Originally Posted by
PersonFromPorlock
FWIW, I seem to recall an article in a popular technology magazine sometime back in the '60s about a similar tri-hulled dirigible being built in New Jersey(?), whose stated purpose was to distribute Bibles in Africa! Later, the authorities stepped in and charged the promoters with fraud.
You may be thinking of the Aereon. That was a series of hybrid airships built in New Jersey. The author John Mcphee (Coming into the Country) wrote a book about the effort titled "The Deltoid Pumpkin Seed" It's been so long since I read it, that I don't recall whether there was a tie in to missionary work.