Zeppelin

:This is an article about Zeppelin airship class. For general article about airships, see airship. For the famous British rock band, see Led Zeppelin.

Principal characteristics

The most important feature of Zeppelin's design is a slim, rigid aluminium skeleton, made of rings and longitudinal girders. The advantage of this concept is that the ships can be built much larger, which enables them to lift heavier loads and be equipped with more and stronger engines. This makes the craft quite distinct from non-rigid airships commonly known as blimps, which rely on a slight overpressure within their hull to maintain their shape.

Related Topics:
Aluminium - Blimp

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The overall form of the first Zeppelins was cylindrical with rounded ends. During World War I, the design was changed to the familiar streamlined shape that has been used by almost all airships since. Within this outer envelope several separate balloons called "cells" contained the lighter-than-air gas hydrogen. The cell design is another conceptual difference compared to blimps.

Related Topics:
Streamline - Lighter-than-air - Hydrogen

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Motive power was provided by several internal combustion engines, mounted in nacelles rigidly connected to the skeleton at the peak of maximum air resistance. Steering was made possible by adjusting and selectively reversing engine thrust and by using rudder and elevator fins.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A comparatively small compartment for passengers and crew was built into the bottom of the frame. However, it is important to note that the small structure on the bottom of the large Zeppelins is not the entire habitable space of the craft; they often had space internally - this was done for aerodynamic reasons.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~