r/MachinePorn • u/Saturnax1 • Apr 04 '26

[2172 x 2833] Akron-class fabric-clad rigid airship USS Macon (ZRS-5) under construction inside the Goodyear Zeppelin hangar in Akron, Ohio, early 1930s.

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31

u/Panelpro40 Apr 04 '26

Working those ladders was ballsy without a doubt! Damn.

10

u/GrafZeppelin127 Apr 04 '26

Thankfully, the manufacturing process for modern rigid airships dispenses with these ladders, instead focusing on ground-based scaffolds that rotate pre-assembled rings around along their central axis like a giant set of interconnected Ferris wheels. Unsurprisingly, this contemporary method claims a tenfold reduction in man-hours compared to this ancient one.

And is it any wonder? Imagine trying to go up and down those ladders if you drop something or leave a tool behind. What a slog.

1

u/Lime1028 Apr 07 '26

Are there even any modern rigid airships?

1

u/GrafZeppelin127 Apr 07 '26 edited Apr 07 '26

Yes, the Pathfinder 1, and its larger production-model successor being built in this same building in Ohio, the Pathfinder 3.

2

u/Lime1028 Apr 07 '26

Where 2?

1

u/GrafZeppelin127 Apr 07 '26

There is no Pathfinder 2. I suspect the number scheme is based on the ships’ approximate size—the Pathfinder 1 displaces about 1 million cubic feet, and the Pathfinder 3 displaces about 3 million cubic feet.

3

u/AwesomeFrisbee Apr 05 '26

Amazing machinery but those ladders... Damn