Heinen Air Yacht Airship 1930

Interesting First Flight cover for the Air Yacht which was an enterprise by Anton Heinen to create a personal blimp that could be moored in the back yard and used for short trips instead of a car. Heinen projected sales of 10,000 but the idea never got off the ground.

Very ice interesting cover. I hope that the airship 'got off the ground' though

Chimo

Bujutsu

Trial flight the engine caught fire and 1 person died. Not a good start.

That is tragic news. A lot of Zeppelin covers can have tragic historical events behind them. The Hindenburg comes to mind.

Chimo

Bujutsu

Fortunately, no one was killed. The newspapers had sensationalized what happened but it was a very minor accident causing minimal damage to the blimp's engine and no injuries to the three men. The blimp had just completed its short flight in southern New Jersey from Cape May to Tom's River and the three person crew were preparing it to return back to Cape May. It was on the ground and when they started the engine an air tank that was part of the starter mechanism exploded damaging one of the cylinder heads in the engine and part of the gondola and instrument panel. The gas bag was untouched. There was a small fire but it was extinguished in less than a minute. The blimp was disassembled and trucked back to Cape May where they installed a new engine and starter. The total cost of the repairs were less than $1,000.

These cards are listed in the American Air Mail Catalog, Fifth Edition, Volume Five in the Souvenir Historical Flight section since they are interesting souvenirs but not actually mail. Their Catalog number there is USSHC #638 and their catalog value at that time was $15 as they are not rarities. Today you can find them in the $20 to $50 range depending on how knowledgeable the buyers are.

Thanks for the update Kimo

Chimo

Bujutsu

Yes, thank you.

Fun piece...