The present-day elongated shape is the result of the effort to decrease the proportion of propulsion resistance due to the pressure of the air against the head of the balloon. This has led also to the pointed ends now universal; and to avoid eddy resistance about the rear it is just as important to point the stern as the bow. As far as head end resistance alone is concerned, the longer the balloon the better: but the friction of the air along the side of the envelope also produces resistance, so that the balloon must not be too much elongated. Excessive elongation also produces structural weakness. From the standpoint of stress on the fabric of the envelope, the greatest strain is that which tends to break the material along a longitudinal line, and this is true no matter what the length, as long as the seams are equally strong in both directions and the load is so suspended as not to produce excessive bending strain on the whole balloon. In the Patrie (page [77]), some distortion due to loading is apparent. The stress per lineal inch of fabric is obtained by multiplying the net pressure by half the diameter of the envelope (in inches).
The Zeppelin Entering Its Hangar on Lake Constance
Ample steering power (provided by vertical planes, as in heavier-than-air machines) is absolutely necessary in dirigibles: else the head could not be held up to the wind and the propelling machinery would become ineffective.
The “Patrie.” Destroyed by a Storm
Fabrics
The material for the envelope and ballonets should be light, strong, unaffected by moisture or the atmosphere, non-cracking, non-stretching, and not acted upon by variations in temperature. The same specifications apply to the material for the wings of an aeroplane. In addition, for use in dirigible balloons, fabrics must be impermeable, resistent to chemical action of the gas, and not subject to spontaneous combustion. The materials used are vulcanized silk, gold beater’s skin, Japanese silk and rubber, and cotton and rubber compositions. In many French balloons, a middle layer of rubber has layers of cotton on each side, the whole thickness being the two hundred and fiftieth part of an inch. In the Patrie, this was supplemented by an outside non-heat-absorbent layer of lead chromate and an inside coating of rubber, all rubber being vulcanized. The inner rubber layer was intended to protect the fabric against the destructive action of impurities in the gas.