The damage done was repaired within six weeks, and the second trial
was made on January 17th, 1906. The lifting force was too great for
the weight, and the dirigible jumped immediately to 1,500 feet. The
propellers were started, and the dirigible brought to a lower level,
when it was found possible to drive against the wind. The steering
arrangements were found too sensitive, and the motors were stopped,
when the vessel was carried by the wind until it was over land--it had
been intended that the trial should be completed over water. A descent
was successfully accomplished and the dirigible was anchored for the
night, but a gale caused it so much damage that it had to be broken
up. It had achieved a speed of 30 feet per second with the motors
developing only 36 horse-power and, gathering from this what speed
might have been accomplished with the full 170 horse-power, Zeppelin
set about the construction of No. 3, with which a number of successful
voyages were made, proving the value of the type for military purposes.
No. 4 was the most notable of the early Zeppelins, as much on account
of its disastrous end as by reason of any superior merit in comparison
with No. 3. The main innovation consisted in attaching a triangular
keel to the under side of the envelope, with two gaps beneath which the
cars were suspended. Two Daimler Mercedes motors of 110 horse-power
each were placed one in each car, and the vessel carried sufficient
fuel for a 60-hour cruise with the motors running at full speed. Each
motor drove a pair of three-bladed metal propellers rigidly attached
to the framework of the envelope and about 15 feet in diameter. There
was a vertical rudder at the stern of the envelope and horizontal
controlling planes were fixed on the sides of the envelope. The best
performances and the end of this dirigible were summarised as follows
by Major Squier:--
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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