Zeppelin Takes Flight: Age of Airships Begins
Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin was 62 years old and had spent his personal fortune on an idea most engineers considered impossible: a rigid airship steered by engines. On July 2, 1900, his LZ 1 lifted off from a floating hangar on Lake Constance with five people aboard and flew for eighteen minutes before a broken rudder cable forced a landing. The flight covered roughly 3.7 miles at an altitude of 1,300 feet. Critics called it a failure. Zeppelin rebuilt, raised more money, and launched again. By 1910, his DELAG airline was carrying paying passengers on regular routes, creating the world's first commercial air service. The age of airships had begun with an old man, a lake, and a flight most people dismissed.
July 2, 1900
126 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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