Just the thing for when you need to build your own… From a page of plans at Forgotten Futures. The photo of the Vickers Parseval craft is from this early aviation archive.
Meanwhile, my good friend Ed alerted me to a documentary film which will be released in March this year. Farewell is directed by Ditteke Mensink and uses archive footage to tell the story of Lady Grace Drummond-Hay, the only female passenger on the first journey around the world of the Graf Zeppelin in 1929.
The voyage took 21 days and started off in New York. Via Friedrichshafen in Germany, across Siberia to Tokyo, across the Pacific Ocean to Los Angeles, the airship finally arrived back in New York greeted by much cheering and a ticker tape parade. During the adventurous trip the printing presses were working overtime, as it was followed closely and covered extensively. The voyage was a symbol of both technological progress and the improved relationship between two great nations: the United States and Germany. The outside world is unaware of the passionate love affair between Grace, a young widow, and Karl, a married man.
More at the film’s page here which includes a trailer. Looks fascinating, I’d love to see it.
Previously on { feuilleton }
• The Air Ship
• Dirigibles
• La route d’Armilia by Schuiten & Peeters
• The Airship Destroyer
• Zeppelin vs. Pterodactyls
Looks like this is the same film shown yesterday on BBC 4 (‘Around the world by Zepellin’ – same music and director)
Oh, well spotted, thanks, I’ll chase that up now.