AirLander take off then 2nd Flight Mishap
Join Date: Mar 2009
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I've been keeping my mouth shut on the other thread but, sorry. Enough. Lighter than air craft are an aberration belonging in the past where they belong. We have the technology to produce massive aircraft that handle like gliders. We have seen lifting bodies that pierce the atmosphere at many Machs and land on conventional runways. There is a reason why we are legally bound to avoid lighter than air vehicles in flight. That reason is that they are unable to maneuver themselves in a controllable manner. Noble but pointless. WW2 barrage balloons were a magnitude of times more effective and they were little more than enlarged children's toys. "Long range oceanic patrol." Pah. Cargo. The physics just doesn't work. Battlefield observation. Would you really want to sit in a basically uncontrollable airborne vehicle the size of a ship over hostile territory? Pack it up boys. Save your money. Elon Musk can send a payload into space and 5 times out of ten land the rocket vertically back on a bobbing barge.
Join Date: Feb 2007
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What part of "test flight" is unclear? This looks like a significant deviation from the flight envelope, yet both test pilots walked away, and not only is there no structural damage, fixing the cockpit won't break the bank. I expect them to sort it quickly and get back up there.
Join Date: Feb 2001
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Softest "crash" I've ever seen. Looks like lack of experience with a new machine, unfortunate but not a total disaster. T-cut the scratches out, learn why and have another go. Good luck.
"Mildly" Eccentric Stardriver
I don't know about the control system, but the front fans seem to be almost horizontal. Wouldn't a bit of vertical thrust at that end have solved things?
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Does anyone know how much range of motion the forward motor gimbals have on the Airlander? Once the nose starts to drop it looks like the "elevators" on the tail fins and the main motor thrust vectoring fins move upwards. At the same time I'd expect to see the forward motors turn vertical to arrest the descent of the nose but they only move by 10 or 20 degrees, meaning the only significant rotational force is coming from the rear of the craft. Also doesn't sound like the motor RPMs really increase until post-impact.
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Momentum, Herod. Alas we could all see from the video many seconds from impact what was going to happen. Once the bum (Arse end) was above his ears a very slow motion tumble was happening. There simply was not enough power to overcome the momentum.
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So what happened with the airship after the crash? I understand the flight crew walked away - did the ground crew manage to capture it? Or was it blown away by the wind?
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Join Date: Apr 2016
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It's a silly idea. How they're going to sell any of them I don't know.
Military - useless because there are things called guns which are good at popping big balloons
Humanitarian - same problem as military use
Niche cargo - takes far too long to go anywhere!
Also, I believe it is rather expensive to buy?
Military - useless because there are things called guns which are good at popping big balloons
Humanitarian - same problem as military use
Niche cargo - takes far too long to go anywhere!
Also, I believe it is rather expensive to buy?
Resident insomniac
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I suppose it depends on how much damage is done.
Apparently, a 'blimp' that broke free in the USA was repeatedly shot at but didn't deflate significantly.
State police are using mere shotguns to deflate the 240-foot-long helium-filled structure, which is expected to take days or even weeks, according to military officials.
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At least the crash occurred next to the hangers so recovery should be simpler.
The video shows some ripples in the skin above one of the engines ( where it is glued on.)
So maybe more damage than just the cockpit.
The video shows some ripples in the skin above one of the engines ( where it is glued on.)
So maybe more damage than just the cockpit.
Pitch control seems somewhat insufficient. Were they going to practice touch and goes?
How would that thing behave in 50kt+ winds?
How would that thing behave in 50kt+ winds?
Last edited by oceancrosser; 24th Aug 2016 at 14:28.