|
 Airships. Stately liners of the air
and icons of Future Past. The largest flying
machines ever built, they seemed to defy all logic as they floated on
their moorings like impossible party balloons.
While aeroplanes
were still prang-prone string kites, the airships were evolving into
the true liners of the skies. They were the embodiment of
gracious living. They advertised to all the world what
technology was capable of. And they crossed mighty oceans with
ease while planes were hopping puddles. Indeed, the mooring mast on top of
the Empire State Building is proof of the confidence that the airship
commanded, but also of the confidence in the future that they
generated.
At least, until the Hindenburg went up like a cheap
Chinese lantern at Lakehurst, New Jersey in 1937. |
