Two gondolas, each comprising a control compartment and engine-room, were suspended from the main framework of the hull. They were shaped to afford the least resistance possible to the air, and were made of Honduras mahogany, three-ply where the ballast tanks occurred, and two-ply elsewhere. The plies were sewn together with copper wire. The gondolas were designed to have sufficient strength to withstand the strain of alighting on the water. They were suspended from the hull by wooden struts streamline in shape, and fitted with internal steel-wire ropes; additional wire suspensions were also fitted to distribute the load over a greater length of the ship. The engines were carried in the gondolas on four hollow wooden struts, also fitted internally with wire. The wires were intended to support the gondolas in the event of the struts being broken in making a heavy landing. Two engines were mounted, one in each gondola, the type used being the 8-cylinder vertical water-cooled Wolseley developing a horse-power of 160. The forward engine drove two wing propellers through the medium of bevel gearing, while the after engine drove a single large propeller aft through 4 gear box to reduce the propeller revolutions to half that of the engine. The estimated speed of the ship was calculated to be 42 miles per hour, petrol was carried in tanks, fitted in the keel, and the water ballast tanks were placed close to the keel and connected together by means of a pipe. No. 1 was completed in May, 1911. She had been built at Barrow in a shed erected on the edge of Cavendish Dock. Arrangements were made that she should be towed out of the shed to test her efficiency at a mooring post which had been prepared in the middle of the dock. She was launched on May 22nd in a flat calm and was warped out of the shed and hauled to the post where she was secured without incident. The ship rode at the mooring post in a steady wind, which at one time increased to 36 miles per hour, until the afternoon of May 25th, and sustained no damage whatever. Various engine trials were carried out, but no attempt was made to fly, as owing to various reasons the ship was short of lift. Valuable information was, however, gained in handling the ship, and much was learnt of her behaviour at the mast. More trouble was experienced in getting her back into the shed, but she was eventually housed without sustaining any damage of importance. Owing to the lack of disposable lift, the bags were deflated and various modifications were carried out to lighten the ship, of which the principal were the removal of the keel and cabin entirely, and the removal of the water-trimming services. Other minor alterations were made which gave the ship, on completion, a disposable lift of 3.21 tons. The transverse frames between the gasbags were strengthened, and a number of broken wires were replaced.