [thus, with the tri-keel ZRS design of Karl Arnstein]<\/i> …there were four different answers found to the same problem, and it is doubtful if the alternatives were exhausted.\u201d<\/p>\n In this photo, \u00a0Arnstein looks over a special heavy-duty girder section with then-inspector LT \u201cTex\u201d Settle, right. This larger, heavier type was seen in the hangar bay and other selected ZRS-4 & 5 assemblies.<\/p>\n Indeed, with airplane structures turning to metal, leaving only control surfaces fabric-covered, regardless of girder design, acres of nitrate-doped cloth would still be the weak point. R.101 design engineer V. C. Richmond said \u201c\u2026 the fabric work of the rigid airship (i.e. the gas bags and the outer cover) represents the least satisfactory part\u2026\u201d Therefore, the wild card in any construction speculation is the stressed skin or \u201cmetalclad\u201d airship which promised lessened manufacturing cost, and flame-safe operation with hydrogen. In the novel, Partridge speculates a balance was struck with the ship\u2019s covering called \u201cmetalfoil.\u201d For screenplay purposes, we will speculate the Germans figured out how to add bronze to the covering mix for conductivity, fireproofing and longevity, a few years before they actually did so. Perhaps during the 36-37 overhaul, or even earlier, but once done others had easily followed suit. Therefore, we will be forced to turn our backs on Ralph Upson and what C.P. Burgess called \u201cthe ultimate airship\u201d – at least until (perhaps) the sequel.<\/p>\n THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX<\/p>\n Rosendahl wrote, \u201cThat German airship men did not like the AKRON<\/i>–MACON<\/i> design is not exactly a secret, for privately and diplomatically they let us know it. Their main objection centered about our built-up form of main frame, and our use therein of square or \u2018box\u2019 girders rather than the previously accepted triangular girder.\u201d<\/p>\n Before R-101 and Akron-Macon<\/i>, girder design had changed little since before Zeppelin (Schwarz girder, left, 1898). Even pieces of the ZR-1 Shenandoah<\/em> show a similar basic structural girder design. For the ZRS-4&5, Arnstein’s patented lightening holes were stamped into a sheet whose edges were formed to join with others like it. These were riveted together to form a box beams on bench jigs (photo).<\/p>\n These beams were used extensively in the structure of ZRS-4 & 5, including forming them into the arch-like constructions that formed rings.<\/p>\n By the later 1930s Arnstein had abandoned his complex box girder\u00a0 in favor of what looks more like \u201cpreviously accepted triangular girder\u201d in Rosendahl’s Rigid History motion picture clip. The test section found in the Airdock<\/a> supports this notion. Using ALCOA 24S the new girders could have been spot welded, easing the more complex jig-dependent process of drilling and riveting. Given that our basic building girder will be more \u201ctriangular,\u201d without actually being able to employ the simple but strong tubular structures in use today, we can move on to the form used to employ the girders to make a structure.<\/p>\n ONE RING TO RULE THEM ALL<\/p>\n R.101 featured built-up rings whose continuous triangle was more injury-resistant and perhaps less wire-tensioned than earlier methods of building circular flyweight structures.\u00a0\u00a0R.101\u2019s rings (photo) supported the heavy pinpoint loads of diesel fuel tanks. There were no intermediate rings like those in the ZRS-4 & 5. In fact, it has been suggested the R.101 had no actual keel in the “conventional” sense.\u00a0The R.101’s rings did not enclose the same triangular area as Akron\/Macon\u2019s\u00a0<\/i> ladder-equipped main rings, but did allow some access impractical with conventional Zep design.<\/p>\n ZRS-4 & 5 used a similar, but heavier continuous pyramid-like ring design, which in the case of battle damage, was supposed to retain its circular shape. These eliminated the finely tensioned bicycle-like spoke-like wiring used to support the Zeppelin ring shape, let alone the complex and cell-complicating axial cable or corridor. Their interior ladders offered previously unknown access to the ship’s interior and its fittings.<\/p>\n As seen in the assembly films<\/span>,<\/a> the more fragile intermediate rings were For our USS Long Island<\/em>, we will retain this built-up main ring\u00a0 as a compromise between the R.101\/ZRS4\/5 and the later ZRCV more conventional ring design. We will reduce its height slightly to decrease the overall wasted non-gas space.<\/p>\n It should be noted that, once designed and built, only to find performance expectations not met in the real world, it\u2019s rather difficult to change airship capacity by enlarging the diameter. Therefore it was not uncommon to cut a rigid in two, so an extra cell could be inserted for more lift. (C P Hall has pointed out R-101\u2019s extension spoiled her perfect aerodynamic symmetry and that structural section did not fare as well in her final impact. Yet, our movie will\u00a0 have yet another bay added to our \u201cR.101D\u201d.)