The Return of the Airship

Apparently Warhorse doesn't realize that you PLAN the length of the journey into the relief. Hence, no starvation. The whatever will get there because you'll plan the time wisely.

ALSO....since an airship can land places an airplane can't, it is more likely the relief, ALL of the relief, will get where it's supposed to go. So you've eliminated skimming and theft by black market and other practitioners of graft.

Anyone have any statistics on when two dirigibles have a midair collision? Do they just kinda bump and bounce off each other and keep going? I know that a dirigible "crashes" a lot slower than a plane does.

I'm sure looking forward to traveling in one before I die.

 

By definition, a blimp is non-rigid, a dirigible is rigid. I suspect that a collision between dirigibles would be disastrous. However, since dirigibles move more slowly, collisions would be less likely. I, too, would love to ride in one. But I fear that I would get airsick, as every little puff of turbulence would buffet the thing around, and although the right kind of balloon can go very high, dirigibles would probably fly low, and be more prone to weather-related turbulence than are jets.

I went up in a hot air balloon once, and it was very smooth, but sport balloonists prefer the calmest hours of the calmest days for flying, whereas regularly-scheduled commercial dirigibles would have to fly any time the weather is not too severe for safety.

 

I see a big advantage in this type of craft partially replacing land based transports for large or heavy items travelling medium to long distances. For example, moving vehicles from plant to ocean ports or dealers in great numbers. Airships would compete with rail or supplement the rail network across difficult terrain flood plains or mixed water land crossings like in Europe's Mediterranean Sea or the Northern lakes area of USA. No more going around, just go over. Faster than trains, carry more than a truck and more versatile than a ship.

I see a use for this in the mining sector, to move heavy equipment from place of manufacture to place of use. In industry, carry whole generators or large turbines, wind turbine towers, blades, head units and assist in erection of towers. Installation of transmission cables using lighter than air craft for extended hovering and heavy lifts.

I could go on but I wont, and I wish the venture every success.

 

it would make a great yacht too

 

It resembles a Whale.....

While I love trains, they do get horrible fuel economy.

 

Per pound of cargo, I believe trains are the most efficient form of transportation on land.

 

Are they still in business?

Their latest press release is April 2007. and their latest news is May 2007.

I can see how its vulnerability to wind would be an issue. Still, It's a fantastic idea...

 

It certainly was when there were rails all over this country. So many of them were taken up or paved over when gas was cheap and cars (and trucks) were being pushed, I wonder if we'll ever restore a rail system as cost efficient as the one we had.

 

As much as I love travelling by rail, and modelling scale railways, I think bicycles are more efficient. They don't carry huge amounts of cargo, but they can carry far more than their weight. I recall a quote in Scientific American from about 30 years ago: "A man on a bicycle is more efficient at turning energy into motion than any other machine or animal."

 

Oops. Created response, but didn't mean to.

 

I firmly believe this would be a great investment and I certainly hope it goes beyond experimental/prototype phases. (The military is also considering using airships as well, although I'm not entirely sure why - tactically speaking, it would be a poor decision to use this type of technology.)

Anyhow, this would be an excellent way to travel cross country. Especially if they use less fuel than a conventional airliner. You could really take in the scenery and enjoy the cruise - imagine how nice it would be to fly in one of these past Mt. Rushmore, Yosemite National Park, the Grand Canyon, or any of the other beautiful landmarks in this country. I imagine that flying over the plains areas could be pretty plain

I just hope they keep a light plane attached to the blimp for those occasional situations where whip-carrying archaeologists need to make quick getaways