Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin (1838 -1917) was a German pioneer of aeronautics, renowned for his huge airships. In 1900 he constructed the first ever dirigible aero fixed airship ZEPPELIN "LZ 1". In 1909 he founded the Company Luftschiftbau Zeppelin GmbH, Friedrichhafen. With its worldwide air passenger services, Zeppelin was indeed the real founder of civil and commercial air traffic. The Count built up workshops that developed and produced engines, gear transmission machinery, envelopes and cellular gas bodies for the airships. "LZ 127 GRAF ZEPPELIN" and "LZ 129 HINDENBURG" were historic milestones never reached again. Between 1900 and 1938, ZEPPELIN GmbH constructed a total of more than 100 ZEPPELIN airships in 27 different versions. The largest aircraft to ever fly was "LZ 129" built in 1938, with a length of 804 feet, a diameter of 135 feet, and a volume of 7,063,000 cubic feet. The ship was powered by 4 Daimler diesel engines with 4,800 hp, and a maximum speed of 84 miles per hour. With a range of 7400 miles, the giant airships reached North and South America for transport of passengers, mail and freight.
The Graf Zeppelin is considered the finest airship ever built. It was named after the German pioneer of airships, Ferdinand von Zeppelin. The Graf Zeppelin flew more miles than any airship had done to that time or would in the future. Its first flight was on September 18, 1928. In August 1929, it circled the globe. Its flight began with a trip from Friedrichshafen, Germany, to Lakehurst, New Jersey, allowing William Randolph Hearst (American newspaper magnate), who had financed the trip in exchange for exclusive rights to the story, to claim that the voyage began from American soil. Piloted by Eckener, the craft stopped only at Tokyo, Japan, Los Angeles, California, and Lakehurst. The trip took 12 days—less time than the ocean trip from Tokyo to San Francisco.
After the flight, Dr. Eckener wrote that the Graf Zeppelin:
". . .was to prove that passengers could now be carried across the Atlantic Ocean by air in speed and safety, and with all the comfort and pleasure which the modern traveler demands."
In 1931 the Graf Zeppelin made three scheduled advertised flights carrying passengers and mail to South America, the first scheduled transatlantic air passenger flights in history. In 1932, scheduled passenger flights to South America in the Graf Zeppelin continued and plans were initiated to establish zeppelin travel throughout the world. In 1936, Eckener's dream came true as the Hindenburg made ten scheduled round trips from Germany to America, plus seven round trips to Brazil while the Graf Zeppelin made thirteen round trip flights to Rio. The financial results were impressive with Eckener noting that they were an "agreeable surprise."
During the ten years the Graf Zeppelin flew, it made 590 flights including 144 ocean crossings. It flew more than one million miles (1,609,344 kilometers), visited the United States, the Arctic, the Middle East, and South America, and carried 13,110 passengers.
