In September we posted an article about the arrival of the first pieces for Goodyear’s new Zeppelin airships. The following is an article published last August in the German paper Südkurier reporting on the shipment of these parts from the Zeppelin factory in Friedrichshafen.
Custom-made crates were used to ship the parts. The crates included sensors to record temperature, humidity, bumps, vibrations, etc.
Photo courtesy of Zeppelin LuftschifftechnikIn preparation for the construction of three Zeppelin NT airships for Goodyear starting in 2013 at Wingfoot Lake near Akron, Ohio, Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik (ZLT) has shipped the first container with parts and components.
A container with the first shipment of airship parts is loaded at the Zeppelin factory from where it would go to Bremerhaven for shipment to Ohio.
Photo courtesy of Zeppelin LuftschifftechnikOn August 24 in Bremerhaven, the container was loaded and shipped to New York. Ten days later, the cargo arrived in New York, and was transferred by land to the airship hangar in Suffield, Ohio.
The first delivery includes 21 longitudinal beams that are part of the internal structure of the Zeppelin NT. This shipment of aluminum beams required custom built wooden shipping crates. The shipment included a sensor system to document incidents occurring during transport. Incidents registered included vibrations and shocks. Temperature and humidity levels inside the container were also recorded.
In the first quarter of 2013, the assembly of the first Zeppelin airship will start on site in the United States under the direction and with assistance of ZLT. By then, further shipments of components and parts will have been made from the Friedrichshafen hangar. Dates of future shipments were not available.
