Successful trapeze demonstrations did not settle the future of the rigid-airship programme. Severe accidents gave skeptical lawmakers and naval factions evidence against further investment in what remained a first-generation system. Moffett was the programme's strongest institutional advocate and might have obtained funding for later generations. King was less committed because he doubted the Navy could support airships forward, and only one survived when he took charge of the Bureau of Aeronautics.
Notable Point · 2:21:17-2:22:11
Why a working trapeze did not secure the airship programme
Accidents, the loss of Moffett, and King's doubts about forward support outweighed the technical success of Akron's aircraft-recovery system.