Thursday, February 28, 2013
Aerostats & Lifting Gas
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23-8-30 Should Airships Make a Comeback? - Veritasium > .
Airships, Barrage Balloons, Cardington - BeSi >> .
Graf Zeppelin, Flying Down To Rio - BeSi >> .
Fatal Flight: Audiobook - eng >> .
Airships ..
Aerostats & Lifting Gas ..
Dirigible Aircraft Carriers ..Airships, Dirigibles, Zeppelins, Barrage Balloons, Blimps
An aerostat (ἀήρ aer (air) + στατός statos (standing); via French) is a lighter than air aircraft that gains its lift through the use of a buoyant gas. A lifting gas or lighter than air gas is a gas that has a lower density than normal atmospheric gases and rises above them as a result. It is required for aerostats to create buoyancy, particularly in lighter-than-air aircraft, which include free balloons, moored balloons, and airships. Only certain lighter than air gases are suitable as lifting gases. Lighter than air gases have a density lower than dry air, which has a density of about 1.29 g/L (gram per liter) at standard conditions for temperature and pressure (STP) and an average molecular mass of 28.97 g/mol.
Aerostats include unpowered balloons and powered airships. A balloon may be free-flying or tethered. The average density of the craft is lower than the density of atmospheric air, because its main component is one or more gasbags, a lightweight skin containing a lifting gas (including heated air as well as gases that have a lower density than air) to provide buoyancy, to which other components such as a gondola containing equipment or people are attached. Especially with airships, the gasbags are often protected by an outer envelope.
Aerostats are so named because they use aerostatic lift which is a buoyant force that does not require movement through the surrounding air mass. This contrasts with the heavy aerodynes that primarily use aerodynamic lift which requires the movement of a wing surface through the surrounding air mass. The term has also been used in a narrower sense, to refer to the statically tethered balloon in contrast to the free-flying airship.
Aerostats are so named because they use aerostatic lift which is a buoyant force that does not require movement through the surrounding air mass. This contrasts with the heavy aerodynes that primarily use aerodynamic lift which requires the movement of a wing surface through the surrounding air mass. The term has also been used in a narrower sense, to refer to the statically tethered balloon in contrast to the free-flying airship.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Cardington - airships, barrage balloons
WAAFs And Barrage Balloon (1941) > .
Cardington, Beds. "Zepp" Arrives - Giant Airship Joins R100 At Air Base (1930) > .
R101 - Britain's Giant Airship > .
Cardington, Beds. "Zepp" Arrives - Giant Airship Joins R100 At Air Base (1930) > .
R101 - Britain's Giant Airship > .
Airships, Barrage Balloons, Cardington - BeSi >> .
Graf Zeppelin, Flying Down To Rio - BeSi >> .
Fatal Flight: Audiobook - eng >> .
Barrage Balloons ..
RAF Cardington:
The UK had a rigid airship program during WW1. This required the big construction sheds in Barrow-in-Furness, Inchinnan, Barlow and Cardington, and the rigid airship war stations at Longside, East Fortune, Howden, Pulham (Norfolk) and Kingsnorth.
Dimensions of Cardington shed:
Length: 812 ft (247m)
Width: 275 ft (84m) total, clear width is 180 ft (54.9m)
Height: 180 ft (55m) total, clear height is 157 ft (47.9m)
Works, in Cardington, Bedfordshire remain, where the R101 was built. The No.1 Cardington hangar is original, but extended; the No.2 hangar was relocated to Cardington from Pulham in 1928.
Hx RAF Cardington: The facility was built by aircraft manufacturing company Shorts Brothers to build airships for the Admiralty. Shed 1 (700ft / 210m long) was built in 1915 to enable it to build two rigid airships, the R-31 and R-32. A housing estate was also constructed opposite the site, and named Shortstown.
The airships site was nationalised in April 1919, becoming known as the Royal Airship Works.
In 1924, the Imperial Airship Communications scheme planned to extend mail and passenger service to British India, so an 859-foot hangar was constructed at Karachi (now in Pakistan) in 1929. This was the intended destination of the R101. --
In preparation for the R101 project the No 1 shed was extended between October 1924 and March 1926; its roof was raised by 35 feet and its length increased to 812 feet. The No. 2 shed (Southern shed), which had originally been located at RNAS Pulham, Norfolk, was dismantled in 1928 and re-erected at Cardington.
After the crash of the R101, in October 1930, all work stopped in Britain on airships. Cardington then became a storage station.
In 1936/1937 Cardington started building barrage balloons; and it became the No 1 RAF Balloon Training Unit responsible for the storage and training of balloon operators and drivers. In 1943 until 1967 it was home to the RAF Meteorological research balloons-training unit, undertaking development and storage (after 1967 this was undertaken by the Royal Aircraft Establishment).
For both airships and barrage balloons, Cardington manufactured its own hydrogen, in the Gas Factory, using the steam reforming process. In 1948 the Gas Factory became 279 MU (Maintenance Unit), RAF Cardington; and then, in 1955, 217 MU. 217 MU, RAF Cardington, produced all the gases used by the Royal Air Force until its closure in April 2000; including gas cylinder filling and maintenance.
