Aero-philately

LZ 127 interrupted Flight

2010-04-16T04:27:00.000-07:00

The Graf Zeppelin was almost lost on its second trip "1. Amerikafahrt 1929" to the United States on 16th May 1929. Shortly after dark on the first night of the flight , the airship lost two of its five engines while over the Mediterranean off the southwest coast of Spain forcing Dr. Eckener to abandon the trip and return to Friedrichshafen. While flying up the Rhône Valley in France against a stiff headwind the next afternoon, however, two of the remaining three engines also failed and the airship began to be pushed backwards toward the sea.

As Dr. Eckener desperately looked for a suitable place to crash-land the airship, the French Air Ministry advised him that he would be permitted to land at the Naval Airship Base at Cuers-Pierrefeu about ten miles from Toulon to use the mooring mast and hangar of the lost airship Dixmude (France's only dirigible which crashed in the Mediterranean in 1923 resulting in the loss of 52 lives) if the Graf could reach the facility before being blown out to sea. Although barely able to control the Graf on its one remaining engine, Eckener managed to make a difficult but successful emergency night landing at Cuers. After making temporary repairs, the Graf finally returned to Friedrichshafen on 24 May.

Cover flown on the interrupted American Flight. Cover was postmarked on board the Graf Zeppelin on 16.5.1929. Also has the circular special

"1. AMERIKAFAHRT 1929" cachet in blue

Cover bears the one lined "interrupted flight" cachet.

This cover is from my collection

Mail carried on the flight received a one-line cachet in German reading "Delivery delayed due to cancellation of the 1st America trip" and was held at Friedrichshafen. On 1st August 1929, the airship made another attempt to cross the Atlantic for Lakehurst, arriving there on 4 August 1929. Four days later, the Graf Zeppelin departed Lakehurst for another daring enterprise — a complete circumnavigation of the globe.

Reverse of the above cover showing New York backstamp of Aug 5 1929. 3AM.

The Graf Zeppelin's return flight from Lakehurst to Friedrichshafen was on August 8, 1929 piloted by Dr Hugo Eckener, arriving there on August 10th It carried a crew of forty with twenty

two passengers and thousands of pieces of mail. This was the first leg of the Round World flight of the Graf Zeppelin.

Lakehurst became the official point of origin for the round-the-world trip. William Randolph Hearst paid $100,000 dollars to finance this round-the-world trip on the proviso that the flight would be considered as started from the US when it passed the Statue of Liberty in New York.

The Graf Zeppelin round-the-world trip can be viewed from two perspectives. The Americans viewed the round-the-world flight from Lakehurst to Lakehurst. The Germans saw the round-the-world flight from Friedrichshafen to Friedrichshafen

A cover flown from Lakehurst on the round the world flight

US mails were stamped with a circular cachet in red

LZ-5 and LZ-127 "Graf Zeppelin" on Czech stamps issued to publicize PRAGA 1978

LZ 127 over Washington. issued by Mauritinia

Graf Zeppelin on 1976 issue of Upper Volta

Graf Zeppelin on a 1981 Hungarian issue

Graf Zeppelin over Brasov, Romania - part of 1978 issue

Graf Zeppelin over Sibiu, Romania - part of 1978 issue.

Graf Zeppelin flights

2010-04-14T11:09:00.000-07:00

The centenary of the first Zeppelin flight was commemorated by several countries.

Souvenir sheet issued by Bhutan in 2000 showing the LZ 1 and Count Zeppelin

Souvenir sheet issued by Bhutan in 2000 showing the LZ 129 "Hindenburg" and Count Zeppelin

Souvenir sheet issued by Bhutan in 2000 showing the LZ 130 and Count Zeppelin

Graf Zeppelin carried a great deal of mail. Mails flown on all major flights were suitably endorsed and special postmarks and commemorative cachets were applied to all flown items. Besides philatelic mail, commercial mail was also sent by zeppelin because it was the fastest way to send mail across the ocean at that time. LZ-127’s service to South America cut mail time from weeks to days and was especially popular among businessmen. Postal revenue from these items financed much of the cost of operating the zeppelins.

Many countries issued special stamps to commemorate the visit of the Graf Zeppelin and her sister airship the Hindenburg. Zeppelin covers and cards were very popular at that time and are highly prized even today. Thousands of covers and cards were flown on various flights vut they are very scarce today and command high prices.

March 25-28, 1929 to the near east. Postage rates were 1M for post cards and 2M for letters. Mails were stamped Friedrichshafen and a special cachet was applied in shades of red and violet. 4796 pieces of mail were carried.

A cover flown on the Mediterranean flight.

LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin

2010-04-10T03:14:00.000-07:00

The first stamps depicting the Graf Zeppelin were issued by Germany in 1928 showing the airship flying across the Atlantic Ocean. The stamp bears the inscription 'DEUTSCHE LUFTPOST AMERIKA-EUROPA'

The most famous and successful of airships was the LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin which flew for the first time on 18th September 1928. It was named after the pioneer of airships, Ferdinand von Zeppelin, who held the rank of Graf or Count in the German nobility. The great airship flew more than a million miles in the course of 590 flights. The Graf Zeppelin made first commercial passenger flight across the Atlantic in fact she made more than a hundred Atlantic crossings.

In 1929, Graf Zeppelin made a historic Round the World flight of around 21,000 miles which included a non-stop flight from her base in Friedrichschafen, Germany to Tokyo, Japan, which made aviation history. This stage was almost 7000 miles, and aroused intense public enthusiasm around the globe.

The LZ 127 was the largest airship at that time with a total length of 236.6 metres (776 ft) and volume of 105,000 cubic metres (3,700,000 cu ft). It was powered by five Maybach 550 horsepower (410 kW) engines that could burn either Blau gas or gasoline.

