Reluctant Tour Guide - Part 2/2

Paris, France
Date: May 8, 1889
Location: “The Flying Fish”, Wuppertal Co. Zeppelin (Docked)

She wouldn’t be needing a translator because everyone present shared English in common; however, the Captain had made sure that she had one anyways. It was more so that she had a male escort to help watch over her in the presence of so many elite males. In addition, two security officers from the crew were available to help herd the tour and keep the diplomats from foolishly trying to touch things they shouldn’t or wander.

Lorem was practically fluent in English with an adorable German accent. It was not lost on her why she had been chosen instead of one of the other two senior engineers that were brought along to Paris. She was eye-candy compared to the other two men, which were just as equally capable as she was to give a tour such as this; especially since she was supposed to be off duty now. It was obvious the Captain had reasons for wanting to make a good impression with these foreign diplomats; most likely for trade purposes.

After the initial greeting of the group, where Lorem tried her best to not seem awkward and keep her nerves in check, the tour began. Having been an integral part of the design of the Zeppelin, she knew everything like the back of her hand and was able to field any questions with confidence and ease; most of their questions were rather revealing of low resolution thinking in her opinion. As they moved about the interior of the airship, she showed them the following: the envelope - containing the helium gas, nose cone battens, forward and aft ballonets, catenary curtain, suspension cables system, flight control surfaces - rudders, elevators, engines, air scoops, air valves, helium valve, and the gondola sections- holdings passengers and crew, including logistical rooms for helping the airship run. She was sure to only give them an overview and refrained from getting into critical details that would have put Wuppertal intellectual and creative property at risk of theft.

She ended the tour with a quick summation:

“So in conclusion, an airship controls its buoyancy in the air much like a submarine does in the water. The ballonets act like ballast tanks holding "heavy" air. When the blimp takes off, the pilot vents air from the ballonets through the air valves. The helium makes the zeppelin positively buoyant in the surrounding air, so the structure rises. The pilot throttles the engine and adjusts the elevators to angle the airship into the wind. The conical shape of the airship also helps to generate lift.

As the airship rises, outside air pressure decreases and the helium in the envelope expands. The pilots then pump air into the ballonets to maintain pressure against the helium. Adding air makes us heavier, so to maintain a steady cruising altitude, the pilots must balance the air-pressure with the helium-pressure to create neutral buoyancy. To level the blimp in flight, the air pressures between the fore and aft ballonets are adjusted. The Flying Fish can cruise at altitudes of anywhere from 305 to 2135 m. The engines provide forward and reverse thrust while the rudder is used to steer.

To descend, the pilots fill the ballonets with air. This increases our density, making it negatively buoyant so that it descends. Again, the elevators are adjusted to control the angle of descent.”

Once the tour was over she got a workout of curtseying. The Captain had showed up near the end of the tour and Lorem was so grateful that he took the group of men off her hands. No doubt he was going to whisk them away to wine and dine; making lucrative deals in the process.

With her responsibilities completed she exited the Zeppelin and met up with her father inside his small room built inside the hangar for the ground crew. It was finally time to go out and enjoy the marvels and wonders on display at the exposition.