This arrangement was decided on firstly because Zeppelin believed that landing the ship over water would be safer and secondly because the floating shed, moored only at one end, would turn so that it was always facing into the wind.

[2] The LZ 1 was constructed using a cylindrical framework with 16 wire-braced polygonal transverse frames and 24 longitudinal members covered with smooth surfaced cotton cloth.

The airship was steered by forward and aft rudders and propulsion was provided by two 10.6 kW (14.2 hp) Daimler NL-1 internal-combustion engines, each driving two propellers mounted on the envelope.

At the same time the moveable weight was increased to 150 kg (330 lb), the aft rudders moved from either side of the envelope to below it, and an elevator fitted below the nose.

[4] At its first trial the LZ 1 carried five people, reached an altitude of 410 m (1,350 ft) and flew a distance of 6.0 km (3.7 mi) in 17 minutes, but by then the moveable weight had jammed and one of the engines had failed: the wind then forced an emergency landing.