ZMC-2
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Aircraft Development Corporation ZMC-2 was the only successfully-operated metal-skinned airship ever built.[1] It was built in Grosse Ile, Michigan, first flown on August 19, 1929, and flew safely for over ten years. As a sub-scale test vehicle, it was considered to be very successful, but the company that built it did not weather the Great Depression well, and by the time a successor might have been built, there was little interest in pursuing it. The ZMC-2 was operated with a zero internal pressure at speeds up to 20 mph, sufficient for it to be considered a 'rigid' airship[2]. With its low finess ratio (length/diameter) of 2.83 the ZMC-2 was difficult to fly. Though durable, the ZMC-2 was not flown much. It was flown each 19 August, yet between December 1938 and April 1941 it only logged 5 hours flight time.
The ZMC-2 was nicknamed the "Tin Bubble" and was also sometimes called a "tinship". It was not made of tin, but of Alclad, which was invented by the Aluminum Company of America. Alclad was made by coating duraluminum , an aluminum alloy with pure aluminum. Alclad had the strength of duralumin, and the corrosion resistance of aluminum. It had roughly a teardrop-shape, and had eight small stabilizer fins, four of which had rudders.
It was scrapped in 1941, reaching its planned lifetime after more than 10 years of service. Other, more conventional blimps did go on to serve in World War 2.
Contents |
[edit] Specifications (ZMC-2)
This aircraft article is missing some (or all) of its specifications. If you have a source, you can help Wikipedia by adding them.General characteristics
- Crew: Two
- Length: 149 ft 6 in (45.4 m)
- Wingspan: ()
- Height: 64 ft 6 in ()
- Useful load: 750 lb (340 kg)
- Powerplant: 2× Wright J-5 Whirlwind engines, 440 hp () each
- * Volume: 5,667 m³ (200,000 ft³)
- Width: 16.2 m (53 ft)
- Max lifting capacity: 5,556 kg (12,250 lb)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 61 knots (70 mph, 112 km/h)
- Range: 587 nm (675 mi, 1,087 km)
[edit] ZMC-2 in Popular Culture
The ZMC-2 plays a key role in the Clive Cussler novel Cyclops (1986) in which it is fictionally saved from scrapping and renamed Prospertier.
[edit] Notes
- ^ The airship of David Schwarz was the first airship that was metal-skinned, although Schwarz's ship had an internal framework rather than a monocoque design.
- ^ van Turern, Richard, "Making it Happen: Captain C.V.S. Knox and Aeronautical Evolution," Foundation" Pensacola, Florida, Naval Aviation Museum Foundation, Inc., Spring, 2007, pg. 90, ISSN 1086-7351
[edit] External links
- Lakehurst: International Airport (a picture of the ZMC-2 is near the bottom of the page)
- ZMC-2 in hangar, under the nose of the Hindenburg
- This has a short history of the ZMC-2 along with pictures of construction and flights of the ZMC-2
[edit] See also
Related lists
|
|||||
|
||||||||||||||
