Ground-Handling Large Airships: A Cinderella Profession

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Before aircraft fly, someone must make them ready. Airships are no exception. But the word ‘airship’ carries a lot of historical baggage and encompasses a wide range of complex flying machines that includes the largest objects ever to have flown. Moreover, the airship groundcrew personnel who provisioned, weighed-off and launched all these airships, prior to their every flight, were also expected to clean, maintain and test a bewildering array of ‘ground handling’ equipment. This ranged from cavernous hangars and massive mobile mooring masts down to the tiniest nuts, bolts, washers and rivets without which the airships could not function. However, the airship ground-crews who carried out these difficult, dirty and sometimes dangerous tasks are now long forgotten and even the term ‘ground-handling’ is ill-defined.

This book, originally a PhD Thesis, aims to define the term and to restore the reputation of the highly skilled specialists whose vitally important work is often overlooked, ignored or taken for granted. It includes analysis of the tasks involved and establishes guidelines for future airship projects to develop their ground handling procedures based upon historically proven past practice. It concludes with recommendations and suggestions to help future airship projects avoid re-inventing some very expensive wheels.