The Airship Golden Hind Read online

  CHAPTER III--THE "GOLDEN HIND"

  "Appropriate name the 'Golden Hind,'" remarked Bramsdean, as the threeex-R.A.F. officers made their way towards the concealed hangar. "That'swhat Drake's ship was called, and he was the first Englishman tocircumnavigate the world."

  "Yes," replied Fosterdyke. "We must take it as an augury that this'Golden Hind' will do in the air what her namesake did on the sea."

  "Not in every respect, I hope," said Kenneth Kenyon, with a laugh."Drake did a considerable amount of filibustering on his voyage, Ibelieve."

  "Ah, yes," answered Sir Reginald. "Those were good old days. Now left,"he added. "Mind yourselves, the brambles are a bit dangerous."

  Turning off the grass-grown road and down a side path, the two chumsfound themselves entering a dense thicket that formed an outer fringe ofthe pine wood.

  "Short cut," remarked Fosterdyke, laconically. "Now, there you are."

  A glade in the woods revealed the end of a lofty corrugated iron shed,the hangar in which the "Golden Hind" was fast approaching completion.The baronet "knew his way about." He knew how to deal with thedictatorial and often completely muddled officials who ran the SurplusDisposals Board, and had succeeded in obtaining, at a comparatively lowcost, a practically new airship shed, together with an enormous quantityof material.

  "Now tell me what you think of her," he said, throwing open a small doorin the rear end of the building.

  Kenyon and Bramsdean paused in astonishment at what they saw. The"Golden Hind" was neither airship nor aeroplane in the strict sense ofthe word, but a hybrid embodying the salient features of both. Thefuselage, constructed almost entirely of aluminium, was a full 120 feetin length, and enclosed so as to form a series of cabins orcompartments. Amidships these attained a beam of 15 feet, tapering foreand aft until the end compartments terminated in a sharp wedge.Wherever there were observation windows they were "glazed" with lightbut tough fire-proof celluloid, sufficiently strong to withstandwind-pressure.

  On either side of the hull, as Fosterdyke termed it, were six planesarranged in pairs, each being 30 feet in fore and aft direction, andprojecting 25 feet from the side of the fuselage. Thus the totalbreadth of the "Golden Hind" was well under 60 feet. On angle bracketsrising obliquely from the fuselage were six large aluminium propellers,chain-driven by means of six 350-h.p. motors.

  "Some power there," remarked Kenyon, enthusiastically.

  "Rather," agreed Sir Reginald. "Sufficient to lift her independently ofthe gas-bag, while in the unlikely event of the motors giving out thereis enough lifting power in the envelope to keep her up for an indefiniteperiod. Did you notice the small propellers in the wake of the largeones?"

  "Yes, sir," replied Bramsdean. "Left-handed blades."

  "Precisely," agreed Fosterdyke. "They work on the same shaft, only in areverse direction. It's a little stunt of mine to utilise the eddies inthe wake of the main propellers. Yes, petrol-driven. I tried to findan ideal fuel, one that is non-inflammable or practically so, except incompression; but that's done me so far. There's a huge fortune awaitingthe chemist who succeeds in producing a liquid capable of conforming tothese conditions. I even made a cordite-fired motor once--something onthe Maxim-gun principle, fed by cordite grains from a hopper. It didsplendidly as far as developing power was concerned, but the difficultyof excessive consumption and the pitting of the walls of the cylinderdid me. However, my experiments haven't all been failures. Now look atthe gas-bag."

  "It's only partly inflated," observed Peter.

  "No, fully," corrected Fosterdyke. "The envelope is a rigid one ofaluminium, subdivided into forty-nine compartments, each of whichcontains a flexible ballonet. Each ballonet is theoretically proofagainst leakage--in practice there is an almost inappreciable porosity,which hardly counts for a comparatively short period, say a month. Thegas isn't hydrogen, nor is it the helium we used during the war.Helium, although practically non-inflammable, is heavier than hydrogen.Fortunately, I hit upon a rather smart youngster who had been in aGovernment laboratory before he joined the R.A.F. With his assistance Idiscovered a gas that is not only lighter than hydrogen, but is asnon-inflammable as helium. I've named the stuff 'Brodium,' after theyoungster who helped me so efficaciously. When this stunt's over, we'regoing to work the gas on a commercial basis, but for the present it'sadvisable to keep it a secret.

