Looking at the map of the passenger compartment on the Hindenberg - well a) it's a bit cramped (I love to walk around a lot, so I'd prefer a ship) and b) there's just one shower/bath for all those people? Or did I misread it?
It only needs a mooring mast to "make port", plus the kind of passenger facilities that would be needed for any craft (so counting that as a zep expense and not a general thing is unreasonable)
And airfields are small and cheap, right? They can be put right downtown...wait, can they? Why have I never been able to take advantage of this? I mean, San Fransisco doesn't count, but seriously?
Gas works? Its not like you need to refill at every port - a zeppelin's gas sacks stay full* between flights.
* Or about as full as normal procedures are.
Vulnerable to winds? Ah yes, this explains the fact no zeppelins ever claimed to altitudes of any significance (except that they did), dealt with windy conditions (except, again, that they did) in flight, or otherwise dealt with it. Sure a major storm is a disaster, but I wouldn't want to fly anything in the storm that brought the Shenandoah down.
As for the ground crew: Let's see something specific on those figures compared to the investment made for airplanes.
also, just watched an episode from the 1940's superman cartoons and it had an airship carrier, would it be actually theoritaclly possible to make an airship carrier. i wouldnt think so with the weight and all, not to mention the size. but if you could put money aside, and a guarnteed place to house such a monster, would it even be possible. and by an airship carrier, i mean it housed the planes in a chamber near the top to house the planes (about 40 planes), and it had a runway on the top.
An airship traditionally bleds off gas in order to maintain level flight and to descend to land. So an airship is typically 'topped off' with additional lifting gas at the beginning of each flight.
When mentioning 'vulnerable to winds' I was addressing usually the most vulnerable portion of an airship's voyage and that is when it is walked out of the hanger. Maneuvering those giant craft into and out of the hangers are potentially dangerous moments. Eckener lost an airship before the war that was thrown against its hanger.
Regarding ground crew I would suggest looking at the footage of the landing of the Hindenburg at Lakehurst and you would get an idea of the amount of men needs to catch the landing lines and pull the airship both to the ground and then to the mooring mast.
Not so significantly as to be a huge expense or issue - I presume we're looking at hydrogen, as the helium ones had to go out of their way to avoid venting helium.
Even so, you need a refinery at or near every landing site, so that's going to restrict the number of destinations.Not so significantly as to be a huge expense or issue - I presume we're looking at hydrogen, as the helium ones had to go out of their way to avoid venting helium.
David S Poepoe said:I'm considering both gases since even hydrogen encumbers an expense in storage.
Even so, you need a refinery at or near every landing site, so that's going to restrict the number of destinations.
http://www.airships.net/hindenburg/interiors
This only mentions "a" shower (for a maximum of 124 people - 52 crew, 72 passengers), and it does seem ill designed for long strolls along the deck sort of walking about - not sure if I'd say cramped in any other sense, but certainly no great points there.
Is that the site with the maps you're looking at, or something else?
Good site! That fits in with what I saw on page 1 of this thread. The shower sounds like it was more of a dribble than anything else.
Yeah. Possibly exaggerated in the telling - but certainly minimal.
Still, sounds about as comfortable as first class train travel, all things considered, maybe more.
True, but imagine being stuck there for 3-4 days. I'd go stir-crazy. I walk 2-3 miles a day and being cooped up in that space with no access to fresh air would drive me raving mad.