Since I've been saying for years that the only use for passenger rail (in most of the US) is to deliver people to the dirigible field, I think I can be counted as something of an LTA skeptic. But with 80 knots in hand, headwinds at AirLander's operating altitudes aren't likely to be a problem; low level winds aloft are usually moderate. And in terms of costs and transit times, headwinds and tailwinds should average out.
One thing to keep in mind is that the earlier failures of LTA were because rigid dirigibles were fragile, and so disaster-prone. Modern design and construction should avoid that, leaving LTA to succeed or fail on economic factors alone; and while AirLander may be too small to carry a payload profitably, dirigibles are the only form of aircraft where the square-cube rule works in their favor.
Last edited by PersonFromPorlock; 18th Aug 2016 at 13:47.