In this vessel aluminium was completely
abandoned in favour of a framework of ash and poplar.
The fact that the aluminium constituted a dangerous collector of
electricity rendered the installation of wireless upon the
Zeppelin not only perilous but difficult. Very serious
disturbances of an electrical nature were set up, with the result
that wireless communication between the travelling dirigible and
the ground below was rendered extremely uncertain. In fact, it
has never yet been possible to communicate over distances
exceeding about 150 miles. Apart from this defect, the danger of
operating the wireless is obvious, and it is generally believed
in technical circles that the majority of the Zeppelin disasters
from fire have been directly attributable to this, especially
those disasters which have occurred when the vessel has suddenly
exploded before coming into contact with terrestrial
obstructions.
In the later vessels of this type the wireless installation is
housed in a well insulated compartment. This insulation has been
carried, to an extreme degree, which indicates that at last the
authorities have recognised the serious menace that wireless
offers to the safety of the craft, with the result that every
protective device to avoid disaster from this cause has been
freely adopted.
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