La France
The La France was a French Army airship launched by Charles Renard and Arthur Constantin Krebs in 1884. Collaborating with Charles Renard, Arthur Constantin Krebs piloted the first fully controlled free-flight with the La France.
The 170-foot (52 m) long, a diameter of 28 feet, 66,000 cubic feet (1,900 m3) airship, electric-powered with a 435 kg battery completed a flight that covered 8 km (5 miles) in 23 minutes. It was the first full round trip flight with a landing on the starting point.
1884 August 9th. First flight of four miles in a circuit. Later it reached a speed of 15 mph.
On its seven flights in 1884 and 1885 the La France dirigible returned five times to its starting point.
The airship hangar was built as Hangar “Y” at Chalais Meudon near Paris in 1879 where the La France” was constructed. Hangar “Y” is one of the few remaining airship hangars in Europe.
See Also
Sources of Information
- [1] Wikipedia