The ship achieved a maximum speed of 128 kilometres per hour (80 mph, 70 knots) operating at total maximum thrust of 2,650 horsepower (1,980 kW), which reduced to the normal cruising speed of 117 km/h (73 mph, 63 knots) when running with normal thrust of 2,150 horsepower (1,600 kW. Some flights were made using only Blau gas, for which 12 gas cells were used with a total volume up to 30,000 cubic metres which allowed around 100 hours at cruising speed. At maximum capacity, the fuel tank allowed 67 hours' cruising. Using both gasoline and Blau gas could give 118 hours' cruising.

A spectacular research flight which was a dream of Count Zeppelin was made to the North Pole in July, 1931. This event was philatelically commemorated by overprinting the 1928 set with 'POLAR FAHRT 1931'.

Dr. Eckener planned to fund this expedition by delivering mail post to the ship. An advertising campaign resulted in collection of around fifty thousand pieces of mail from around the world weighing around 300 kgs. Another 120 kgs of mail was carried for the Russian icebreaker Malygin, on which the Italian airshipman and polar explorer Umberto Nobile was a guest. The major cost of the expedition was met solely by sale of postage stamps. The rest of the funding came from Aeroarctic and the Ullstein-Verlag in exchange for exclusive reporting rights.

A cover flown on the first Polar flight with the special stamp.

Mails were stamped with a Special German semi-circular cachet in red depicting the zeppelin passing through the rays of the sun and inscribed on the top 'LUFTSCHIFF GRAF ZEPPELIN' and "POARFAHRT 1931" at the botton

A set of 4 special stamps were issued by Russia on 25th July, 1931 for the polar flight of Graf Zeppelin flight to the North Pole. Stamp shows the Zeppelin flying over an arctic scene with the icebreaker "Malygin" and a polar bear on an ice flow gazing at the graf Zeppelin.

Stamps were issued both imperforated & perforated

Card flown from Leningrad

Mails at Leningrad were stamped with a special ornamental postmark "PAR AVION ZEPPELIN" with the date between outline of an airship. A special three lined cachet in red was also applied.

Stamps are from my collection. I wish I had these covers but the scans are from the internet.

Zeppelin Souvenir Sheets

2010-04-09T01:26:00.000-07:00

Souvenir sheets issued by Bhutan & St Thomas & Prince Islands to commemorate 100 years of the first Zeppelin flight

Happy Easter

2010-04-03T04:15:00.000-07:00

I wish you a Happy Easter and all the blessings of the Risen Lord. !

Ville de Lucerne dirigible

2010-03-29T10:47:00.000-07:00

Stamp depicting the Ville de Lucerne issued by Switzerland on 13th February, 1975.

Excerpt from Airship and Balloon News of August 27, 1910

" V i l l e de L u c e r n e " a Success.
DURING the month that the airship " Ville de Lucerne " has
been in commission she has regularly made daily trips, except, of
course, when the weather has been bad. On several days more
than one trip has been made—as, for instance, on the 8thinst.,
when five excursions were made, the total number of persons carried
during the day being 48. On the third trip the passengers included
two little children, one 5 and the other 3 years old. In 15 days
21 ascents were made, and there was no difficulty in obtaining the
full complement of passengers at .£8 a head.
On the 14th inst. four trips were made in various directions over
the different lakes, and also over the city of Berne.

Airships after World War I

2010-03-28T11:32:00.000-07:00

Viktoria Luise shown on a Grenada Grenadines s.s. sheet issued to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Manned Flight

Stamps issued by Togo showing the LZ 4, at bottom left is the Henri Giffard airship also Charles's balloon

Stamps were issued in 1964 to commemorate first flight of the national air carrier AIR TOGO

A plaque, located at 61 Farringdon Road, London, commemorating a World War I Zeppelin raid on London.

Post World War I, the Allies demanded that the zeppelins built in 1920/21 be delivered to them as war reparations. This temporarily brought to a halt further zeppelin manufacture. However, Dr Hugo Eckener & his team kept looking for ways to circumvent Allied restrictions, Their opportunity came in 1924

The United States had started to experiment with rigid airships, constructing one of their own, the ZR-1 USS Shenandoah. They ordered another from the UK when the British R38 (ZR-2). However, the R38 (based on the Zeppelin L70, ordered as ZR-2) broke apart and exploded during a test flight above the Humber on 23 August 1921, killing 44 crewmen.

Dr. Eckener managed to acquire an order for the next American dirigible. Germany had to pay the costs for this airship itself, as they were set off against the war reparation accounts. But this was secondary for the Zeppelin company which looked at the potential for future orders. Engineer Dr. Dürr designed LZ 126 using all the expertise accumulated over the years. The company achieved its best Zeppelin so far, which took off for a first test flight on 27 August 1924.

LZ 126 was renamed ZR-3 USS Los Angeles and took off on its Transatlantic delivery flight from Friedrichshafen to Lakehurst, New Jersey on 12th October, 1924. The airship flew 8,050 kilometres without any difficulties in 81 hours and two minutes. American crowds enthusiastically celebrated its arrival, and President Calvin Coolidge invited Dr. Eckener and his crew to the White House, calling the new Zeppelin an "angel of peace".

USS Los Angeles flying over southern Manhattan

ZR 3 USS Los Angeles depicted on a Bermuda stamp commemorating 50th anniversary of airmail by Airship Los Angeles

The airship was commissioned into the US Navy on November 25, 1924 and became the most successful American airship, She operated reliably for 8 years and was finally dismantled in 1940

Stamp issued by Dominica in 1978 showing LZ 1

Stamp issued by Dominica in 1978 showing LZ 2

Zeppelins upto end of World War I

2010-03-19T00:40:00.000-07:00

The Zeppelin companies based in Friedrichshafen, Germany, numbered their aircraft LZ1, 2 ..., with LZ standing for "Luftschiff [airship] Zeppelin". Airships used for civilian purposes were usually given a name.

