Charles Toliver and his Airship

Charles Toliver and his Airship. . The Airship San Diego, later named Toliver 1, is a story of what might have been, if its inventor had not been overtaken by greed. Charles H. Toliver was a successful lawyer and part-time tinkerer, keen to cash in on the rapidly building public interest in flying machines, airships in particular. He arrived in San Diego in 1910, broadcasting his intention to mimic Count Von Zeppelin by creating a passenger-carrying dirigible, paid for by stock sales to eager local citizens. , In the ravine at 31st Street, between C and B, Toliver constructed his 250 foot long airship. It was planned to carry 48 passengers in a spacious enclosed cabin, driven at speeds up to 65 mph. For nearly two years, the inventor and his sausage-shaped contraption held the public interest, although slow progress provoked the ire of his many investors. After two failed flights, it was clear that the large bag of highly flammable hydrogen gas was more a public danger than a viable flying machine; the city ordered Toliver to dismantle his dirigible. A storm accomplished the task, scattering debris across the neighborhood and ending San Diego's first venture into airship flight. San Diego's fascination with aviation was only just beginning - it holds the distinction of being one of the few cities visited by all four of the U.S. Navy's enormous airships of the 1020s and 1930s.