RS-1
The Goodyear RS-1 semi-rigid airship
Role Semi-rigid Airship
Manufacturer Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company
First flight 8 January 1926
Retired November 1928
Status Scrapped 1930
Primary user United States Army Air Service
Number built 1

The Goodyear RS-1 was the first semi-rigid airship built in the United States. The airship was designed by chief aeronautical engineer and inventor, Herman Theodore Kraft with the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company for the United States Army Air Service in the late 1920s. Goodyear built only one airship of this type.

Design and development

The main components of the RS-1 were assembled at the Goodyear hangar at Wingfoot Lake in Suffield, Ohio in 1924. The airship was designed by Goodyear engineer and inventor, Herman Theodore Kraft. Components for the dirigible were shipped to Scott Field, Illinois for assembly.[1] The first flight was delayed due to an error made by a rigger during erection and eventually took place on 8 January 1926, lasting just over an hour with a crew of eight men. The dirigible was 282 feet (85.9 m) long and had a gas volume of 720,000 cu ft (20,388,130 L) and was initially powered by four 300 horsepower, 12 cylinder Liberty engines. In 1927, the Liberty engines were replaced with lighter 500 horsepower, 2A-1500 Packard engines. [1] A 35 ft (10.7 m) enclosed control car was suspended from the keel at the nose. The control car included sleeping accommodations, a radio compartment and a small galley. Equipment included a bombing cockpit and the ability to carry 3,500 lb (1,588 kg) of bombs, as well as machine gun mounts on each side at the forward end of the car. The airship was grounded in November, 1928 after an inspection revealed deterioration of the envelope. Due to poor economic conditions of the Great Depression, a replacement envelope was never ordered and the RS-1 never flew again. The airship remained in its hanger at Scott Field until it was deflated and scrapped sometime in 1930.[1]

Operators

 United States

Specifications

Data from [1]Flight 25 March 1926

General characteristics

  • Length: 282 ft 0 in (85.95 m)
  • Diameter: 70 ft 6 in (21.49 m)
  • Volume: 720,000 cu ft (20,000 m3)
  • Powerplant: 4 × Liberty L-12 , 400 hp (300 kW) each

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 75 mph (121 km/h, 65 kn)
  • Cruise speed: 45 mph (72 km/h, 39 kn)

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "he Goodyear Semi-Rigid Airship RS-1". Flight. 25 March 1926. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.