Talk:Wingfoot Express

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[edit] 1919 Wingfoot Express Blimp is not included

The Wingfoot Express, a "C-class" blimp manufactured by Goodyear, contained 95,000 cubic feet of hydrogen as its lifting gas, was 162 feet long and 33.44 feet wide. It was testing a new concept using for its power 2 Gnome La Rhóne air cooled rotary engines, all blimps prior had used water cooled engines.

On July 21, 1919 the Wingfoot Express took off from Grant Field in Chicago for its sixth flight of the day, a press flight. The weight of one of the reporters forced a substitution of a lighter backup pilot (Boettner). The blimp circled over the Chicago Loop District and there it caught fire. All but one aboard were able to use parachutes to jump. The remaining individual's chute was caught up in the gondola and he was carried down with the airship. Carl "Buck" Weaver's parachute caught fire on the way down, being ignited by burning debris. He lived for a time, but eventually succumbed to his injuries.

The blimp's fuel tank and one engine crashed through the skylight of the Illinois Trust and Savings Bank, located at the junctions of Clark, Jackson, La Salle, and Quincy streets, killing many inside and causing significant damage.

The next day the remaining crew were arrested and an investigation was begun. Questions were raised about the "new" use of radial engines on lighter-than-air craft, the exhaust stack design, the suspension of the engines above the gondola, backfiring, sparks, etc. as having been the cause of the fire. Many other possible explanations for the fire were put forward including: static electricity both inside and outside the envelope; rubbing of the internal ballonets against the outer envelope causing heat or static build-up; hydrogen leaking from the envelope into the area of the engines and so on. The source of ignition was never established.

This accident, the largest aerial accident to date in America, spurred a national debate over aircraft operating over populated areas and the wisdom of using hydrogen as a source of lift. This debate would be rekindled after the Hindenburg accident in 1937.