Upvote:3
Zeppelins didn't have pilots.
Flying a Zeppelin was a team effort. A typical R-class Zeppelin would have a c**kpit crew of four: the elevator man, rudder man, navigator, and officer of the watch; additionally, each engine gondola would have a mechanic to operate the engines. All this was necessary because of the limited degree of automation available: increasing speed, for example, meant signaling the mechanics to open the throttles on the engines.
A Zeppelin operated much like a ship, and the process of training a crew was similar.