Zeppelinheim

Long time no see! Got back from my vacation to find that my FOIA request for the Hindenburg File had been approved. In all, 408 pages were released. I'm not sure how different it is from the redacted report available from the FBI Vault, but I'll be transcribing the entire report as best I can. I need to check Bureau guidelines to be sure, but I think I can provide a copy of the  transcript here when it is finished. In addition, you can contact me at 'Hlostoops@Gmail.com for further information.

HMA R-100 was one half of the Imperial Airship Scheme. The brainchild of Christopher Thomson, the British Minister of Air, the Scheme, was a farsighted plan to connect the far flung colonies of the “empire on which the sun never set”, with regular, reliable, and expedient airship service. The first ship, R-100, the lesser known cousin of the infamous R-101, was chosen to fly a transatlantic route to Canada.                 The ship was the engineering brainchild of Barnes Wallis (later famous for WWII’s ‘bouncing bomb’ and his various designs for a supersonic airliner) and Nevil S. Norway (later acclaimed as the successful author Nevil Shute). The design and construction of R-100 represented a leap in airship design, going so far as to influence both the structure and passenger accommodations of Germany’s A.S. Hindenburg. R-100's superstructure was revolutionary. (Image courtesy 'Airship Heritage Trust')          ...

The ZRS-class USS Akron and USS Macon, both fabricated by Goodyear Aircraft Co. in Akron, served as part of a massive experiment. Their purpose as proof of concept models for a skeptic Navy was masked by the vast complexity and performance of the two ships. Cross section of the USS Akron, Circa 1931 The ZRS designation stood for 'Lighter Than Air (The 'Z' likely being an homage to Zeppelin) Rigid Scout'. The ship's F9C Sparrowhawk fighters were designed to serve as both protective 'parasite' fighters, dispatched to eliminate threats to the larger mothership, as well as reconnaissance vehicles, their range vastly expanded by the ultra-long distance capabilities of the airship. The next generation airship would represent a great step in naval aviation. The ZRCV designation belied their true role, CV was the navy abbreviation for Carrier Vehicle, as flying aircraft carriers. This advertisement offers a tantalizing glimpse at the ZRCV airship. The ill...

To facilitate a complete story of any airship that I feature I will no longer be using the label "Airship of the Month". Instead, I'll have a "Featured Airship" which allows me to take as long as I need on a particular airship E.G. with so much information on the Hindenburg It'd take more than one month to complete a full collection on it.) This will go into effect on April 1st with the Shenandoah as was originally planned for March. In the meantime, to make this post presentable, here are two of my all-time favorite airship photographs. The Hindenburg floats towards disaster at Lakehurst. Two hours later the ship would become one of the most famous air disasters of the 20th Century. The R-101 lit up inside her Cardington hangar.

EDIT: I'm posting this a day late due to a couple issues with it. I'm considering an "AirshipModeler Report" to summarize the goings on of AirshipModeler over the past week or month as the amount of activity dictates. The A.M. Report ~ Monday, January 21st. Today I am presenting a special version of the first ever A.M. Report.   January 4th, 2013 On January 4th the first thread since AirshipModeler was attacked by malware was posted by "Dirigible_Nut".  This thread can be found here:http://www.airshipmodeler.com/forums/showthread.php?1307-It-s-good-to-have-the-forum-back!! January 7th, 2013 "Hlostoops" (me) posted a thread about the upcoming test flight of "Aeroscraft". An ensuing discussion also provided insight into the technical definition of a rigid airship. http://www.airshipmodeler.com/forums/showthread.php?1309-Aeroscraft-takes-off! January 15th, 2013 Dirigible_Nut" continued work on his model of the R-34: htt...

 Major update regarding the envelope and the tail fins.   "In 2 days; North America!" ~ Promotional catchphrase for the A.S. Hindenburg

Watching   "The Hindenburg" . Lehmann just told George C. Scott's character of his plans to live in Zeppelinheim; needless to say it was an "up ship" moment.

"... The new Queen of the Skies, the Hindenburg!" - Robert Wise's "The Hindenburg". More like the first 1/8th of the Hindenburg The preliminary Hindenburg is beginning to take shape! Please tell me what you think below! This sentence is to insert an extra exclamation point! (couldn't pass up the opportunity) 

A quick "hold over" piece before I post an update of my Hindenburg model (naturally two days late!) Before... And after... Courtesy of Microsoft Paint (yes I said Paint). In the mean time what could this be? Guesses anyone?

I'll be starting posting for 2013 on the 12th. As I've already alluded to; the Hindenburg will be the featured airship for January.

Christmas at Lakehurst Ca. 1935 Cheers, HENDRICK STOOPS

Large passenger airships, despite their ignomius fall from favor, had started promisingly. Despite the common image of the Hindenburg single handedly causing the demise of big rigids, their type of transportation had been delicately balanced between failure and success ever since the British R101 first flew in 1929. Going back several years to 1925, Lord Thomson, the British Minister of Air, proposed the Imperial Airship Scheme, a plan to connect the far flung colonies of the “empire on which the sun never set”, with regular, reliable, and expedient airship service. Accordingly, facilities were built in St. Hubert’s Canada, and Karachi, India, with a planned site in Australia being considered. The plan was both farsighted and brilliant, perhaps too much for its own good. Two experimental ships were ordered to serve as a large test as to whether the Scheme was feasible. The first ship, the R-100, was to be built by private companies and was quickly named “The Capitalist Ship...

Just a few photos of the upcoming Airship of the Month. Airship Hindenburg over Manhattan hours before disaster. 7:25:15 P.M. The end of the giant airships. Hendrick Stoops

Quick note: The essay will be posted in 9-10 parts about every other day.  One by one the windows were opened and the people arose from softly upholstered orange chairs. A man showed his three children how far they had come from Frankfurt to New York on the skillfully painted pastel mural of the world on the far side of the lounge. Then, the dirty tops of skyscrapers, one rising above the rest, appeared from out of the clouds. The passengers waved to the visitors of the great building, then pointed towards the parks, the tall statue jutting out of the glimmering harbor, and, below them to the sleek Queen Mary, her three red and black funnels sparkling, pulling into her Cunard pier, before returning to their seats. 

Here's the photo of the week! The always spectacular "Hindenburg" making a grand entrance into the  United States  over the skyscrapers of New York City. Circa 1936?     More photos [finally] of my 3D Hindenburg model tomorrow!   Hendrick Stoops