With his characteristic sound judgment and thoroughness of purpose, Count Zeppelin chose the Lake Constance (Bodensee) country for his initial efforts. He had known the lake and local weather conditions from boyhood and was convinced that the smooth ample surface of this beautiful lake offered the best facilities for the handling, starting and landing of these extremely large craft, though it was not long before enough had been learned to alight with them on land. Now the giant Zeppelins can land at will with perfect safety on either land or water. Today Lake Constance is recognized as the best place in the world for the training of airship personnel. The eyes of the entire aeronautical world were focused on the floating airship shed (Plate 1), which Count Zeppelin built and anchored in a bay close to his workshops at Manzell, near Friedrichshafen. During the months that he was making the parts in the shop and assembling his ship in the shed, there was much speculation as to its appearance. It was generally thought by others who had experimented with aircraft that Zeppelin had some very laudable ideas, but as a rule persons were skeptical concerning his ability to produce a practical machine. Interest increased and when he announced that he would fly on July 2nd, 1900, all those interested in aeronautics, who could make the trip, came to Friedrichshafen and for several days before the flight delivered professional opinions predicting failure. The First Zeppelin Flight [PLATE 5: Zeppelin “Deutschland” of the “DELAG”, 1910. The First Passenger Carrying Airship. Zeppelin “Schwaben” Second Passenger Ship of the “DELAG”, 1911.] They solemnly averred that the airship would bend with the weight of the gondolas under its ends. They said if it bent, the engines and steering apparatus would not function. Further, they feared the ship would keel over in mid-air because, and they backed this assumption with figures and formulas based on their professional engineering knowledge and technique, as they pointed out, the center of gravity was too high. Then again the motors would surely explode the ship because the gondolas which held them were too close to the body. All expected Zeppelin to fail, and they were on hand as witnesses when first the big cigar shaped bag was floated out of its shed (Plate 1). It was a huge thing in those days, 419.8 feet long (128 meters), with a diameter of 38.3 feet (11.7 meters). It was made up of an immense aluminum framework including 24 longitudinal girders running from nose to tail and drawn together at the ends. Joining the girders were 16 rings, (reinforced with diagonal wires), formed of transverse girders, which held the body together. On the bottom side of the body was fixed a bridge-like construction which strengthened the framework sideways and attached to it were two motor gondolas.