Military airships, on the other hand, were given "tactical numbering":
The German Army called its first Zeppelins Z I, II ... . During World War I they switched to using the LZ numbers, later adding 30 to obscure the total production.
The German Navy Zeppelins were labeled L 1,2 ....

LZ11 - "Viktoria Luise" first flew on 19th February, 1912

LZ 11 transported 9783 passengers in 489 flights, traveling 54,312 km. Was taken over by the German military after outbreak of World War and used as a training airship and renumbered LZ III. It broke apart while being hauled into its hangar on 1st October ,1915.

LZ 13 "Hansa" over Heligoland, first flew on 30th July, 1912.

LZ 13 "Hansa" made 399 flights, flew 44,437 km, made the first regular flight outside Germany, commanded by Count Zeppelin, on a visit to Denmark and Sweden on 19 September 1912. It was taken over by German military at outbreak of World War I and was decommissioned in summer 1916.

LZ 15 was destroyed within two months of its first flight.

LZ 16 was taken over by the military and renumbered Z IV. It performed some reconnaissance missions during World War I and attempted bombing of Warsaw and Lyck.. Later used as a training ship from 1915

LZ 17 "Sachsen" first flew on 3rd May, 1913

LZ 13 transported 9837 passengers in 419 flights, traveled 39,919 km, It was taken over by German military at the outbreak of World War I in 1914. This was Captain Lehmann's first command; it was fitted with bomb racks and bomb drop station, together with an improved radio room, machine guns in the cars below and a gunners nest on top of the tail. In its first attack on Antwerp it carried 1,800 pounds (820 kg) of bombs and spent 12 hours in the air. It was Decommissioned in autumn of 1916 .

8 more airships were built till the World War I broke out and were all taken over by the military.

Zeppelins were used as bombers during World War I. At the beginning of the conflict the German command had high hopes for the craft, as they appeared to have compelling advantages over contemporary aircraft – they were almost as fast, carried many more guns, and had a greater bomb-load and enormously greater range and endurance. However, their great weakness was their vulnerability to incendiary ammunition.

The German airships were operated by both the Army and Navy as two entirely separate divisions. The Naval and Army Air Services also directed a number of strategic raids against Britain, leading the way in bombing techniques and also forcing the British to bolster their anti-aircraft defenses. The nighttime raids were intended to target only military sites on the east coast and around the Thames estuary, but after blackouts became widespread, many bombs fell at random on East Anglia.

A total of 84 Zeppelins were built during the war. Over 60 were lost, roughly evenly divided between accident and enemy action. 51 raids had been undertaken, in which 5,806 bombs were dropped, killing 557 people and injuring 1,358 while causing damages estimated at £1.5 million. It has been argued the raids were effective far beyond material damage in diverting and hampering wartime production, and diverting 12 fighter squadrons and over 10,000 personnel to air defenses.

The German defeat in the war also marked the end of German military dirigibles, as the victorious Allies demanded a complete disarmament of German air forces and delivery of the remaining airships as reparations.

Zeppelin technology improved considerably as a result of the increasing demands of warfare. Count von Zeppelin died in 1917, before the end of the war. Dr. Hugo Eckener, a man who had long envisioned dirigibles as vessels of peace rather than of war, took command of the Zeppelin business. The Zeppelin company and DELAG hoped to resume civilian flights quickly.

LZ 120 "Bodensee" first flew 20th August, 1919

Two small Zeppelins were built, LZ 120 Bodensee, which first flew in August 1919 and in the following two years actually transported some 4,000 passengers; and LZ 121 Nordstern, which was envisaged being used on a regular route to Stockholm.

However, in 1921, the Allied Powers demanded these two Zeppelins be delivered as war reparations. This temporarily halted German Zeppelin aviation industry.

My next post will be about the Graf Zeppelin LZ 127 the most famous airship of all time.

Continuing the LZ story

2010-03-14T11:31:00.000-07:00

On October 16, 1909 the German Airship Travel Corporation (Deutsche Luftshiffahrt Aktien Gesellschaft, DELAG) was created, the “first airline of any kind in aviation history.” the newly founded DELAG, bought seven Zeppelins by 1914. LZ 6 became the first Zeppelin used for commercial passenger transport.

LZ 9 over Friedrichshafen

LZ 9 was a Military airship rechristened ZII and first flew on 2nd october 1911 and was decommissioned on 1st August 1914.

LZ 10 was named Schwaben and first flew on 26th June 1911 and was flown by DELAG. This airship transported 4354 passengers in 224 flights, traveling 27,321 km was destroyed on 28th June, 1912 in accident on the airfield in Düsseldorf.

LZ 10 shown on a Mautitanian stamp

Story of Zeppelins contd...

2010-03-12T10:04:00.000-08:00

LZ2 over Rothenberg

Despite its potential, the shareholders of Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Luftschiffahrt, the company formed by Count von Zeppelin, declined to invest more money in the development of airships after the breaking up of LZ1. The Count wished to continue experimenting so with the support of aviation enthusiasts his idea got a second (and third) chance to be developed into a reasonably reliable technology.

The Zeppelin LZ2 was first flown in 1906. It was the true "prototype" of the Zeppelin airship. The major mistakes made by Kübler in the design of the LZ1 were taken into account while designing the LZ 2. . The designer, Ludwig Dürr, who was to head the design of all subsequent Zeppelins, used triangular-section girders instead of Kübler's flat girders, and elevators instead of a lead weight to control pitch. The final addition was a triangular keel which became a major structural element, as well as a walkway between the gondolas, allowing access to much of the ship.

LZ3 over Wurzburg

The life of the LZ2 was brief as only two flights were made. Its immediate successor, the LZ3, first flew on 9 October 1906 and it was purchased by the German Army in 1908 and operated until 1913. The LZ3 made many flights and carried a number of influential passengers, including the German Crown Prince beforeits sale to the Army,.

