Airlander retired

[KiloB]

And so the building of the pyramid continues!

[Auxtank]

Do these new engines mean the great flying arse has got its second wind?

[FlightlessParrot]

Originally Posted by RatherBeFlying

So now we need an airtight, light weight flexible solar panel skin.

Well, that might be much more realistically possible than many things about this project. You could pretty certainly get flexible panels that would conform to the upper surfaces. It also occurs to me that you could basically plan to run the ICEs at optimum efficiency, and if this generated more power than was needed for propulsion, take some of the power to charge batteries for the electrics. As an experiment in hybrid power, you can see the attractions.

[Repos]

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/2...-crowded-skies

This seems fairly optimistic but I'm not sure there is anything new here really.
Strangely, no mention of the weather.

[Auxtank]

"FLY...FLY...FLY... YOU BIG BEAUTIFUL PAIR OF BUXOM BLOODY BUTTOCKS... FLY!!!!"

OH, you crashed again. Okay...Whatever...

[Andrewgr2]

I’m amused that the BBC say the Airlander was ‘retired’ after 7 test flights. Is ‘retiring’ an adequate euphemism for what actually happened? HAV’s publicity maintains that Airlander does not need a mooring mast and yet it was breaking away from a mast in relatively benign weather conditions that resulted in it ‘retiring’! How will it cope with h real weather when on the ground?

[A Squared]

Originally Posted by Andrewgr2

I’m amused that the BBC say the Airlander was ‘retired’ after 7 test flights. Is ‘retiring’ an adequate euphemism for what actually happened? HAV’s publicity maintains that Airlander does not need a mooring mast and yet it was breaking away from a mast in relatively benign weather conditions that resulted in it ‘retiring’! How will it cope with h real weather when on the ground?

I noted the same thing. I guess "retired" is a euphemism for "Destroyed itself in relatively light winds"

[A Squared]

Originally Posted by Repos

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/2...-crowded-skies

This seems fairly optimistic but I'm not sure there is anything new here really.
Strangely, no mention of the weather.

Interesting that they're selling tickets for a trip on an aircraft which doesn't even exist yet, let alone completed certification.

[Feathers McGraw]

Originally Posted by Andrewgr2

I’m amused that the BBC say the Airlander was ‘retired’ after 7 test flights. Is ‘retiring’ an adequate euphemism for what actually happened? HAV’s publicity maintains that Airlander does not need a mooring mast and yet it was breaking away from a mast in relatively benign weather conditions that resulted in it ‘retiring’! How will it cope with h real weather when on the ground?

I'm just pleased that it ended up deflated and caught on a hedgerow, otherwise it would have blown over my way and probably ended up in my back garden, I'm only a few hundred metres away from its mooring spot.

[A Squared]

Originally Posted by Feathers McGraw

I'm just pleased that it ended up deflated and caught on a hedgerow, otherwise it would have blown over my way and probably ended up in my back garden, I'm only a few hundred metres away from its mooring spot.

It doesn't need mooring. Didn't you read the article? No hangar, no Mooring mast. You're perfectly safe, nothing to worry about.

[Feathers McGraw]

Originally Posted by A Squared

It doesn't need mooring. Didn't you read the article? No hangar, no Mooring mast. You're perfectly safe, nothing to worry about.

That'll be like when they went over the field behind my house with that trailing rope that caught on the power lines at the edge of Cardington airfield, I wasn't worried about them getting snagged on my fence either.

[Seloco]

Originally Posted by Feathers McGraw

That'll be like when they went over the field behind my house with that trailing rope that caught on the power lines at the edge of Cardington airfield, I wasn't worried about them getting snagged on my fence either.

There's the answer then: trail a long HV cable behind it and limit your routeings to those of the National Grid's HV transmission lines. No batteries required - you work it like an upside down trolleybus!