ZMC-2

ZMC-2

The Aircraft Development Corporation ZMC-2 was the only successfully-operated metal-skinned airship ever built. [The 1897 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.] 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 [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] . 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.

pecifications (ZMC-2)

aircraft specifications
plane or copter?= plane
jet or prop?= prop
ref=
crew= Two
capacity=
length main= 149 ft 6 in
length alt= 45.4 m
span main=
span alt=
height main= 64 ft 6 in
height alt=
area main=
area alt=
airfoil=
empty weight main=
empty weight alt=
loaded weight main=
loaded weight alt=
useful load main= 750 lb
useful load alt= 340 kg
max takeoff weight main=
max takeoff weight alt=
more general=
* Volume: 5,667 m³ (200,000 ft³)
* Width: 16.2 m (53 ft)
* Max lifting capacity: 5,556 kg (12,250 lb)

engine (prop)= Wright J-5 Whirlwind
type of prop= engines
number of props=2
power main= 440 hp
power alt=
power original=

max speed main= 61 knots
max speed alt= 70 mph, 112 km/h
cruise speed main=
cruise speed alt=
never exceed speed main=
never exceed speed alt=
stall speed main=
stall speed alt=
range main= 587 nm
range alt= 675 mi, 1,087 km
ceiling main=
ceiling alt=
climb rate main=
climb rate alt=
loading main=
loading alt=
thrust/weight=
power/mass main=
power/mass alt=
more performance=

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".

ee also

* List of airships of the United States Navy
* David Schwarz

Notes

External links

* [http://www.nlhs.com/airport.htm Lakehurst: International Airport (a picture of the ZMC-2 is near the bottom of the page)]
* [http://www.nlhs.com/images/hindenburg/big_hindenburg_and_zmc-2_in_hangar_1.jpgZMC-2 in hangar, under the nose of the Hindenburg]
* [http://nasgi.org/zmc2.htm This has a short history of the ZMC-2 along with pictures of construction and flights of the ZMC-2]


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