The military administration put the LZ3 to use as the renamed Z1. Starting in 1909, Zeppelins also were used in civilian aviation. The German Aviation Association (Deutsche Luftschiffahrtsgesellschaft or DELAG) transported 37,250 people on over 1600 flights uptol 1914 without an incident. Within a few short years the zeppelin revolution began creating the age of air transportation.

LZ 4 over hangar

The army was also willing to buy LZ 4, but requested a demonstration of her ability to make a 24-hour trip. While attempting to fulfill this requirement, the crew of LZ 4 had to make an intermediate landing in Echterdingen near Stuttgart. During the stop, a storm tore the airship away from its anchorage in the afternoon of 5 August 1908. She crashed into a tree, caught fire, and quickly burnt out. This accident would have certainly knocked out the Zeppelin project economically had not one of the spectators in the crowd spontaneously initiated a collection of donations, yielding an impressive total of 6,096,555 Mark. This enabled the Count to found the Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH (Airship Construction Zeppelin Ltd.) and a Zeppelin Foundation.

A total of 21 Zeppelin airships (LZ 5 to LZ 25) were manufactured before World War I. In 1909 LZ 6 became the first Zeppelin used for commercial passenger transport. The airships were given names in addition to their production numbers.

LZ 7 - Deutschland

LZ 7 Deutschland made its maiden voyage on 19 June 1910. On 28 June it began a pleasure trip to make Zeppelins more popular. Among those aboard were 19 journalists, two of whom were reporters of well known British newspapers. LZ 7 crashed in bad weather at Mount Limberg near Bad Iburg in Lower Saxony, its hull getting stuck in trees. The crew then let down a ladder to allow all the passengers to leave the ship. One crew member was slightly injured on leaving the craft.

The Golden Age of Airships continued....

2010-03-10T09:49:00.000-08:00

Before resuming the story of Zeppelins I will divert to other airship pioneers of early twentieth century.

Stamp honoring Savero issued by Brazil in 1929

Another Brazilian who was also fascinated with the airship was Augusto Savero born in the Rio Grande region of Brazil in 1864. He studied the non-rigid airships of Santos-Dumont and the rigid airship of Count Zeppelin and opted on designing a semi-rigid airship with light scaffolding of treliça. His first lighter-that-the-airship was baptized the “Bartolomeu de Gusmão” and, carried to Brazil. However, the airship has several defects and failed to fly. He then worked on his next airship the "PAX". On12th May 1902 Augustus Severo took off with its mechanic, Saché. But, at a height of 400 meters an explosion occurred and the “PAX” fell on the avenue of the Meine killing both pilots.

The PAX on a Brazilian stamp issued in 1929

At the same time, two brothers Paul and Pierre Lebaudy, owners of a sugar refinery, built semi-rigid airships with the assistance of their engineer Henri Julliot as designer,. Their airships were used by the French, the Russian and the Austrian armies. They constructed an airship hangar at Moisson, near the River Seine downstream from Paris and developed airships in the first decade of the twentieth century.

The brothers Lebaudy & their airship can be seen on a Cuban stamp issued in 1902.

Stamp issued by St. Thomas & Prince Islands depicting the airship Le Jeune at mooring pad

Their first airship Le Jaune first flew in October 1902 and passed the test of endurance flying 98 km. in 2.75 hrs. Refitted with a new hull, the airship made 12 ascents but was carried away by a storm on Aug. 28, 1904, and badly damaged. It was repaired and rebuilt a couple of times before being sold to the French Army for Frs.80,000 in December 1905. The brothers built about 20 airships till 1912.

The "La Ville de Paris" was the largest airship built in 1904, being 201 feet long with a maximum diameter of 35 feet. It was constructed by Mr. Edward Surcouf and was the property of M. Deutsch de la Meurthe. The Propelling power was a 70 h.p. Chenu motor, and a peculiarity of its construction were the eight supplementary gas envelopes fitted at the stern for purposes of steadiness.

A Bhutan stamp depicting the Ville de Paris to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Balloon Flight

A tuck's postcard showing the Ville de Paris over Bournemouth

Another pioneer of note was the German airship designer.August von Parseval (1861- 1942) . He was interested in aeronautics and came in contact with Rudolf Hans Bartsch von Sigsfeld, with whom he developed balloons used by the military for observation. In 1901 Parseval and Sigsfeld began building a dirigible airship. However , the work was interrupted until 1905 , after Sigsfeld's death during a free balloon landing in 1902, By 1905.thanks to improvements in motor design, an appropriate engine was available. Paeseval's designs were licenced to the British Vickers company. 22 Parseval airships (both non-rigid (blimps) and semi-rigid (with keels)) were built up to the end of the First World War,. In the late twenties and early thirties, four more semi-rigid airships were built in accordance with the "Parseval-Naatz principle".

Stamp depicting Parseval and his airship issued by Cuba in 2000

Zeppelins - the Golden Age of Airships

2010-03-09T06:48:00.000-08:00

Stamp issued by Germany in 1934 showing Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin and the LZ 127

In an earlier post I had referred to David Schwarz who had built a rigid airship in 1897. Unfortunately, he did not live to see the fruit of his experiment. It was a partial success and he might have improved on it had he lived. After his death, his wife, Melanie Schwarz, was paid 15,000 marks by Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin for information about the airship.

David Schwarz & Count von Zeppelin shown on a Hungarian stamp issued in 1948

Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, a retired German military officer, began experimenting with rigid airship designs in the 1890s. He invented a rigid framed dirigible or airship that became known as the Zeppelin. Count Zeppelin flew the world's first untethered rigid airship, the LZ-1, on July 2, 1900, near Lake Constance, or Boden See, between Germany & Switzerland, carrying five passengers.

