AirLander take off then 2nd Flight Mishap

[notapilot15]

Originally Posted by G-CPTN

Maybe the pilots were cowering at the rear of the cabin?

Trying until last second is not an option when the longest aircraft in the world is selectively pinning you down.

Looks like front ducted propellers were not responding.

[LLuCCiFeR]

Originally Posted by Cazalet33

Bit late on the roundout there, Hoskins.

Hahaha, you beat me to it!

[edmundronald]

I've heard of a slow motion train crash, but this must be the world's first slow motion plane crash. Maybe the cabin should be relocated to a less vulnerable position?

Paradoxically this shows how safe the design is ...

https://youtu.be/Mg-RPTiVa_Q

[Interested Passenger]

Originally Posted by Julio747

Only 60% from buoyancy??? Try again....

yep, click the link

link

[Obba]

Wonder if fitting airbags under/around the cockpit would be better for the crews survival (pending obstructing egress)?


As it's a pilots forum, does anybody know the actual pilot, as in airship experience (not putting blame on the pilot)?


One assumes that there's a form of FDR; be interesting to see/hear what was going on.

[etudiant]

Surprised that the pilots had no way to arrest the descent when things were obviously going south.
Is there no ballast on this vehicle?

[oldchina]

The whole dog's breakfast was designed by the apprentice on a Monday morning.

[500 above]

In response to Obba, I know a few people on the team.

The chief test pilot has plenty of relevant experience, as do the others...

CTP is an ex Airship Industries test pilot/instructor. He is also ex BA and Monarch Airbus/B757.

[old freightdog]

Do we really need these things? I still have the Cargolifter fiasco fresh on my mind. A lot of my colleagues lost a lot of money gambeling on that waste of airspace.......

[oldchina]

500 above:
Interesting. Do you know anyone responsible for their business plan?

[500 above]

Oldchina

Not personally, only operational crew.

[email protected] or [email protected] would be you're best bet.

[evansb]

The future of raising millions of pounds/dollars every 5-7 years to invest in the concept of profitable commercial airships is unlimited.

[500 above]

The future of raising millions of pounds/dollars every 5-7 years to invest in the concept of profitable commercial airships is unlimited

It saddens me to say it as an ex airship pilot, but I believe you are correct.

[lomapaseo]

The future of raising millions of pounds/dollars every 5-7 years to invest in the concept of profitable commercial airships is unlimited.

Before you know it they will become the delivery vehicle of choice by the internet product delivery companies with zero shipping costs to the purchaser

when you absolutely must have it sometime next month

[Una Due Tfc]

So commercially cargo wise, you're looking for jobs where fixed wing and road transport or an MI-26 aren't better options? Must be pretty limited....

[G-CPTN]

If you ignore the capital cost (and the development costs) then the running costs of an airship should be lower than a super helo.
Road transport can easily handle the proposed 50 tonnes (though at great expense if it is an indivisible load), and, of course it requires a good quality highway.

There are fixed-wing aircraft capable of carrying 50 tonnes - but these require airport runways (and road transport connections at either end).

So we are left with 'inaccessible' transit locations at a cost possibly less than a super helo.

[evansb]

An all-weather 120-km long two-lane gravel road is presently being built on tundra between the town of Inuvik, Northwest Territories, and the ocean-side village of Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories. The communities had, at one time, considered year-round LTA airship freight service.

Presently, Inuvik is the northern terminus of the 738-km long Dempster Highway.

During the long Arctic winter, an ice road connected the two communities of Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk. During summer, river barge (slow and affordable) and year-round fixed wing and rotary wing air transport (costly and quick) was/is the way to go..
Upon completion of the highway, river barge transport will drop to near zero. The frequency and demand of air transport will be reduced significantly as well..

The relatively flat terrain and low wind speeds of certain areas of Canada's Arctic would appear to be ideal for blimps...

Alas, between Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk , the idea of LTA transport has been beaten by mundane fossil-fueled surface transport. Dang!

[parabellum]

If it has a commercial future at all I would suggest it will be in the ad hoc freight charter market. To get a ten ton+ single load from A to B at the moment could take days if not weeks to organise, especially if you have to wait for the Antonov. Transport from manufacturing base to airport, (road?), loading, unloading at destination and transport to required site will be complex and time consuming. An Airlander could probably do such a charter, say Manchester to Toulouse, cheaper and quicker. Is there likely to be a market to sustain a small fleet?

[notapilot15]

I think it is a good idea. May be these will become RVs of the air providing cheap leisure travel.

It is hardly a crash, with few meters of cloth and few sewing machines, it is will back in air in no time.

On a different note, one late vote to remain. Can't wait for John Oliver's take on this.

[A Squared]

Originally Posted by parabellum

If it has a commercial future at all I would suggest it will be in the ad hoc freight charter market. To get a ten ton+ single load from A to B at the moment could take days if not weeks to organise, especially if you have to wait for the Antonov. Transport from manufacturing base to airport, (road?), loading, unloading at destination and transport to required site will be complex and time consuming. An Airlander could probably do such a charter, say Manchester to Toulouse, cheaper and quicker. Is there likely to be a market to sustain a small fleet?

As it so happens, I'm currently on ad-hoc charter duty with an aircraft capable of carrying carrying 20T from Manchester to Toulouse. From where I am currently in Western North America, I could be in Manchester about 14 hours after you sign the contract. Manchester -Tolouse would be about 3 hours. The Airlander would take 48 hours to get the. You did say you were in a hurry, right? There's also a bunch of AN-12's available for charter, which could carry approximately the same load. Chances are good one migtht be closer. If the load is outsize and in the 100t+ range, then there's 26 AN-126's in commercial service and 4 Dreamlifters, to say nothing of the 160 747-400F and ERFs which have the capability of loading long pieces thru the nose door. Your chances of having one of those within a few hours of your location are probably a lot better than having one of a very few Airlanders within practical distance.

Your notion that an Airlander could do ad-hoc charter is rooted in the assumption that there's always going to be (one of the very few) Airlanders conveniently located right next to where the load is, and available for immediate charter. That assumption is unrealistic at best.