Charles A Knotek (American, 1933 - 2008) "First U.S. Airship First Flight" Signed lower right. Original Mixed Media Painting on Illustration Board. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This painting is the original painting which was published on the Fleetwood Commemorative Cover for the Man's Conquest of the Heavens series issued in 1983. In the late afternoon of September 4, 1923, fifteen thousand spectators gathered excitedly at Lakehurst Naval Air Station to witness the first flight of the first "Made in USA" rigid airship. The ZR-1 -- as the Navy designated her -- was 680 feet long, 78.7 feet in diameter and had a gas volume of 2,115,174 cubic feet in twenty gas cells. Interestingly, the lifting agent chosen was the non-inflammable gas, helium -- the first time in the history of aviation it had been used. On the appointed day, a handling crew of 450 sailors and marines walked the fantastic ZR-1 out of the hangar without a hitch -- remarkable in view of the fact that they had never moved an airship before. From there, a crew of about thirty men took over, each with specific duties for the flight. As the crowd watched in awe, the gigantic ship lifted off at 5:45 p.m. Moving rather sluggishly because of the heavier weight of helium as opposed to the more familiar hydrogen, the ZR-1 used only four engines at half power at a time. The flight was so quiet that even at 200 feet, the bells in the engine cars -- operated by the engine telegraphs -- could be heard from the ground. After covering a distance of about twenty miles, the ZR-1 headed back to the station arriving at 6:45. A few weeks later, she was christened the Shenandoah, an American Indian name popularly translated as "Daughter of the Stars." Image Size: 13 x 16.25 in. Overall Size: 17 x 20 in. Unframed. (B98620)