First Zeppelin flight shown above a boat at Lake Constance

The LZ1 was 128 metres (420 ft) long, 11.7 metres (38 ft) in diameter and weighed 13 tons and had two 15-hp Daimler internal-combustion engines, each rotating two propellers. It was constructed using a cylindrical framework covered with smooth surfaced cotton cloth. Inside was a row of 17 gas cells each covered in rubberized cloth. The hydrogen-gas capacity totaled 11,300 cubic metres (400,000 cu ft). Passengers and crew were carried in two 6.2 metre long aluminum gondolas suspended forward and aft.

At its first trial the LZ1 carried five persons attaining an altitude of 400 metres (1,300 ft) and flew a distance of 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) in 18 minutes, but the wind then forced an emergency landing on the water.

After repairs the ship flew two more times showing its potential, beating the speed record then held by the French Army airship, La France, of 6 metres per second (22 km/h) by 3 metres per second (11 km/h), but this could not convince the possible investors. Because funding was exhausted, Graf von Zeppelin had to dismantle the prototype. However, he was soon working on the next model the more successful LZ2 (1906).

However, the flight of LZ1 signaled the beginning of the "Golden Age of Airships" and led to the most successful airships of all time: the Zeppelins. As is evident they were named after Count von Zeppelin. The story of the Zeppelins and other airships continues in the next post.

Luftschiffs (Airships) LZ1 & LZ3 shown on a Cuban souvenir sheet issued in 2000.

Santos-Dumont and Airships

2010-03-08T00:07:00.000-08:00

It was not until the invention of the gasoline-powered engine in 1896 that practical airships could be built. In 1898, the Brazilian Alberto Santos-Dumont was the first to construct and fly a gasoline-powered airship.
Arriving in Paris in 1897, Alberto Santos-Dumont first made a number of flights with free balloons. He thought of combining the De Dion engine that powered his tricycle with a balloon, which resulted in 14 small airships that were all all gasoline-powered. His No. 1 airship first flew on September 18, 1898.

Between 1898 and 1905, he built and flew 11 dirigibles. He would glide along Paris boulevards at rooftop level in one of his airships, commonly landing in front of a fashionable outdoor cafe for lunch. On one occasion he even flew an airship early one morning to his own apartment at No. 9, Rue Washington, just off Avenue des Champs-Élysées, not far from the Arc de Triomphe.

The zenith of his lighter-than-air career came when he won the Deutsch de la Meurthe prize. The challenge called for flying from the Parc Saint Cloud to the Eiffel Tower and back in less than thirty minutes. The winner of the prize needed to maintain an average ground speed of at least 22 km/h (14 mph) to cover the round trip distance of 11 km (6.8 miles) in the allotted time.

On October 19, 1901, after several attempts, Santos Dumont succeeded in using his dirigible Number 6. Santos Dumont was awarded the prize as well as the prize money of 125,000 francs. In a charitable gesture, he donated 75,000 francs of the prize money to the poor of Paris. The balance was given to his workmen as a bonus. An additional matching 125,000 francs was voted to him along with a gold medal by the government of his native Brazil.

Santos Dumont #6 rounding the Eiffel Tower in the process of winning the Deutsch Prize

Santos Dumont's aviation feats made him a celebrity in Europe and throughout the world. The public eagerly followed his exploits. He won several more prizes and became a friend to millionaires, aviation pioneers, and royalty. In 1904, he went to the United States and was invited to the White House to meet U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt. He remains to this day, a prominent folk hero in his native Brazil.

His primary interest soon turned to heavier than air aircraft. See my earlier post on this.

Airships & Zeppelins

2010-03-07T10:40:00.000-08:00

Continuing the History of Aviation through Philately...

For various reasons I was not able to update my blog for the last 4 months. But I'm back. My apologies to all who have been following my blog. I hope to update regularly so keep visiting to read the fascinating history of Aviation as narrated through Philately.

The quest for controlled flight filled the imagination of inventors through the centuries. Early balloons were not truly navigable so there were constant experiments to improve maneuverability of balloons. Some of these included elongating the balloon's shape and, using a powered screw to push it through the air. And thus balloons slowly developed into airships or drigibles from the French (diriger to direct plus -ible), meaning "directable" or steerable. This was another milestone in conquering the air.

The first airships were called dirigible balloons. Over time, the word balloon was dropped from the phrase. In modern usage, balloon refers to any buoyant aircraft that generally relies on wind currents for horizontal movement, and usually has a mechanism to control vertical movement.

The main types of airship are non-rigid (or blimps), semi-rigid and rigid. All these are navigable airships capable of being directed, steered and propelled through the air using rudders and propellers or other thrust. Unlike other aerodynamic aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, which produce lift by moving a wing, or airfoil, through the air, aerostatic aircraft, such as airships and hot air balloons, stay aloft by filling a large cavity, such as a balloon, with a lifting gas.

Credit for the construction of the first navigable full-sized airship goes to French engineer, Henri Giffard, who, in 1852, attached a small, steam-powered engine to a huge propeller and chugged through the air for seventeen miles at a top speed of five miles per hour.

Henri Giffard and his airship shown on a Cuban stamp of 2000.

A non-rigid airship comprises of a gas-filled container and a car with a motor and propeller suspended beneath. Semi-rigid airships are slightly larger and have some form of internal support such as a fixed keel. Rigid airships with full skeletons, such as the huge Zeppelin transoceanic models, all but disappeared after several high-profile catastrophic accidents during the mid-20th century.

In 1872 Stanislas Charles Henri Dupuy de Lôme (15 October 1816 – 1 February 1885), a French naval architect launched a large limited navigable balloon.

The Dupuy de Lôme airship was 36 meters in length, 14.84 meters in diameter, 29 meters wide, and had a total volume of 3,454 cubic meters. It was powered by a 2 horsepower (1.5 kW) engine, providing a speed of between 9 to 11 km/h. The basket under the balloon could carry eight, several operating the balloon and others observing. She was the first operational airship, and was employed during the last days of the Franco-Prussian war.

