Who Likes Aircraft ?
- Thread starter Auggie56
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Dipstick
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Been there twice. Recommend getting a pit pass.
Due to the heat in the Pacific theater, pilots often flew in just shorts, tennis shoes, and a parachute.
Basket case
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Luxury in the sky... Often, when people see a picture of the Hindenburg, or the Graf Zeppelin or British R101, they assume that the little gondola hanging near the front is where the passengers sit, giving the impression that it's rather cramped or there isn't a lot of room for a lot of people in there.
Inside that gondola, where the crew took command of the airship, there were quite a few operators; beside the Captain and his Co, there was the navigator, an engine control officer, a radio operator in his own little room and a ballast control officer. In addition, there were mechanics posted for four hour shifts in the individual engine pods. Any longer and they risked hearing loss.
In fact, there was loads of space, lots of room for extravagant travel in comfort. Where were they? Inside the hull of the airship itself.
This cut-away shows the great outside view the passengers were given with downward facing windows.
And from the inside...
Fancy suites, luxury dining accommodations and much of the same expectations as would be found on ocean liners of the day but with double the speed to cut down on Atlantic crossing times.
Virtually silent (the engines could not be heard from inside the cabin) smooth and thoroughly modern, this was luxury travel in the 1930s!
Incidentally, the Hindenburg was designed to be filled with helium, but the Americans held most of the supply and exports were banned.
Inside that gondola, where the crew took command of the airship, there were quite a few operators; beside the Captain and his Co, there was the navigator, an engine control officer, a radio operator in his own little room and a ballast control officer. In addition, there were mechanics posted for four hour shifts in the individual engine pods. Any longer and they risked hearing loss.
In fact, there was loads of space, lots of room for extravagant travel in comfort. Where were they? Inside the hull of the airship itself.
This cut-away shows the great outside view the passengers were given with downward facing windows.
And from the inside...
Fancy suites, luxury dining accommodations and much of the same expectations as would be found on ocean liners of the day but with double the speed to cut down on Atlantic crossing times.
Virtually silent (the engines could not be heard from inside the cabin) smooth and thoroughly modern, this was luxury travel in the 1930s!
Incidentally, the Hindenburg was designed to be filled with helium, but the Americans held most of the supply and exports were banned.
- Local time
- 6:36 PM
- Joined
- Mar 14, 2012
- Messages
- 18,640
- Reaction score
- 37,277
- Location
- Surrey, B.C. Canada
A little more operations detail...
Notice that the Hindenburg had a landing wheel. I believe there was one on the lower tail fin as well. Here's what you're looking at as a line drawing.
The crew had plenty of glass area to see where they were going.
The elevator wheel and ballast board.
This panel was the gas control board, it showed the status of the 16 gas bags and allowed for releasing if needed to increase the ship's static weight. A red light showed when a bag was full.
the navigator had his own room...work tables, gyros, charts, a drift indicator, RDF equipment, clocks and stopwatches.
At the navigator's table...
And at night, navigation by spotting land or sea objects was as easy as in daylight thanks to the 5.7 million candlepower searchlight.
No need to shout from one part of the ship to another, as well as a pneumatic tube between the bridge and radio room, there were fourteen telephone stations throughout the ship.
Cooking fine meals in the kitchen...I wonder if any airline these days can match what was served then?
Notice that the Hindenburg had a landing wheel. I believe there was one on the lower tail fin as well. Here's what you're looking at as a line drawing.
The crew had plenty of glass area to see where they were going.
The elevator wheel and ballast board.
This panel was the gas control board, it showed the status of the 16 gas bags and allowed for releasing if needed to increase the ship's static weight. A red light showed when a bag was full.
the navigator had his own room...work tables, gyros, charts, a drift indicator, RDF equipment, clocks and stopwatches.
At the navigator's table...
And at night, navigation by spotting land or sea objects was as easy as in daylight thanks to the 5.7 million candlepower searchlight.
No need to shout from one part of the ship to another, as well as a pneumatic tube between the bridge and radio room, there were fourteen telephone stations throughout the ship.
Cooking fine meals in the kitchen...I wonder if any airline these days can match what was served then?
- Local time
- 6:36 PM
- Joined
- Mar 14, 2012
- Messages
- 18,640
- Reaction score
- 37,277
- Location
- Surrey, B.C. Canada
Inside one of those engine pods, a view of the 1,200 hp. Daimler-Maybach V-16 diesel engine
Front engine pod looking at the aft pod...
This is an actual pod from the Hindenburg wreck.
I would imagine it could get warm in there with that big engine churning away.
One unique item on these engines was a water recovery system which saved water from the exhaust. Without that system, the airship would get lighter and lighter as fuel was burned, which would have meant venting the hydrogen lifting gas to compensate. By salvaging the water as ballast, weight was maintained.
A giant of an aircraft, this is the 803 foot shadow it left on the ground.
After May 6, 1937, all that remained was truly just a shadow. The aluminum framework was salvaged and shipped back to Germany.
Front engine pod looking at the aft pod...
This is an actual pod from the Hindenburg wreck.
I would imagine it could get warm in there with that big engine churning away.
One unique item on these engines was a water recovery system which saved water from the exhaust. Without that system, the airship would get lighter and lighter as fuel was burned, which would have meant venting the hydrogen lifting gas to compensate. By salvaging the water as ballast, weight was maintained.
A giant of an aircraft, this is the 803 foot shadow it left on the ground.
After May 6, 1937, all that remained was truly just a shadow. The aluminum framework was salvaged and shipped back to Germany.
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