Airlander retired
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Auckland, NZ
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Well, that might be much more realistically possible than many things about this project. You could pretty certainly get flexible panels that would conform to the upper surfaces. It also occurs to me that you could basically plan to run the ICEs at optimum efficiency, and if this generated more power than was needed for propulsion, take some of the power to charge batteries for the electrics. As an experiment in hybrid power, you can see the attractions.
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/2...-crowded-skies
This seems fairly optimistic but I'm not sure there is anything new here really.
Strangely, no mention of the weather.
This seems fairly optimistic but I'm not sure there is anything new here really.
Strangely, no mention of the weather.
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Only occasionally above FL50
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I’m amused that the BBC say the Airlander was ‘retired’ after 7 test flights. Is ‘retiring’ an adequate euphemism for what actually happened? HAV’s publicity maintains that Airlander does not need a mooring mast and yet it was breaking away from a mast in relatively benign weather conditions that resulted in it ‘retiring’! How will it cope with h real weather when on the ground?
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Alaska, PNG, etc.
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I’m amused that the BBC say the Airlander was ‘retired’ after 7 test flights. Is ‘retiring’ an adequate euphemism for what actually happened? HAV’s publicity maintains that Airlander does not need a mooring mast and yet it was breaking away from a mast in relatively benign weather conditions that resulted in it ‘retiring’! How will it cope with h real weather when on the ground?
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Alaska, PNG, etc.
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https://www.bbc.com/future/article/2...-crowded-skies
This seems fairly optimistic but I'm not sure there is anything new here really.
Strangely, no mention of the weather.
This seems fairly optimistic but I'm not sure there is anything new here really.
Strangely, no mention of the weather.
Guest
Join Date: Nov 1999
Location: In the shadow of R101
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I’m amused that the BBC say the Airlander was ‘retired’ after 7 test flights. Is ‘retiring’ an adequate euphemism for what actually happened? HAV’s publicity maintains that Airlander does not need a mooring mast and yet it was breaking away from a mast in relatively benign weather conditions that resulted in it ‘retiring’! How will it cope with h real weather when on the ground?
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Alaska, PNG, etc.
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Guest
Join Date: Nov 1999
Location: In the shadow of R101
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Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: NE Surrey, UK
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There's the answer then: trail a long HV cable behind it and limit your routeings to those of the National Grid's HV transmission lines. No batteries required - you work it like an upside down trolleybus!