  "You observe that the section of the envelope is far from beingcircular. The horizontal diameter is three-and-a-half times that of thevertical. That gives less surface for a side wind, and consequentlyless drift, while the 'cod's head and mackerel tail' ought to give aperfect stream-line."

  "You carry a pretty stiff lot of fuel with those motors," remarkedKenyon.

  "Rather," was the reply. "Enough for 5000 miles; which means, allowingfor deviations from a straight uniform course, about six halts toreplenish petrol tanks. We carry no water ballast of any description.When the fuel supply runs low, there is a tendency for the airship torise, owing to the reduced weight. To counteract this, a certainquantity of brodium is exhausted from the ballonets into cast-ironcylinders, where it is stored under pressure until required again. Theleakage during this operation is less than one-half per cent. Now we'llget on board."

  Past groups of busy workmen the three ex-officers made their way. BothKenyon and Bramsdean noticed that the men worked as if they had aninterest in what they were doing. Several they recognised as being inthe same "Flight" in which they had served on the other side of theChannel.

  "Like old times," said Kenyon in a low voice.

  "Rather, old son," agreed his chum.

  They boarded the "Golden Hind," where workmen were putting finishingtouches to the interior decorations of the cabins. The floor wascomposed of rigid aluminium plates, corrugated in order to provide afirm foothold, and temporarily covered with sacking to prevent unduewear upon the relatively soft metal.

  The door--one of the four--by which they entered was on the port sideaft. It opened into a saloon 20 feet by 7 feet, which in turncommunicated with a fore-and-aft alley-way extending almost the extremelength of the fuselage.

  "We'll start right aft and work for'ard," said Fosterdyke. "If you cansuggest any alterations in the internal fittings, let me know. It oftenhappens that a new arrival spots something that the original designerhas overlooked."

  "Must have taken some thinking out, sir," remarked Bramsdean.

  "M'yes," agreed Sir Reginald. "I'm afraid I spent some sleepless nightsover the business. This is my cabin."

  The chums found themselves in a compartment measuring 15 feet in afore-and-aft direction and 10 feet across the for'ard bulkhead, thewidth diminishing to the rounded end of the nacelle. It was plainlyfurnished. A canvas cot, a folding table, and two camp chairscomprising the principal contents. The large windows with celluloidpanes afforded a wide outlook, while should the atmospheric conditionsbe favourable, the windows opened after the manner of those in a railwaycarriage.

  Retracing their steps, the chums inspected the motors immediatelyfor'ard of the owner's cabin. Each was in a compartment measuring 10feet by 6 feet, leaving an uninterrupted alley-way nearly 3 feet inlength between.

  "The fuel and oil tanks are underneath the alley-way," Fosterdykepointed out. "I'm using pressure-feed in preference to gravity-feed. Itkeeps the centre of gravity lower. What do you think of the engines?"

  "Clinking little motors," replied Kenyon, enthusiastically, as hestudied the spotlessly clean mechanism with professional interest.

  "There are six motor rooms, three on each side," observed the baronet."I'm taking twelve motor-mechanics to be on the safe side. When we arerunning free, one man will look after two engines, but in any case halfthe number will be off-duty at a time. Now, this is your cabin."

  He opened a sliding-door on the port side, corresponding with theofficers' dining-room on the starboard side. It was a compartment 20feet by 6 feet 6 inches, with a bunk at each end running athwartships,and as
plainly furnished as the owner's quarters.

  "Heaps of room," declared Bramsdean, "and warming apparatus, too."

  "Yes," replied Fosterdyke, "we had the exhausts led under the cabins.Nothing like keeping warm at high altitudes. Warmth and goodfood--that's more than half the battle. See this ladder?"

  He indicated a metal ladder in the alley-way, clamped vertically to theouter wall of the cabin.

  "Leads through that hatchway," he continued, "right to the upper surfaceof the envelope. There's an observation platform--useful to takestellar observations and all that sort of thing. But you won't find amachine-gun there," he added with a laugh.

  Passing between the 'midship pair of motor-rooms, Fosterdyke halted in adoor-way on the port side.

  "Pantry and kitchen," he remarked.

  "I'm taking a couple of good cooks. All the stoves are electricallyheated. There's a dynamo working off the main shaft of each of the'midship motors. The starboard one provides 'juice' for the kitchen;that on the port generates electricity for the searchlights and internallighting. Underneath are fresh water tanks and dry provision stores."

  On the port side corresponding to the kitchen were the air-mechanics'quarters; while beyond the for'ard motor room the alley-way terminated,opening into a triangular space 30 feet long and 12 feet at its greatestbreadth.

