The lengthy process of inflating the R.101's hydrogen gasbags began on 11 July 1929 and was complete by 21 September.
With the airship now airborne and loosely tethered within the shed, it was now possible to carry out lift and trim trials.
These were disappointing.
A design conference held on 17 June 1929 had estimated a gross lift of 151.8 tons and a total airframe weight, including the power installation, of 105 tons.
The actual figures proved to be a gross lift of 148.46 tons and a weight of 113.6 tons.
Moreover, the airship was tail-heavy, a result of the tail surfaces being considerably above estimated weight.
In this form, a flight to India was out of the question.
Airship operations under tropical conditions were made more difficult by the loss of lift in high air temperatures: the loss of lift in Karachi was estimated to be as much as 11 tons for an airship the size of R.101.

On 2 October the press were invited to Cardington to view the finished airship.
 However, weather conditions made it impossible to take it out of the shed until 12 October, when it was walked out by a ground-handling party of 400.
 The event attracted a huge number of spectators, with surrounding roads a solid line of cars.
The moored airship continued to attract spectators, and it was estimated that more than a million people had made the trip to Cardington to see R.101 at the mast by the end of November.

The flying programme was influenced by the Air Ministry's need to generate favourable publicity, illustrating the political pressures which weighed upon the programme.
Noël Atherstone, the first officer, commented in his diary on 6 November "All these window-dressing stunts and joy-rides before she has got an Airworthiness Certificate are quite wrong, but there is no-one in the RAW [Royal Airship Works] executive who has got the guts to put their foot down and insist on trials being free of joy-rides".
Atherstone's remarks were occasioned by a lunch held on the airship for delegates to a conference on empire legislation, but there were several similar occasions.

R.101 made its first flight on 14 October.
After a short circuit over Bedford, course was set for London, where it passed over the Palace of Westminster, St Paul's Cathedral and the City, returning to Cardington after a flight lasting five hours 40 minutes.
During this flight the servos were not used, without any difficulty being experienced in controlling the airship.
A second flight lasting nine hours 38 minutes followed on 18 October, with Lord Thomson among the passengers, after which R.101 was briefly returned to the shed to enable some modifications to be made to the starting engines.
A third flight lasting seven hours 15 minutes was made on 1 November, during which it was flown at full power for the first time, recording a speed of 68.5 mph (110.2 km/h): even at full speed it was not found necessary to use the control servos.
 During this flight it circled over Sandringham House, observed by the King and Queen, flew on to the previous Secretary of State for Air's country house near Cromer, then to Norwich over Boulton and Paul's works and aerodrome before returning by Newmarket and Cambridge.
On 2 November the first night flight was made, slipping the mast at 20:12 before heading south to fly over London and Portsmouth before attempting a speed trial over a 43 mi (69 km) circuit over the Solent and the Isle of Wight.
These trials were frustrated by pipe breakages in the cooling systems of two of the engines, a problem later solved by replacing the aluminium piping with copper.
It returned to Cardington around 09:00, the mooring operation ending in a minor accident, damaging one of the reefing booms at the bow.

On 8 November a short flight purely for public relations purposes was made, carrying 40 passengers including the Mayor of Bedford and various officials.
To accommodate this load, the airship was flown with only a partial fuel and ballast load and was inflated to a pressure height of 500 ft (150 m).
In Atherstone's words, it "staggered round the vicinity of Bedford for
The lengthy process of inflating the R.101's hydrogen gasbags began on 11 July 1929 and was complete by 21 September. With the airship now airborne and loosely tethered within the shed, it was now possible to carry out lift and trim trials. These were disappointing. A design conference held on 17 June 1929 had estimated a gross lift of 151.8 tons and a total airframe weight, including the power installation, of 105 tons. The actual figures proved to be a gross lift of 148.46 tons and a weight of 113.6 tons. Moreover, the airship was tail-heavy, a result of the tail surfaces being considerably above estimated weight. In this form, a flight to India was out of the question. Airship operations under tropical conditions were made more difficult by the loss of lift in high air temperatures: the loss of lift in Karachi was estimated to be as much as 11 tons for an airship the size of R.101.
On 2 October the press were invited to Cardington to view the finished airship.  However, weather conditions made it impossible to take it out of the shed until 12 October, when it was walked out by a ground-handling party of 400.  The event attracted a huge number of spectators, with surrounding roads a solid line of cars. The moored airship continued to attract spectators, and it was estimated that more than a million people had made the trip to Cardington to see R.101 at the mast by the end of November.
The flying programme was influenced by the Air Ministry's need to generate favourable publicity, illustrating the political pressures which weighed upon the programme. Noël Atherstone, the first officer, commented in his diary on 6 November "All these window-dressing stunts and joy-rides before she has got an Airworthiness Certificate are quite wrong, but there is no-one in the RAW [Royal Airship Works] executive who has got the guts to put their foot down and insist on trials being free of joy-rides". Atherstone's remarks were occasioned by a lunch held on the airship for delegates to a conference on empire legislation, but there were several similar occasions.
R.101 made its first flight on 14 October. After a short circuit over Bedford, course was set for London, where it passed over the Palace of Westminster, St Paul's Cathedral and the City, returning to Cardington after a flight lasting five hours 40 minutes. During this flight the servos were not used, without any difficulty being experienced in controlling the airship. A second flight lasting nine hours 38 minutes followed on 18 October, with Lord Thomson among the passengers, after which R.101 was briefly returned to the shed to enable some modifications to be made to the starting engines. A third flight lasting seven hours 15 minutes was made on 1 November, during which it was flown at full power for the first time, recording a speed of 68.5 mph (110.2 km/h): even at full speed it was not found necessary to use the control servos.  During this flight it circled over Sandringham House, observed by the King and Queen, flew on to the previous Secretary of State for Air's country house near Cromer, then to Norwich over Boulton and Paul's works and aerodrome before returning by Newmarket and Cambridge. On 2 November the first night flight was made, slipping the mast at 20:12 before heading south to fly over London and Portsmouth before attempting a speed trial over a 43 mi (69 km) circuit over the Solent and the Isle of Wight. These trials were frustrated by pipe breakages in the cooling systems of two of the engines, a problem later solved by replacing the aluminium piping with copper. It returned to Cardington around 09:00, the mooring operation ending in a minor accident, damaging one of the reefing booms at the bow.
On 8 November a short flight purely for public relations purposes was made, carrying 40 passengers including the Mayor of Bedford and various officials. To accommodate this load, the airship was flown with only a partial fuel and ballast load and was inflated to a pressure height of 500 ft (150 m). In Atherstone's words, it "staggered round the vicinity of Bedford for
R101