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AIRSHIPS (1784-1900)At the end of this block of study, you should be able to:
5.23 Define airship.
5.24 Explain the importance of J.B.M. Meusnier and Henri Giffard
to aviation.
An airship is a lighter-thanair vehicle that is
steerable and powered. The problem with the hotair,
hydrogen, and helium balloons was that they were at the mercy of
the wind. In 1784, a French general, J.B.M. Meusnier,
made several suggestions which would eventually lead to
successful airships. First, he suggested changing the shape of
balloons from a sphere to the shape of a football. This would
reduce air resistance and also establish a front and rear for the
balloons. He also suggested an envelope made of several
compartments and a passenger car shaped like a boat attached to
the bottom of the airship. The one problem Meusnier did
not solve was how to power the airships. He did, however, suggest
that 80 men could turn a large propeller.
The next breakthrough came in 1852 by another Frenchman, Henri
Giffard. He built a cigar shaped balloon 114 feet long and 39
feet In diameter. The airship was powered by a threehorsepower
steam engine which propelled it at a speed of about five mph. The
airship is generally considered as being the first successful one
in the world. However, it was not until the invention of
the gasoline engine in 1896 that airships became a real success.
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