My Italy

The sun is shining brightly and the warm breeze is light. The streets of Unter den Linden are bustling with traffic, and there are many commercial ports. One after another, magnificent and towering buildings rise from the ground, towering into the sky and clouds, reflecting the colorful light under the morning glow.

The nameplate of the Airship Propulsion Association hangs in mid-air, and is very eye-catching in Unter den Linden, where advertising posters are overwhelming.

It didn't take McClung long to see where it was. The elevator went straight up, and the iron door opened and closed. When he stepped out of the elevator, he looked around and saw that the long office corridor was filled with offices of all sizes.

After a few minutes, McClung finally found a purple wood door with the word "zeppelin" written on it. McClun adjusted his breathing, raised his hand and knocked lightly on the door a few times. When he heard a syllable saying "Please come in" from inside, he pushed the door open with force.

Sofa, coffee table, side chair and square table. Two bronze incense burners exude a light fragrance in the corner. Together with the simple furniture decoration, they add a sense of natural elegance to the entire office.

On the chair behind the square table, a typical German old man with a mustache and a hooked nose was writing something on the table. When he saw McClun standing at the door, there was obvious shock and daze on his gray-yellow face. It seemed that he didn't expect that someone who was not a waiter would appear in front of him.

He put down the carved feather quill in his hand and asked politely: "I am Ferdinand von Zeppelin. Who are you looking for, sir?"

Zeppelin's voice was concise and rich, without the slightest hint of weakness or trembling in the voice of an ordinary old man.

Even though he is nearly seventy years old, he is still rosy-cheeked and full of energy. When Zeppelin announced his home address, McClun finally broke into a happy smile and said, "Mr. Zeppelin, the purpose of my visit this time is to admire your research on airships. Oh, by the way, I almost forgot. Introducing myself, my name is Ettel Macron, an Italian, and I have long been famous for your deeds with Zeppelin."

In 1838, Zeppelin was born into an aristocratic family in the Grand Duchy of Baden. His father was the director of the inner court of the Grand Duchy of Baden and was an out-and-out powerful tycoon. Zeppelin had a strong interest in engineering machinery since he was a child. This instinctive impulse to work was directly related to his subsequent brilliant achievements.

Beginning in 1887, retired Zeppelin officially devoted himself to the improvement of airship technology.

As an important carrier for realizing mankind’s aviation dream, the airship was born more than a hundred years ago. However, the airships put into use at that time were all soft airships. These airships used hydrogen-filled airbags as suspension devices to carry pods to take off. The disadvantage was that their load capacity was small and it was difficult to meet diverse needs.

In order to improve the comprehensive performance of the airship as a whole and open up a broader space for the development of the airship industry, Zeppelin decided to open up a new way.

Based on the existing research results at that time, he creatively proposed a rigid airship design plan. Specifically, a boat frame is made of aluminum, and then multiple cabins are isolated in the boat frame, and corresponding airbags are placed in each cabin. After everything is ready, the hull skin is covered on the outside of the hull, and the suspension device of the rigid airship is created.

Although the idea is good, there are many difficulties in actual operation. Due to weight, lift, and structure, Zeppelin faces many reasons. Of course, there is a more important reason, and that is the issue of funding. Compared with petite aircraft, the development of airships requires much higher funds. Not to mention that Zeppelin developed a rigid airship.

Take the first rigid airship he developed, "LZ-1", for example. There were 17 airbags in the hull, with a total volume of 12,000 cubic meters, which was 5 to 6 times larger than the soft airships at that time. The cost of building the "LZ-1" was as high as 1.8 million marks. If he hadn't found more than a dozen like-minded people, the money would have wiped out his savings.

Speaking of which, the reason for this came from Italy. Two Italians, Duilio and Siegel, carried out the first mechanical flight of mankind in the spring of 1897, which made more people's enthusiasm for flying fly on the aircraft.

Of course, this has resulted in fewer people willing to invest in research on aircraft such as airships, which are slow and difficult to operate.

After hearing that someone traveled thousands of miles to visit him for the airship, Zeppelin also became interested. "I don't know if Mr. McClung has any opinions on airships. We can discuss it."

“I can’t say my opinion, but I think the future development prospects of airships are very good. At present, airships have great potential in terms of load capacity and seaworthiness, which can make airships an excellent aircraft for air transportation. For example, airships can carry Thirty or fifty people start from Berlin and fly all the way to London, which may only take one day.”

McClung's remarks about airships convinced Zeppelin that he was indeed someone who had researched airships.

However, the visitor immediately changed the subject and continued. "However, I think there are several problems that need to be solved in airships. The first is the danger. Airships currently use hydrogen as the gas in the airbag. Hydrogen is too dangerous. It only takes a little spark to turn an expensive airship into a It’s nothing, it’s not conducive to the promotion of airships at all.”

McClung made Zeppelin frown because the problem was difficult to solve. Currently, airship researchers in various countries use hydrogen. Everyone knows the dangers of hydrogen, but hydrogen is cheap. Yes, these airship researchers have limited funds, so what can they do without hydrogen?

"I agree with your words, but filling with hydrogen is currently a last resort. You must know that aluminum is not cheap. If non-dangerous expensive gases are used, then the construction of this airship will be amazing, and few people can withstand it. cost."

Yes, for Zeppelin, doesn't he know the dangers of hydrogen, but there is only so much money, so let's ensure the success of research and development first.

When faced with Zeppelin's words, McClung immediately replied. "Mr. Zeppelin, actually I just came here to help you, but I hope that helium will be used in the research of airships."

Helium?

Of course Zeppelin didn't know about this gas, but McClung introduced it immediately.

Helium is a colorless and odorless inert gas with inactive chemical properties. It is difficult to react with other substances under normal conditions.

Moreover, helium was discovered very late. It was not until 1895 that the British chemist Sir William Ramsay discovered that there was helium on the earth in a radioactive vein rich in uranium. Last year, the Italian oil company discovered a large amount of helium in Libyan natural gas fields.

Of course, the more important thing is that helium is very light, only 0.178 is heavier than 0.089kg/m hydrogen. But in terms of security, the two are not the same.

After listening to McClung's story, Zeppelin fell into deep thought.

"I wonder how much funding you are willing to provide?"

Facing Zeppelin's inquiry, McClung immediately pointed out five fingers. "Five million marks, but helium must be used."

"make a deal."

After the two briefly shook hands, Zeppelin spoke immediately. "Mr. McClung, I wonder where you are employed?"

As an experienced person, Zeppelin could tell at a glance that the McClun in front of him did not look like a person who could take charge. However, since he dared to give 500 marks, he must be relying on someone, so he needed to ask.

Facing Zeppelin's inquiry, McClung smiled and showed his white teeth. “I currently work for the Royal Savoy Investment Fund.”