Воздушный транспорт

The lifetime edition was published without a title page... In an illustrated publisher's cover. Rarity. The publication has historical and cultural significance. 

Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky (1857-1935) - a great Russian self-taught scientist, far ahead of his time; inventor, founder of a new direction in science - experimental aerodynamics, creator of the theory of jet vehicles. He was responsible for the theoretical development of the design of all-metal airships and other aeronautical vehicles; on the basis of his ideas and research, astronautics subsequently began to develop. During the life of K.E. Tsiolkovsky, his contemporaries understood him little. The scientist’s original views were distinguished by deep religiosity, faith in the power of reason and the future of humanity. He is as much a scientist as a religious philosopher, not alien to a certain mysticism. He not only believed, but knew about the existence of life beyond the Earth, this knowledge was given to him by ordinary mathematics. To discover this life is the goal of humanity, this is why it is worth going to the distant stars. His inventions were rejected in Russia, but they influenced world aeronautics. In Germany, Zeppelin used the ideas and calculations of K.E. Tsiolkovsky to create his own airship.

In this brochure, the author examines the prospects for the development of airspace, gives arguments in favor of its great benefits, studies the advantages and disadvantages of the aircraft that existed at that time, proposes a more advanced method of flying through the air using metal airships, examines the principle of their operation and gives a description of the aircraft of his own invention.

The airship invented by K.E. Tsiolkovsky had nothing in common with the already existing ones, it was durable and was not subject to fire. The main principle on which he operated was the extensibility of the corrugated metal, which made it possible to regulate the gas filling and freely compress or inflate the balloon. Its main advantage was that it could take on board a huge number of passengers and cargo at that time (potentially up to 1,500 people). It was able to overcome most of the obstacles that make it difficult to use conventional balloons. In this work, K.E. Tsiolkovsky provides calculations of the technical characteristics of the future aircraft.