The demand for airships for commercial purposes falls under three
main headings, which will be considered in some detail. It will
be shown to what extent the present types will fill this demand,
and how they can be developed in the future to render the
proposed undertakings successful.
1. Pleasure.
2. A quick and safe means of transport for passengers.
3. A quick commercial service for delivering goods of reasonable
weight from one country to another.
1. Pleasure.--In the past, men have kept mechanically-driven
means of transport such as yachts, motor cars, and motor boats
for their amusement, and to a limited extent have taken
recreation in the air by means of balloons. For short cruises
about this country and round the coast a small airship, somewhat
similar to the S.S. Zero, would be an ideal craft. In cost it
would be considerably less than a small yacht, and as it would
only be required in the summer months, it would be inflated and
moored out in the open in a park or grounds and the expense of
providing a shed need not be incurred. For longer distances, a
ship of 150,000 cubic feet capacity, with a covered-in car and
driven by two engines, would have an endurance of 25 hours at a
cruising speed of 45 miles per hour.
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