Airships were the first aircraft to enable controlled, powered flight, and were widely used before the 1940s, but their use decreased over time as the capabilities of airplanes far surpassed those of airships besides the safety of airships was also questioned.

Airships are still used today in certain niche applications, such as advertising, tourism, camera platforms for sporting events, and aerial observation platforms, where the ability to hover in one place for an extended period of time outweighs the need for speed and maneuverability.

Another airship pioneer was Paul Haenlein (17 October 1835 in Cologne — 27 January 1905 in Mainz) was a German engineer and flight pioneer. He flew in a semi-rigid-frame dirigible with an internal combustion engine running on the coal gas used to inflate the envelope over Vienna, the first use of such an engine to power an aircraft in 1872.

Stamp issued by St. Thome & Principe showing The Paul Haenlein airship.

Other pioneers were Albert & Gaston Tissandier French brothers. Gaston was a French chemist, meteorologist, aviator and editor. Adventurer could be added to the list of his titles, as he managed to escape besieged Paris by balloon in September 1870. In 1883, Tissandier fitted a 1.5 hp Siemens electric motor to an airship, thus creating the first electric-powered flight.

Stamp issued by Liberia showing theTissandier airship.

Brothers Albert & Gaston Tissandier depicted with their airship on a Cuban stamps issued in 2000

The first fully controllable free-flight was made in a French Army airship, La France, by Charles Renard and Arthur Constantin Krebs in 1884. The 170 ft (52 m) long, 66,000 cu ft (1,900 m3) airship covered 8 km (5.0 mi) in 23 minutes with the aid of an 8.5 hp (6.3 kW) electric motor,and a 435 kilograms (960 lb) battery. In 1884 and 1885, it made seven flights. This was probably the first controlled, sustained flight by a lighter-than-air craft.

Cuban stamp issued in 2000 showing Charles Renard & Arthur Krebs and their Airship

The first flyable rigid airship was created by David Schwarz (December 20, 1852,– January 13, 1897, a Jewish Hungarian aviation pioneer. It was also the first airship with an external hull made entirely of metal. He began construction late 1892, with industrialist Carl Berg supplying the aluminum and necessary funding.However, his first airship built in late 1892 exploded while the gas was being filled.

Construction on his next airship started in 1895. The pieces were produced in Carl Berg's Eveking Westphalia factory and under the direction of Schwarz, assembled in Berlin. A gondola, also of aluminum, was fixed to the framework. Attached to the gondola was a 12 horsepower (8.9 kW) Daimler engine that drove aluminum propellers. One of the propellers was used to steer the craft. The airship was first filled with gas on 1896-10-09 and tested, but the results were not satisfactory because the hydrogen gas was not of the required quality and did not provide sufficient lift. Gas with that quality could not be produced until 1897-01-13, the day of Schwarz's death.

The airship was tested with partial success at Tempelhof near Berlin, Germany, on November 3, 1897 when it lifted off at 15:00 At about 130 metre altitude the driving belt slipped off the left propeller, causing partial loss of steering, the ship "turned broadside to the wind, and the forward tether broke free. As the ship drifted up to 510 metres the belt slipped off the right propeller, thus losing all steering. The pilot then opened the newly fitted gas release valve and landed safely, but the ship turned over and collapsed.

Stamp issued by hungary in 1967 showing David's Schwarz's Airship

Happy Christmas

2009-12-23T19:18:00.001-08:00

Where did the year go? Suddenly we realize that 2009 which started in January is on its back with a blink of an eye! And it is December & Christmas season again -

May the spirit of Christmas which is peace, the gladness of Christmas

which is hope, and the heart of Christmas which is love be with you and

your loved ones.

Stamps of earlier posts

2009-10-19T09:21:00.000-07:00

My collection is spread over a large number of albums, sheets, packets, display cards etc and I have been trying to get the material into some order and scan for uploading on future blogs. I found that I have several stamps of previous posts. So here are some of the scans.

Souvenir sheets issued to commemorate 75th Anniversary of the first powered flight by the Wright Brothers.

Antigua

Gabon

Ghana

Togo

se-tenant pair of stamps issued by the US

Stamp showing Bleriot & his plane issued by Romania in the Aviation history set in 1978

Republic of Equatorial Guinea

Otto Lilienthal Stamps

Czechoslovakia - part of a set issued in 1977 to promote PRAGA 78

Part of the Romania History of Aviation issue of 1978

Part of the Zaire issue to commemorate 75th anniversary of powered flight.

Stamp also shows Leonardo da Vinci and his sketches for flying vessels

Upper Volta

Zaire's issue to commemorate conquest of Air shows the Wright Flyer and

Santos-Dumont's bis-14

Pioneers on Aviation 1900-10

2009-10-05T10:52:00.000-07:00

During the years 1900 - 1910 a number of inventors made or claimed to have made short flights.

One of those who missed the record books was Jacob Christian Ellehammer, as Danish engineer and inventor, whose kite like bi-plane flew a distance of 137 feet at a height of about 20 ins off the ground at Lindholm Island in September, 1906. The 'flight' was most probably a series of hopping glides, but had it been officially witnessed and recorded, Ellehammer may well have been the first to fly an aeroplane in Europe. That distinction was won by Santos-Dumont a month later!

Stamp issued by Denmark in 1956 to mark the 50th anniversary of J.C. Ellehammer's flight.

Ellehammer's later inventions included a successful triplane and helicopter. His helicopter was a coaxial machine. A famous photo shows it hovering in 1914, though there is no evidence that it was successful in achieving translational flight.

1914 photo of Ellehammer's coaxial helicopter hovering

Pioneer of Aviation: Otto Lilienthal

2009-09-28T11:42:00.000-07:00

For various reasons I have not been able to post for some time. Best of intentions seem to go awry.

Continuing the saga of the pioneers of aviation...........