The two airship sheds ceased being part of the RAF Cardington site in the late 1940s and they were put to other uses. The fence was moved, so they were outside the main RAF Cardington site. --
In 1921, Cardington became the Royal Airship Works and R38 had its first flight here. Interest in airships was renewed in 1924 and two new ones were commissioned — R100 by Barnes Wallis (built at Howden) and R101 built at Cardington.
Shed No.1 had to be enlarged to construct R101, which was 223m long and a little over 40m in diameter. The work was done in 1926-7. The shed was lengthened, the base A-frames widened and the roof was raised.
In 1928, an airship hanger at Pulham in Norfolk was dismantled and moved to Cardington and re-erected as Shed No.2 to house R100.
R101 was launched on 12th October 1929. It was to have a sad end, as it crashed in France in October 1930, killing most of those on board. R100 was broken up a year later. This brought airship development in Britain to an end until the 1970s, when when smaller more manoeuvrable craft were developed at Cardington.
The demise of the R101 in 1930 killed off the government's plans for the Empire Communications Scheme. They had envisaged airship coverage of outlying locations in the British Empire for mail and passenger services. The proposed destinations were to include the UK, Canada, Egypt and India. Facilities were built in these countries in readiness for a service that never really got off the ground. Cardington had been the designated UK operations base.
The sheds are constructed of steel portal frames with pin joints at the crown and in the side walls. The doors were originally capstan operated but now there are powered doors on transverse tracks. Shed No.2 is in the better condition, having had repairs done to it in the 1970s and in 1986.
For many years the sheds housed part of the RAF Museum. More recently, Shed No.2 was used by the Building Research Establishment for tests, including the full-scale load & fire testing of multi-storey buildings.
http://www.engineering-timelines.com/scripts/engineeringItem.asp?id=514 .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardington_Airfield .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airship_hangar .
http://cardington.weebly.com/ .
Women in the Military - watm >> .
Cardington - airships, barrage balloons ..
Dirigible Aircraft Carriers ..RAF Cardington:
The UK had a rigid airship program during WW1. This required the big construction sheds in Barrow-in-Furness, Inchinnan, Barlow and Cardington, and the rigid airship war stations at Longside, East Fortune, Howden, Pulham (Norfolk) and Kingsnorth.
Dimensions of Cardington shed:
Length: 812 ft (247m)
Width: 275 ft (84m) total, clear width is 180 ft (54.9m)
Height: 180 ft (55m) total, clear height is 157 ft (47.9m)
Works, in Cardington, Bedfordshire remain, where the R101 was built. The No.1 Cardington hangar is original, but extended; the No.2 hangar was relocated to Cardington from Pulham in 1928.
Hx RAF Cardington: The facility was built by aircraft manufacturing company Shorts Brothers to build airships for the Admiralty. Shed 1 (700ft / 210m long) was built in 1915 to enable it to build two rigid airships, the R-31 and R-32. A housing estate was also constructed opposite the site, and named Shortstown.
The airships site was nationalised in April 1919, becoming known as the Royal Airship Works.
In 1924, the Imperial Airship Communications scheme planned to extend mail and passenger service to British India, so an 859-foot hangar was constructed at Karachi (now in Pakistan) in 1929. This was the intended destination of the R101. --
In preparation for the R101 project the No 1 shed was extended between October 1924 and March 1926; its roof was raised by 35 feet and its length increased to 812 feet. The No. 2 shed (Southern shed), which had originally been located at RNAS Pulham, Norfolk, was dismantled in 1928 and re-erected at Cardington.
After the crash of the R101, in October 1930, all work stopped in Britain on airships. Cardington then became a storage station.
In 1936/1937 Cardington started building barrage balloons; and it became the No 1 RAF Balloon Training Unit responsible for the storage and training of balloon operators and drivers. In 1943 until 1967 it was home to the RAF Meteorological research balloons-training unit, undertaking development and storage (after 1967 this was undertaken by the Royal Aircraft Establishment).
For both airships and barrage balloons, Cardington manufactured its own hydrogen, in the Gas Factory, using the steam reforming process. In 1948 the Gas Factory became 279 MU (Maintenance Unit), RAF Cardington; and then, in 1955, 217 MU. 217 MU, RAF Cardington, produced all the gases used by the Royal Air Force until its closure in April 2000; including gas cylinder filling and maintenance.
The two airship sheds ceased being part of the RAF Cardington site in the late 1940s and they were put to other uses. The fence was moved, so they were outside the main RAF Cardington site. --
In 1921, Cardington became the Royal Airship Works and R38 had its first flight here. Interest in airships was renewed in 1924 and two new ones were commissioned — R100 by Barnes Wallis (built at Howden) and R101 built at Cardington.
Shed No.1 had to be enlarged to construct R101, which was 223m long and a little over 40m in diameter. The work was done in 1926-7. The shed was lengthened, the base A-frames widened and the roof was raised.
In 1928, an airship hanger at Pulham in Norfolk was dismantled and moved to Cardington and re-erected as Shed No.2 to house R100.
