Engineering:La France (airship)
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File:La france vd66w081t 0 h702q745p.tiff The La France was a French Army non-rigid airship launched by Charles Renard and Arthur Constantin Krebs on August 9, 1884. Collaborating with Charles Renard, Arthur Constantin Krebs piloted the first fully controlled free-flight with the La France. The 170-foot (52 m) long, 66,000-cubic-foot (1,900 m3) airship, electric-powered with a 435 kg (959 lb) zinc-chlorine flow battery[1] completed a flight that covered 8 km (5.0 mi) in 23 minutes.[2] It was the first full round trip flight[3] with a landing on the starting point. On its seven flights in 1884 and 1885[4] the La France dirigible returned five times to its starting point.[5][6]
Hangar
The La France was constructed in Hangar "Y" at Chalais-Meudon near Paris in 1879. Hangar "Y" is one of the few remaining airship hangars in Europe.
Specifications
General characteristics
- Crew: 2
- Length: 50.90–52.00 m (167 ft 0 in–170 ft 0 in) 32.9 m (108 ft) gondola of bamboo with silk covering
- Diameter: 8.4 m (27 ft 6 in)
- Volume: 1,841–1,900 m3 (65,000–66,000 cu ft) hydrogen
- Propellers: 2-bladed propellers, 7.0 m (23 ft 0 in) diameter 24 m (28 ft) pitch, 14.9 m (49 ft) drive shaft
Performance
- Maximum speed: 23.40 km/h (14.54 mph, 12.63 kn)
- Range: 12.2 km (7.6 mi, 6.6 nmi)
See also
References
- ↑ Winter, Lumen & Degner, Glenn, Minute Epics of Flight, New York, Grosset & Dunlap, 1933, pgs. 49–50
- ↑ La France dirigible
- ↑ "Le Ballon dirigeable LA FRANCE de Renard et Krebs – 1884". http://rbmn.free.fr/Dirigeable_LA_FRANCE_1884.HTML. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
- ↑ "Ballon dirigeable LA FRANCE : Plans, croquis et photos". http://rbmn.free.fr/Ballon_photos_19.html. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
- ↑ "9 August 1884". 9 August 2016. Archived from the original on August 12, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160812015256/https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/9-august-1884/.
- ↑ "9 August 1884". 9 August 2020. Archived from the original on March 26, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210326234227/https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/9-august-1884/.
External links
- "LE BALLON DIRIGEABLE "LA FRANCE" / Plans, croquis et photos / N° 1 – Plans du dirigeable (élévation longitudinale et dessous)". Archived from the original on May 28, 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20070528031633/http://rbmn02.waika9.com/Ballon_photos_01.html.
- "LE BALLON DIRIGEABLE "LA FRANCE" / Plans, croquis et photos / N° 10 – Moteur du dirigeable (face avant)". Archived from the original on 2007-08-09. https://web.archive.org/web/20070809083002/http://rbmn.free.fr/Ballon_photos_10.html.
- "9 August 1884". 9 August 2016. Archived from the original on August 12, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160812015256/https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/9-august-1884/.
- "9 August 1884". 9 August 2020. Archived from the original on March 26, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210326234227/https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/9-august-1884/.
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