<\/p>\n So far, then, we have resolved to use ZRCV-like channel girder material in the construction of ZRS-4 &-5 like \u201cmain rings.\u201d This offers compromises the designers of 1937-1938 would have considered the best choices, for crew access, least wasted non-gas enclosed area and damage resistance. For the movie, our USS Long Island<\/i> set can use less complex tubular material to simulate spot-welded girder sections. A set including some lower-third main ring sections above will have to be built to support hangar bay and habitable sections where actors will perform their scenes. Intermediate rings would not normally be seen, obscured by fabric walls or simulated gas cells, which will easily be incorporated into the set.<\/p>\n Now we need only decide how all the rings will be joined together to form the framework, which will be addressed in the next post.<\/p>\n Back to Home Page<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Unlike a different outcome to the Battles of Thermopylae, or Hastings, or Gettysburg, a dreamer dabbling with rigid airship history has a shorter working time period, and limited technological options. Narrowing our focus from the generally possible to the more likely scenario is much more complicated. Some have already speculated what might have happened if … Continue reading “The USS Long Island\u2014Theory and Design, Part One”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3092","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zrsthemovie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3092","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zrsthemovie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zrsthemovie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zrsthemovie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zrsthemovie.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3092"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/zrsthemovie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3092\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3359,"href":"https:\/\/zrsthemovie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3092\/revisions\/3359"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zrsthemovie.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3092"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zrsthemovie.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3092"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zrsthemovie.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3092"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Ismal](\"http:\/\/zrsthemovie.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Ismal-mast-251x300.jpg\")
As we have speculated on the Empire of the Air page<\/a>, Scott and R.101\u2019s delayed departure would have been pivotal in completion of the \u201cEmpire of the Air.\u201d Direct flights to Canada, one-stop trips to India and few-stop trips to Auckland, Sydney or Singapore would in turn have created competition pressure for the German passenger service.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/zrsthemovie.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/ZMC-2-300x86.jpg\")
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attached to the mains for hoisting during assembly\u00a0 in Goodyear-Zeppelin\u2019s Airdock. Carefully spread out for more box beam girders to be added as longerons,\u00a0 each bay took shape. (The ZRS\u20134 & -5\u2019s ALCOA 17S structure was said to contain 6.5 million bucked rivets. )<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/zrsthemovie.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Bay-VII-249x300.jpg\")
With ZRS-4, bay VII had been the first to be completed,\u00a0 and was the first to be tested by installation of a gas cell and inflated with helium.\u00a0In both ZRS ships, bulkhead wiring prevented a full cell from surging into an adjacent deflated-cell bay. These were fastened to the main rings with \u201cresiliency devices\u201d (marked with an “R” in the photo) which worked somewhat like automobile shock absorbers, and managed the tension of surging cells. The combination was designed to prevent adjacent cells from squeezing into nearby bays whose cells were deflated.\u00a0 Various photos show cells purposely overpressurized to test the construction and design, thus resembling a sort of quilted blanket.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/zrsthemovie.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/baywire-300x238.jpg\")
Our typical Long Island<\/em> bay will be generally similar, likely with one smaller intermediate ring spacing owing to our larger number of bays and cells. There will be retaining bulkhead wiring to prevent surging.<\/p>\n
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