Season Opened

A middle-aged German photographer named Otto Hillig and a youthful Danish farmer-turned-aviator named Holger Hoiriss flew in a Bellanca last week from New York to St. John, N. B.--and the 1931 season of transatlantic flying was officially opened. They settled down to await another break in the weather for their hop to Denmark; in Hillig's words, "just a couple of immigrants going home." Few days after the "immigrants" start, beauteous Socialite Ruth Nichols followed in her fast Lockheed. Forced to land into the setting sun at the St. John airport and partially blinded by the glare. Miss Nichols overshot the field, nosed over, badly damaged the landing gear of her plane, escaped serious injury. But flyers and their fates held scant concern for St. John that day. For in the forenoon fire broke out on the town's busy waterfront, swept through blocks of piers and grain elevators, destroyed the Canadian Pacific steamer Empress and several harbor craft, was checked shortly before Pilot Nichols' plane arrived. Estimated loss: $10,000.000.

Zeppelin Swim

Returning home from a (light over Switzerland one day last week the Graf Zeppelin dipped low over Lake Constance. But instead of flying on to her hangar at Friedrichshafen near the north shore, the great silver sausage slowed to a standstill about 100 ft. above the water. Capt. Ernst Lehmann barked orders, rang signals. Six open tanks were dropped at cable-ends. Striking the surface they quickly filled with water, helped drag the great ship down. First the Graf poked her nose gingerly into the lake, then gently let her stern settle until she rested evenly upon her waterproofed gondolas. An umbrella-like sea-anchor was thrown out. Two collapsible rubber boats were launched. After several minutes maneuvers the equipment was taken aboard again and the Graf taxied a mile or so along the water. Then, dropping water ballast, she arose easily, sailed on to her hangar.

This peculiar conduct of the Graf was by way of preparation for her projected Arctic flight. It satisfied the officers that, in good weather, the ship can put off and take aboard personnel for hunting or exploration. But the proposed rendezvous with Sir Hubert Wilkins' submarine Nautilus was abandoned because of the diver's misfortunes in crossing the Atlantic (TiME, June 22).

Last week's demonstration was the first "landing" on Lake Constance since 1912. the first water landing anywhere of a dirigible of modern size. But the early Zeppelins were constructed for this very purpose, were built and housed in floating hangars on Lake Constance. In those days the anchor tanks were not lowered by cable, but gas was valved until the cars themselves touched the surface. Enough water ballast would then be admitted to tanks in the cars (which were seaworthy) to counteract the lifting power.* Thus balanced, the Zeppelins maneuvered easily as water ships by their own propellers and rudders.

Many a sea-landing was made during the War, sometimes to take aboard the commander of a German minesweeper, fly him over a mine field located by the Zeppelin, and return him to his command. On occasion a suspected merchantman would be halted by a Zeppelin, boarded by an officer. If contraband were found, the steamer's crew was ordered to its small boats and the steamer bombed to the bottom by the Zeppelin. That practice was abandoned, however, because of the danger of destruction by incendiary bullets from the steamer. Wholly unrelated to a dirigible save by its bullet shape, airplane motor and propeller drive is a so-called "rail Zeppelin" which made its maiden trip over a commercial route in Germany last week. With Inventor Franz Kruckenberg & Wife in the coach, the great aluminum-covered projectile shot along the rails from Hamburg to Berlin at an average speed of 106 in. p. h., better than the schedule of Luft Hansa planes. On part of the run it hit 143 m. p. h., a rail record.

The "rail Zeppelin" is 85 ft. long. Streamlined into its tail is a 600-h. p. in-line motor which drives a four-bladed "pusher" propeller. Testing for damage from the propeller blast, or from suction caused by the whizzing body, observers last week placed papers near the rails. As the locomotive roared by. none of the papers stirred, so effective was the streamlining.

Channel Glide

Fortnight ago the London Daily Mail offered a $5.000 prize for the first glider flight across the English channel and back. One day last week Austria's famed Glider Pilot Robert Kronfeld, onetime holder of the world's record, cast loose from a towing airplane over Calais, tussled with headwinds for two hours, landed at Dover. His return flight to Calais was in darkness, took only 20 min. Pilot Kronfeld won the Daily Mail's prize. But much of the newspaper's thunder had been stolen day before when one Lissaut Beardmon.-. Canadian opera singer, made a one-way channel flight with the secret backing of the rival Daily Express.

* The lifting power increases when the dirigible comes to rest because the absence of a cooling flow of wind (from the ship's motion) allows the gas to expand.

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