  "The crew's quarters," explained Fosterdyke. "Ample accommodation foreight deck-hands and the two cooks. You'll notice that the head-room isless than elsewhere. That's because of the navigation-room overhead."

  The chums looked upwards at the ceiling. There was no indication of ahatchway of any description.

  "You gain the navigation-room from the alley-way," explained SirReginald, noting their puzzled glances. "Saves the inconvenience ofdisturbing the 'watch below' by having to pass through their quarters.Up with you, Kenyon. Thank your lucky stars you're not a bulky fellow.Mind your head against that girder."

  Bramsdean followed his chum, the baronet bringing up the rear.

  The combined chart-room and navigation compartment was spacious inextent, but considerably congested with an intricate array of levers,telephones, indicators, switches, and a compact wireless cabinet. In thecentre was a table with clamps to hold a large-size chart. Right "inthe eyes of the ship" was a gyroscopic compass, which, by reason of theneedle pointing to the true, instead of the magnetic, north pole,greatly simplified steering a course, since those complicated factors,variation and deviation, were eliminated. Altimeters, heelingindicators, barometer, thermometer, and chronometer, with otherscientific instruments, completed the equipment of the room, which wasin telephonic communication with every part of the airship.

  From the car the three men ascended to the interior of the envelope,climbing by means of aluminium rungs bolted to the flexible shaft. Onceinside the rigid envelope, it was possible to walk the whole fivehundred feet length of the airship along a narrow platform. From thelatter crossways ran at frequent intervals so that access could beobtained to any of the ballonets.

  The interior reeked of the strong but not obnoxious fumes of thebrodium.

  "Leak somewhere," remarked Kenyon, sniffing audibly.

  "Yes," agreed Fosterdyke, "one of the supply pipes gave out thismorning; otherwise you wouldn't know by the sense of smell that theenvelope was fully charged."

  He struck a match and held it aloft. It burned with a pale green flame.

  "I wouldn't care to do this with hydrogen," he remarked."Non-inflammability of the gas practically does away with all risk.When you recall the numerous accidents to aircraft in the earlier stagesof the war, you will find that in over eighty per cent. they were causedby combustion. Of course I'm referring to disasters other than thosecaused directly by enemy action. Now, carry on; up you go ... no, holdon," he added, as a bell rang shrilly just above their heads.

  "One of the workmen coming down," said Fosterdyke. "Opening a flap atthe top of this shaft automatically rings an alarm, otherwise anyoneascending might stand the risk of being kicked on the head by the feetof someone else descending."

  "By Jove! I know that chap!" exclaimed Kenyon, after the mechanic haddescended the long vertical ladder.

  "Yes, it's Flight-sergeant Hayward," added Bramsdean. "He got theD.C.M. for downing two Boche 'planes over Bapaume."

  "That's right," agreed the baronet. "Jolly fine mechanic he is, too. Doyou happen to know how he came to join the Royal Flying Corps? No; thenI'll let you into a secret. It was in '16 that he enlisted. Previousto that he was a conscientious objector, and, I believe, a genuine oneat that. What caused him to change his opinions was rather remarkable.Do you remember that Zepp raid over Lancashire? Hayward was driving amotor-lorry that night somewhere up in the hills north of Manchester; abomb fell in the road some yards behind him and blew the back of hislorry to bits. He came off with a shaking and a changed outlook onlife. Next morning he joined up. Yes, Hayward's quite a good sort;he's been invaluable to me."

  "Had any trouble from inquisitive outsiders, sir?" asked Kenyon.

  "No, none whatever," replied Fosterdyke. "Touch wood. People in thevillage hereabouts have seen enough aircraft during the war to take theedge off their curiosity. As for our rival competitors, well, if theycan pick up a wrinkle or two it will make the contest even moreexciting."

  "If we succeed there'll be a stir," said Bramsdean.

  "Yes," agreed the baronet; "it's the first who scores in theseundertakings. See what a fuss was made when the Atlantic was first flownby aeroplanes. If the feat were repeated, not a fraction of publicinterest would be directed to it. The novelty has gone, as it were.Even interest in the flight to Australia--in itself an epic of courage,skill, and determination--was limited. Sensations of yesterday becomemediocrities of to-day. For instance Bleriot's flight from France toEngland: see what an outburst of excitement that caused. Since thenthousands of machines have crossed the Channel without exciting comment.Now I think I've shown you everything that is to be seen. How aboutlunch?"