Back in the day, the zeppelin was a fancy way to travel for the rich and classy, basically a cruise ship of the skies. As well as that, they were used in the military, with air to air guns, used for extensive spying in WW1 for the United States Navy. But, since the famous Hindenburg disaster in 1937, where all the passengers had lost their lives over New York City, Airships have quickly diminished out of the travel spectrum. The Hindenburg was powered by flammable gasses, Hydrogen, and not the modern use of helium, which is so, so much safer, and not affected by flame or puncture. WIth new technology on the rise, those issues have been indeed already solved.
There are two kinds of airships. Semi Rigid, and Non rigid. Semi rigid ( Zeppelin,Airship, Dirigible etc ) is when there is some kind of metal/ wood frame keeping the balloon upright, and non rigid( Blimp) is when there is no frame
Pros : Airships are way more environmentally friendly, allowing the transport industry to reduce their carbon footprint. Airships also are the fraction of the cost, allowing mass production of the kind of aircraft designed. Another great thing about Airships is that, due to very very low fuel consumption, they are amazing, perfect for super long distance, easy to fly the range needed. A last pro to the side of the Zeppelins, is that they can land almost everywhere. From Sand dunes in the Sahara, Ice sheets of the Polar regions, and even atop water, creating infinite possibilities for Airship landing ports, which will be much cheaper than conventional airports, as no runway is needed.
Cons : With the long list of pros, there are always cons, even if it is a good idea. We will start with the fact that with weather and strong wind, as opposed to aircraft, Airships will always drift far of course as the hull is not even solid. As I said earlier they have super range, but they do not have even a fraction of the speed needed. Another con I will add is the cost for storage hangers. Air ships are way, way bigger than even the queen of the skies, the Boeing 747, which uses a supersize hanger. Special dedicated storage facilities will have to be fabricated, taking up a huge amount of space and cost, which directly goes against the idea of Airship ports being cheaper, which I have mentioned earlier in the Pros section. Finally, the last inferior quality of these humongous balloons, are the sheer size, compared to the actual usable area. Let us take an example. In an airship, 90 percent of the aircraft is what gets it into the air, Balloon. The actual passenger area, if it needed to be the same size as an Airbus, or Boeing, the balloon would decimate entire buildings, which is just way too big.
Comparison, Old VS New
As you may have guessed, New is better, as they are safer, more durable and easier to fly. I just wanted to specify this here, as many people think that airships are not safe due to the Hindenburg disaster, but technology has evolved.
Let us now look into exciting new ships being built and designed !
Airlander
Airlander is an aircraft which can be used for Logistics, Luxury, Private Clients, Defence & Security and Naval force & Coast Guards around the world. It has come under quite funny names, as it is shaped like two giant buttocks. It has been flown by the company HAV ( Hybrid Air Vehicles ), which is a company focusing on the lighter than air side of aerospace. Airlander is currently using conventional power plants and air buoyancy to fly, but they are set to outfit electric, zero emission engines, to replace the conventional power that is being used, But who knows, maybe when you are reading this, it has been refitted with electric power. Another thing to note about this Airship, is that it had crashed. Here is a detailed report
In August of 2016 the Airship crashed into the tarmac after climbing to an uncontrolled height ,when its mooring line became caught on power cables. The 92 meter long zeppelin nosedived after the test flight in the UK. No one was injured.
Fun Fact : AirLander is the longest aircraft in the world, from nose to tail, it measures 92 meters ( 301.8 feet ) which is just absolutely monstrous, considering it was made by people which measure a hundred feet smaller. It will be available to the commercial public in 2026. It costs 1200 dollars for a ride, though one of an actual aircraft is around 50m US Dollars
P-791
P-791 is an airship developed by aerospace company Lockheed Martin. It is currently being tested. It has a capacity of 47,000 pounds, can carry 19 passengers, and one costs 40 million, 10 million cheaper than the airlander. It will be used to explore and drop supplies into uncharted territory, and humanitarian missions. Hybrid enterprises, a company based in Atlanta, Georgia, will sell the commercial variant of the P-791, the LMH-1. A company is trying to acquire some LMH 1’s, to fly them in Alaska, as it has rough terrain. The US Army is also looking to buy some, to fulfill its Long endurance multi engine vehicle. It is powered by conventional power plants.
Fun Fact : there are only 25 active drigibles in the world
Space balloons
The company Worldview, is a company that is trying to send us to space for a cheaper price. Instead of the millions of dollars that cost for a ride on a rocketship, it will only take Fifty Thousand dollars, still deepening your pocket, but not as much as the other option, which is your trouser pockets having holes in them. Their plan is to set up balloon launching sites at the wonders of the world, launching the balloon up, and sending it to space for a few hours, so the passengers can experience zero gravity, followed by a landing back on earth with parachutes. The course and plotting will all be planned by AI. So far, there have been launches, with one test exploding with no casualties. I would love to be launched in one of these !
I would like to give a special mention to Goodyear tire and rubber company ( No Sponsor) who have been operating all kinds of airships, and keeping them alive !
Thank you for reading.
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