In 1900, Zeppelin built the first rigid airship. Its biggest feature is that it has a hard skeleton, which is composed of an abdominal longitudinal beam, 24 long pestles and 16 frames, and uses a large number of longitudinal and transverse wires to enhance the structural strength. The hull structure is covered with a skin made of tarpaulin. There are 17 airbags in the hull, with a total volume of 12,000 cubic meters and a total buoyancy of 13 tons. It was 5 to 6 times larger than the airships of the time. Since multiple airbags can also function like a water-proof cabin on a ship, flight safety is greatly improved. In 1908, Zeppelin used all his property to design and manufacture the largest airship in the world at that time, the "Lz-4". Zeppelin was so satisfied with the performance of the airship that he personally piloted the airship on a long voyage. The airship took off from Germany, flew over the Alps, arrived in Switzerland and returned. This achievement attracted the attention of the German government. They announced that if the airship could last more than 24 hours, the government would purchase it and be willing to pay all the development costs for the development of a rigid airship. August 4 of this year was the day when the "Lz-4" airship officially underwent inspection. Government officials and many spectators were present. Zeppelin personally piloted the airship into the sky. Everything went smoothly at first, but a few hours later, the engine broke down, and the airship had to make an emergency landing to make repairs and prepare to take off again. Unexpectedly, misfortune never comes singly, but at this moment another strong wind arose, blowing off the anchor rope of the airship. The airship hit a bush and was destroyed on the spot. When Zeppelin was desperate, Dr. Fugo Aikenner, a reporter from the Frankfurt Times, helped him. Aikena objectively reported the scene of the airship, and also made an account of Zeppelin's struggle to develop the airship. Some publicity. Newspapers throughout Germany reprinted Aikenner's article. Zeppelin's deeds deeply touched people's hearts. The German people launched a donation campaign and raised 6 million marks in a short period of time, enough for Zeppelin to build a new airship. Zeppelin summed up the lessons of past failures and redesigned and manufactured the "Lz--5" and "Lz--6" airships. They were both successful after test flights and stayed in the air for more than 24 hours. Later, he built three more airships, all of which had good performance and could be used for transportation. In this way, Zeppelin and Aikenner decided to establish an airline company and named it Drago Company. It was the world's first airline. On June 22, 1910, the first airship officially flew from Frankfurt, Germany to Dussel, establishing the first regular air route. The airship "Lz--7" was responsible for the first transportation mission. It could carry There are 24 passengers and 12 flight attendants, and the flight speed is 69-77 kilometers per hour. After Zeppelin's death, his successor Dr. Aikenner proposed a bold plan: to build a round-the-world airship to open up interstate long-distance passenger transportation. The global airship designed by Aikenner is indeed very large. This airship is 237 meters tall and has a maximum diameter of 30.5 meters. It can be filled with 104,700 cubic meters of hydrogen. It weighs 118 tons and has a load capacity of 53 tons. It is powered by 5 diesel engines. , with a maximum speed of 193 kilometers per hour, was completed in July 1927. In memory of Zeppelin, the airship was specially named "Graf Zeppelin", and his daughter presided over the completion ceremony. On August 8, 1929, the "Graf Zeppelin" airship began a great around-the-world flight, starting from New Jersey in the United States, passing through Germany, the Soviet Union, China, and Japan, and returning to Los Angeles on August 26. The entire voyage lasted 21 days, 7 hours and 34 minutes. The success of the Zeppelin airship flying around the world greatly promoted the development of airships. According to statistics, in the 1920s and 1930s, the United States built 86 ships, the United Kingdom built 72 ships, Germany built 188 ships, France built 100 ships, Italy built 38 ships, the Soviet Union built 24 ships, and Japan also built 12 ships. This was the heyday of airships, so people call this period the "golden age" of airships.