[gurps] TL6 Small Zeppelin (Vehicles 2nd)

[Tracy Ratcliff]

Sorry I haven't replied sooner.

>
>
> On short notice, my best source is Zeppelins by Osprey.
>

Finding documentation on airships can be difficult, and even original  
sources can be tricky.

I was inspired by  _Zeppelin; the story of a great achievement_ at http://www.archive.org/details/zeppelinstoryofg00vissrich 
  . It's appears to be an English translation of the Zeppelin  
Endowment's investor's prospectus for 1921.

>> Why not radical streamlining, a larger body and early props?


I'll redo that and see how it works.

>> The generator in the passenger
>> gondola is a small windmill attached outside the gondola that
>> generates power from the airship's windstream. (100 lbs, 2 cf, $100)
>
> Vehicles Expansion 1, p.23.
>

I'll do the VE version, but I have historical data on weight and (sort  
of) volume.

>>
> The only sane choice, but where is the gasbag? Osprey's 20,000 m^3 are
> 706,293 cf, but the entry looks suspiciously rounded.
>

The gasbag is in the main body, though I forgot to list it in the  
description. The gasbag was 20,000 m^3 exactly.

>> Typo or two passenger gondola_s_?
>

Unclear abbreviation, I meant "Pas" for Passenger Gondola. Probably  
should change that to Po1, Po2, Po3

>>
> Osprey lists 3 x 260 hp (194 kW) engines. I presume your source
> is better, since mine is just one entry in a long table.
>

Osprey is in error.

>> Instruments and Electronics: TL6 Communicator, Long Range, TL6
>> Navigation Instruments.
>
> No data, but it feels right.
>

I don't have firm data on whether there was a radio, or what range.  
The Zeppelin pilots navigated by dead reckoning surprisingly often.

>>
> * Typo or something is wrong with your crew count.
>
> * Did they have environmental controls (i.e. heating) by then?
>

I count 16, and that is the historical number, but apparently my stats  
block is unclear. The Hindenburg was the first Zeppelin to have heat  
and ventilation. The Graf Zeppelin had an electric space heater in the  
dining room later in its career. From pictures of the passengers on  
Bodensee, I'm guessing that in cold weather they closed the windows,  
hoped for waste heat from the galley, and wore a winter coat.


>>
>
> I thought airships used HP diesels, but I have no data for this
> specific one.
>

Nearly all used HP Gasoline. Hindenburg, R101 and the Goodyear blimp  
Pilgrim are the only ones that used diesels.

>>
> I would expect a lot more access space in the body.
>

There was, but I skipped that for the first version to make sure I had  
enough lift.

>> \
> The body area is from the table, not the formula. I get 55,245 sf.
>

I was following the "round to the nearest 10,000" rule directly under  
the table.
>>
> Those values are for medium frames, not super-light.
>
You're correct. I did say I'd make bunch of errors in this.

>>
> Off because of the area error. I'll look at the specific numbers
> when you tell me which suggestions you used and which ones got
> discarded.


As always, thank you very much for the help. Hopefully I'll get to a  
corrected version this weekend.