R101 was launched on 12th October 1929. It was to have a sad end, as it crashed in France in October 1930, killing most of those on board. R100 was broken up a year later. This brought airship development in Britain to an end until the 1970s, when when smaller more manoeuvrable craft were developed at Cardington.
The demise of the R101 in 1930 killed off the government's plans for the Empire Communications Scheme. They had envisaged airship coverage of outlying locations in the British Empire for mail and passenger services. The proposed destinations were to include the UK, Canada, Egypt and India. Facilities were built in these countries in readiness for a service that never really got off the ground. Cardington had been the designated UK operations base.
The sheds are constructed of steel portal frames with pin joints at the crown and in the side walls. The doors were originally capstan operated but now there are powered doors on transverse tracks. Shed No.2 is in the better condition, having had repairs done to it in the 1970s and in 1986.
For many years the sheds housed part of the RAF Museum. More recently, Shed No.2 was used by the Building Research Establishment for tests, including the full-scale load & fire testing of multi-storey buildings.
http://www.engineering-timelines.com/scripts/engineeringItem.asp?id=514 .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardington_Airfield .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airship_hangar .
http://cardington.weebly.com/ .
Women in the Military - watm >> .
Monday, February 25, 2013
Dirigible Aircraft Carriers
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What Killed Flying Aircraft Carriers? - nwyt > .
Flying aircraft carriers are indeed possible, and existed in the US Navy in the early 1930s. The concept was ultimately abandoned.
Airships, Barrage Balloons, Cardington - BeSi >> .
Graf Zeppelin, Flying Down To Rio - BeSi >> .
Fatal Flight: Audiobook - eng >> .
Graf Zeppelin, Flying Down To Rio - BeSi >> .
Fatal Flight: Audiobook - eng >> .
Barrage Balloons ..Dirigible Aircraft Carriers ..
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Zeppelin & Chain Home 1939
According to the memoirs of Albert Sammt, Mein Leben für den Zeppelin (translation: "My life for the zeppelin") in the chapter Mit LZ 130 Graf Zeppelin auf Funkhorch- und Funkortungsfahrt ("with the LZ 130 Graf Zeppelin on the radio-listening and radiolocation trip") written by Breuning, a radio-measuring spy basket was used. Sammt flew the LZ 130 up Britain's east coast stopping the engines at Aberdeen pretending they had engine failure in order to investigate strange antenna masts. They drifted freely westwards over land and according to Breuning, saw for the first time the new Supermarine Spitfires, which were then photographed as they circled the airship. This alleged encounter with Spitfires is not supported by contemporary news sources, which state that the LZ 130 was intercepted by two RAF planes dispatched from Dyce Airport, a Miles Magister carrying 612 Squadron Leader Finlay Crerar and Officer Robinson, and an Avro Anson.
On their return journey, as they neared Frankfurt on the evening of 4 August they were warned by radio that landing was not yet possible. At first they suspected an aeroplane had crashed at the site, but on overflying saw nothing amiss. They turned and flew towards the Rhön Mountains and on asking, were informed "landing before dusk not possible". They decided to return to Frankfurt and speak directly with the landing team (Landemannschaft) using their very high frequency transmitter, so that they would not be overheard by the French and so that they could speak in Swabian German to Beurle, the landing team leader.
According to Breuning's account, Beurle informed them they must not land yet because the British had lodged a diplomatic protest over their actions and a British delegation was at the airfield, with agreement of the German government, to inspect the ship. They were under suspicion. Beurle told them to wait while they thought of something.[7] Shortly, the LZ 130 received instructions. They were to hide all the equipment on the ship and not to land at the usual well-lit landing point where a landing team was waiting, but to land at the other end where the "real" landing team was waiting. Once they had landed there, the technicians were to get off and they would be replaced by a unit of Sturmabteilung. The British delegation waiting at the usual landing place were told that, due to the weather, the airship had to land at another part of the airfield. By the time the British reached the airship, the spy crew was on a bus on their way to their hotel. Although they searched the ship, the British found nothing suspicious on the ship nor in the decoy SA-crew. Breuning's account has been questioned; there is no official record of the British filing a diplomatic protest.
Breuning explained that the trip's results were negative, but not because the British radar was switched off, as Churchill wrote in his memoirs. The German General Wolfgang Martini, who was the Chief of Signal Affairs of the Luftwaffe, used a strong, impulsive, broadband radio transmission for determining the "radio-weather", the best wavelengths to use for radio. These impulses severely disturbed their highly sensitive receivers in the 10–12 metre waveband. Breuning wrote that he repeatedly requested Martini to stop transmitting during the spy trips, to no avail. This made it impossible for the LZ 130 to investigate the very wavebands the British were using. An alternative account was given after the war by General Martini who had issued the orders for the espionage trip; he told British radar pioneer Edward Fennessy that German naval radar experiments were based on much higher frequency wavebands than the British were using, and that the scientists on board concluded that the signals which they were receiving were not connected with detection equipment.
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sī vīs pācem, parā bellum
igitur quī dēsīderat pācem praeparet bellum therefore, he who desires peace, let him prepare for war sī vīs pācem, parā bellum if you wan...
