- ZMC-2
The
Aircraft Development Corporation ZMC-2 was the only successfully-operated metal-skinnedairship 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 amonocoque design.] It was built in Grosse Ile, Michigan, first flown onAugust 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 theGreat 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 coatingduralumin um, analuminum 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 hadrudder s.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 SchwarzNotes
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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