The flying bug bit quite a few in Europe who experimented in different ways to fly. One of the early steps was gliding.

One of the most successful of the of the nineteenth century 'bird-men' was Otto Lilienthal, a German who made determined efforts to fly with wings. He studied the flight of birds and published his theories and conclusions in his famous book Birdflight .

He was the first person to make repeated successful gliding flights and came to be known as the Glider King. Newspapers and magazines in many countries published photographs of Lilienthal gliding, favorably influencing public and scientific opinion about the possibility of flying machines becoming practical reality after ages of idle fantasy and unscientific tinkering.

Lilienthal 's greatest contribution was the development of heavier-than-air flight. He madeover 2000 glides experimenting with various forms of winged craft. His glides were from an artificial hill he built near Berlin, and also from natural hills, especially in the Rhinow region. Lilienthal succeeded in making sustained flights of upto 700 to 800 feet from hilltops. He was the first to make use of cambered wings and virtually the first to use wings with positive results.

As an inventor Lilienthal had invented a small engine, the "Otto" motor and might have well been the first to fly a powered aircraft. Unfortunately, his career was cut short on 9th August, 1896

when he fell from a height of 56 feet.his injuries proved fatal and he passed away the next day.

Stamp issued by Germany in 1934 with his picture and his gliding attempt in the background..

His achievements inspired the Wright Brothers to become the pioneers of powered flight. They credited him as a major inspiration for their decision to pursue manned flight. However, they abandoned his aeronautical data after two seasons of gliding and began using their own wind tunnel data

A stamp issued by Germany in 1978.

Special postmark for the stamp issue.

Hungarian stamp showing Otto Lilienthal in the background

Alberto Santos-Dumont

2009-09-03T03:59:00.000-07:00

One of the pioneers who made France the centre of the aviation world in the early 20th century, was Alberto Santos-Dumont, who was a Brazilian. He was an aeronaut who built balloons and dirigible airships and thence moved to heavier-than-air aircraft. He designed and built an aircraft he named 14-Bis - French word for 'again' or 'encore' as it was built after his 14th airship.

Photograph of the first flight

Alberto Santos-Dumont flew into the records book on 23rd October, 1906 when he flew his 14-bis plane at Bagatelle, near Paris, for over 200 feet at an altitude of about 10 feet. This was the first officially recognized heavier-than-air flight in Europe and earned him the first of the aviation prizes, 3,000 francs for a 25-meter-or-greater flight.

Alberto Santos-Dumont was born on July 20, 1873 and died on July 23, 1932

On 12th November, 1906 Santos-Dumont flew 700 feet at an altitude of almost 13 feet thus qualifying for the second aviation prize offered for heavier-than-air-aircraft, 1,000 francs for a flight of 100 meters or more.

Brazilian stamp issued in 1929 shows the 14-bis and the date of 12 November 1906.

Set of 4 stamps issued by Brazil on the 50th anniversary of Alberto Santos Dumont's 14-bis

Stamps issued by Uruguay for the 50th Anniversary of Santos-Dumont's 1906 flight

First in the Air, first on the Moon. Brazil marked the Moon Landing in 1969 with this stamp showing Santos-Dumont's aviation achievement vis a vis the
Landing on the Moon

Wallis & Futuna Islands issued this stamp to mark the birth centenary of Santos-Dumont. The stamp shows his airship also the 14-bis.

French stamp issed to mark Santos-Dumont's birth centenary shows the progress of his aviation exploits from Balloons to Airships to dirigibles to heavier-than-air aircraft.

This stamp issued by SanMarino shows the Demoiselle monoplane, the last plane Santos-Dumont designed. He used this as his personal transportation. It could attain speed of over 100 km/hr

Stamps issued by Brazil to commemorate Santos-Dumont birth centenary

14-bis on an old postcard

2009-09-03T03:07:00.000-07:00

Wright Flyer II

Some stamps depicting the Wright Flyers

The Wright Brothers

2009-08-25T08:10:00.000-07:00

Four flights were made on that historic day 17^th December, 1903, Here is Orville Wright’s account of the final flight of the day:

“

Wilbur started the fourth and last flight at just about 12 o'clock. The first few hundred feet were up and down, as before, but by the time three hundred feet had been covered, the machine was under much better control. The course for the next four or five hundred feet had but little undulation. However, when out about eight hundred feet the machine began pitching again, and, in one of its darts downward, struck the ground. The distance over the ground was measured to be 852 feet (260 m); the time of the flight was 59 seconds. The frame supporting the front rudder was badly broken, but the main part of the machine was not injured at all. We estimated that the machine could be put in condition for flight again in about a day or two. “

Unfortunately, after the fourth flight a powerful gust of wind flipped the machine several times severely damaging it. The machine never flew again Years later Orville restored and lent it to various locations for display.

There were 5 witnesses to the first flights, among them John Daniels who took the famous picture of the first flight.

The Wright Brothers’ claim to be the first to fly a powered aircraft was disputed for years after their first epic flight. The Smithsonian Institution of America did not recognize their claim to the first heaver-than-air machine. The extent of the dispute can be seen in the fact that the historic Flyer was on display at the Science Museum in London and not at the Smithsonian. It was returned to the US only in 1948. and is now displayed at the National Air Museum, Washington D.C.

FDC of an airmail stamp issued by the US in 1949 on the 46th anniversary of the first powered flight of the Wright Flyer. The cover cachet however, commemorates the return of the plane to the US which took place in 1948.

For years after the historic first flight and hundreds of flights thereafter the world refused to acknowledge their achievements. Eye-witness accounts were treated with skepticism. Part of the reason could be their refusal to reveal details of their machine. The Wright Brothers were not wealthy and hoped their invention would make money for them.

