Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Lima Zulu

It has been a busy week for the ship. In order to get ready to be loaded on to the dock ship to cross the Atlantic, the fins and engines have been removed.

In preperation for her new home in the US, the ship now sports her new tail number, N704LZ. It has been a long time coming -- we reserved this number back in 2007, and it will shortly  be put to use.

Why N704LZ?

  • N -- all US registered civilian aircraft start with N
  • 7 - This is a Zeppelin NT model 07
  • 04 - Serial number 4
  • LZ - To honor the past, we selected the letters LZ for "Luftschiff Zeppelin"

  • As to the model number, legend has it that the "07" refers to the approximate volume of helium in the envelope, 7000 cubic meters. In the past there were discussions of an NT14 (roughly 14,000 cubic meters, allowing for up to 19 passengers) and Zeppelin Europe Tours has promoted the concept of a 50 passenger version, of 50,000 cubic meters, which we've referred to in the past as as an "NT50".

    Up Ship!

    (Photo courtesy Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik)

    No comments: