Originally Posted by
Asturias56
There aren't any other fleets of airships around. The problems seem to be systemic looking back over 120 years - they're a dead end for almost all commercial uses
I don't think that's true. We need to constantly review what were once seen as dead-ends, in the light of emergent technologies. For example; helicopter-aeroplane hybrids (witness Fairey Rotodyne and V-22), and flying wings (YB-35/YB-49 and B-1). Or indeed, aeroplanes and helicopters generically; they didn't work in the 15th/19th centuries, why did they succeed in the 20th?
I'm not arguing that it will definitely come to fruition, but just because it didn't work then doesn't mean that it can't be viable now.