The whole exterior of the ship was fitted with an outer cover, to protect the gasbags and hull framework from weather and to render the outer surface of the ship symmetrical and reduce "skin friction" and resistance to the air to a minimum. To enable this cover to be easily removed it was made in two sections, a port and starboard side for each gasbag. The covers were laced to the hull framework and the connections were covered over with sealing strips to render the whole weathertight. The system of fins for stabilizing purposes on No. 9 were two--vertical and horizontal. The vertical fin was composed of two parts, one above and the other below the centre line of the ship. They were constructed of a framework of duralumin girders, covered over with fabric. The fins were attached on one edge to the hull structure and wire braced from the other edge to various positions on the hull. The horizontal fins were of similar design and attached in a like manner to the hull. Triplane rudders and biplane elevators of the box type were fitted in accordance with the German practice of the time. Auxiliary biplane rudders were fitted originally abaft the after car, but during the first two trial flights they proved so very unsatisfactory that it was decided to remove them. Two cars or gondolas were provided to act as navigating compartments and a housing for the engines, and in design were calculated to offer the least amount of head resistance to the wind. The cars were composed of duralumin girders, which formed a flooring, a main girder running the full length of the car with a series of transverse girders spaced in accordance with the main loads. From each of these transverse girders vertical standards with a connecting piece on top were taken and the whole exterior was covered with duralumin plating. The cars were suspended in the following manner. Two steel tubes fitting into a junction piece at each end were bolted to brackets at the floor level at each end of the transverse girders. They met at an apex above the roof level and were connected to the tubing of the keel. In addition, to distribute the weight and prevent the cars from rocking, steel wire suspensions were led to certain fixed points in the hull. Each car was divided into two parts by a bulkhead, the forward portion being the control compartment in which were disposed all instruments, valve and ballast controls, and all the steering and elevating arrangements. Engine-room telegraphs, voice pipes and telephones were fitted up for communication from one part of the ship to the other. The keel could be reached by a ladder from each car, thus providing with the climbing shaft through the hull access to all parts of the ship.