In 1904, the brothers built a new aircraft naming it the Flyer II. Several experimental flights to take flying to the next plane. On 20^th September , 1904, Wilbur flew the first complete circle in history by a manned powered machine, covering 4,080 feet in about a minute and a half. However, Flyer II was often out of control. So they decided to scrap it and built a new machine Flyer III using the same old engine. But they made important design changes which enabled better control. In October Wilbur made the longest flight of 24.5 miles in 38 minutes and 3 seconds

The only ones who witnessed these flights were close family and a few neighbours. None were witnessed by reporters so they went largely unreported in the press. However, reports slowly trickled out but were considered fantasy. In fact the Paris edition of the Herald Tribune headlined a 1906 article on the Wrights "FLYERS OR LIARS?"

All that changed when Wilbur demonstrated the latest bi plane on August 8, 1908 Le Mans, France. Wilbur was elegantly attired in a cloth cap, stiff collar and smart tie as he is often depicted. His first flight lasted only one minute 45 seconds, but his ability to effortlessly make banking turns and fly a circle amazed and stunned onlookers. The demonstrations were attended by several crowned heads of Eurpoe including King Edward VII. Also present were pioneer French aviators, among them Louis Bleriot. In the following days Wilbur made a series of technically challenging flights including figure-eights, demonstrating his skills as a pilot and the capability of his flying machine, which far surpassed those of all other pilot pioneers. The plane was a two seater so Wilbur carried passengers on some flights. On one occasion he remained in the air for 2 hours and 20 minutes and won a prize of 20,000 francs offered by the French patron M. Michelin.

FDC of stamp issued by USA to mark the Golden Jubilee of the first powered flight

more gliders

2009-08-24T11:49:00.000-07:00

A couple of gliders while I'm working on the next post on the Wright Brothers.

A first day cover of a stamp on flying & gliding issued by India. The stamp depicts a Hindustan Pushpak Rohini - 1 plane and a glider.

The planes depicted on the cover are: Briston (1910), Bristol (1911), Bleriot (1911) and a de havilland Gipsy Moth (1930).

A pre-stamped airmail postcard issued by USA with gliders.

Polish glider cover

2009-08-24T00:23:00.000-07:00

I was going through some of my covers and came across this Polish motor glider stamp FDC, part of a sports planes set issued on 15th April,1978. It features a SZD-45 Ogar motor glider with a wingspan of 17.6m & length of 7.95m.

Unlike an airplane, the engine in a motor glider is not a major source of propulsion and is used only for take-off and flying without thermal conditions. The engines usually have a capacity below 100 hp. 67 of the SZD-45 Ogar powered sailplanes were produced in Poland, out of which 41 were exported. The first one was flown on 29.05.1973.

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The first powered aircraft

2009-08-23T05:17:00.000-07:00

One could say that the first decade of the 20^th century was probably the most significant, and exciting, in the history of flight. This was the period of the epic flights of the Wright brothers, Santos-Dumont, Henri Farman, the Voisin brothers and Archdeacon, Leon Delagrange, the Breguet brothers, Bleroit and Cornu and many others who built and flew aeroplanes and made aviation history. Among the early fliers are such famous British names such as Grahame-White, A.V. Roe, Goffrey de Havilland, T.O.M. Sopwich, and Moore-Brabazpn. The Americans included S.F. Cody, Glenn martin, Langley and Glenn Curtiss. All these names are familiar to aviation aficionados.

There were many who were experimenting but Orville & Wilbur Wright, cycle engineers, from Dayton, Ohio were more fortunate than others to have flown the first powered airplane. They had been building gliders since 1900 and had made several hundred glides. However, they could not find a suitable automobile engine to power the gliders. After two years of gliding they commissioned their employee Charlie Taylor to construct a light but powerful petrol engine from scratch which they installed in a new winged aircraft which they named the "Flyer". A sprocket chain drive borrowed from bicycle technology, powered the twin propellers, which were also made by hand.

The miracle of sustained flight became a reality on 17th December, 1903 when with Orville Wright at the controls the Flyer took off from a wooden monorail and became airborne for 12 seconds. This was on the sandy expanse of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Later that day Wilbur flew 850 feet in 59 seconds.

The 'Flyer' was a frail wooden biplane with linen wings of 40 feet span and exceptionally tall rudders at the rear, linked by cables to the tips of the main wings.

To fly the airplane, the pilot lay prone with his head forward, his left hand operating the elevator control. Lateral control was achieved by warping the wing tips in opposite directions via wires attached to a hip cradle mounted on the lower wing. The pilot shifted his hips from side to side to operate the mechanism, which also moved the rudder.

The Wright Brothers can be seen on the 15c stamp issued by Bophuthswana to commemorate the 75th anniversay of the first powered flight.

Some stamps issued to commemorate the 75th anniversary of powered flight

Gliders

2009-08-19T03:42:00.000-07:00

Gliders contd.....

On 27th November 1957, the first aircraft worldwide to be made from fibre-reinforced plastics took off. It was the “FS 24 Phoenix”: A glider developed, designed and built by three pioneers in Germany. The glider was light. The wings weighed just 95 kilograms, the fuselage managed a little over 60 kilograms, when this lightweight with a wingspan of 16 metres took off with a winched start in the early afternoon and landed nine minutes later.

The FS24 Phoenix is seen on the 40pf stamp of the German aircraft issue of 1980

Composites (which is how fibre-reinforced plastics are now known), the material on which the German glider was based, have become essential components in the aviation and aerospace industry today.

Gliding as a sport is the theme of the 90pf stamp part of the Sports issue of Germany of 1981.

The ICA IS-28 is an all metal two seat sailplane produced in Romania in the 1970s. It was a popular glider and several versions were manufactured in later years, most of which were exported.

The Romanian Aeroclub celebrated their 55th anniversary in 1978 with an exhibition entitled "Aeromfila '78" 15-21 July, 1978 at Brasov. A pre-stamped cover was issued with the IS-28 glider.