World's Longest Aircraft
BBC News - The world's longest aircraft in the making
Leaving aside its undoubted technical merits, is it just me or is this thing FUGLY?! :eek: |
A month too early for April Fools day:ouch:
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ATC will love a few of those flying around!
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I always wonder how he great brains behind these products intend to deal with side winds, let alone generally inclement weather whilst the airship goes about it's commercial business ?
SHJ |
Since they have aerodynamic elements, landing into a wind should be easier than it flopping to a stop in still air, or drifting around in the wind when mooring, Hindenburg-style.
It does need a big circular field - no different from the old airships of yore. |
It might be the longest aircraft at present, but at 91 m long it's a tiddler compared to the Hindenburg, Akron etc..
Interested to see how the business develops. |
viewed from astern, as in th t.v. report t'other day, it looks like a big flying bum!
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Derriere ship?
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I spoke with an airship flying from White Waltham to somewhere in Germany. I asked for elapsed time - 13 hours! And that was with a westerly wind.
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I was intrigued about dimensions, and found this. One of them is the Hindenburg, the other is a Boeing 707. I was totally unaware of how huge those airships were even though I have a letter sent home by my mother from Jamaica, which is marked "Per Hindenburg" and must have been carried on its last West-East service.
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/f...ps27df358f.png Length: 803.8 feet Diameter: 135.1 feet Gas capacity: 7,062,000 cubic feet Lift: 511,500 lbs Cruising Speed: 125 km/h (76 MPH) Maximum Speed: 135 km/h (84 MPH) Main Powerplant: 4 Daimler-Benz 16-cylinder LOF 6 (DB 602) Diesels Crew: 40 flight officers and men, 10-12 stewards and cooks Passengers: 50 sleeping berths (1936); 72 sleeping berths (1937) First flight: March 4, 1936 Final flight: Crashed, May 6, 1937 |
About 15 years ago a Goodyear blimp lost power, or partial power, over the Thames in Central London while I was cycling nearby. Obviously this situation might have been far more dangerous in a heavier-than-air craft, but it would have been very unpleasant on that blustery evening as it was being thrown around quite dramatically. I was crossing Tower Bridge and stopped to watch for a while, then saw it on the TV news when I got home. About 4 years ago I saw one, possibly the Zepellin NT coming across the channel towards Herne Bay and making very little progress in the headwind.
The Zep NT also flew over my workshop in London a few years ago. I was outside in the yard and suddenly heard a gentle whirring sound, looked up and it was directly overhead, I had not heard it approaching, it was amazingly quiet, far quiter than the Goodyear type which you can hear for 20 minutes before they become visible over the roof tops. |
I recall the AAC (Army Air Corps) trialling an airship in Northern Ireland. It was painfully slow ,seemed to be awkward to manoeuvre on "landing" and ( to my mind) a bloody big target.
They did not pursue it further as far as I recall. |
A big target, maybe, but they sure can put up a fight:
Blimp vs. U-boat | Defense Media Network Although it has been said many times before, the HAV-304 is not an airship. It is heavier than air, so it does not need ballast, and only uses a mooring mast when on the ground for long periods. For shorter turnarounds it uses a suction system to hold it down, thus allowing visits to unprepared locations. For the particular role it is being targetted, namely delivering large loads to unprepared sites in remote areas without road or runway access it has no equal, with the possible exception of, say a Mil-26, and its eye watering running costs. |
Your order has been shipped from Hong Kong by airmail. Delivery is due 1 April 2025.
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The timing doesn't seem very good. Party poopers!
Looming Helium Shortage Raises Alarms | Federal Helium Reserve | LiveScience |
There was Airship Ventures who operated in the Silicon Valley area. I remember watching their craft float by my office window in the weeks leading up to the start of their operation. They ceased trading in 2012 though.
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This was pretty long too but not something that you wouldn't want to duck for if if came over you. Caspian Sea Monster - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Don't forget there was also the european project that came to little after much fanfare a few years ago, Cargolifter or Eurolifter (can't remember the name!). Even allowing for the structure to be more solid, the issue of control in gusting or even lighter crosswinds would make manoeuvring challenging and the insurers of the cargo being transported very nervous.
SHJ |
I spoke with an airship flying from White Waltham to somewhere in Germany. I asked for elapsed time - 13 hours! And that was with a westerly wind. One of my worst was leaving Rotterdam, speaking to a mate in an ATR who departed after me, before I'd left Rotterdams zone, he was already back from LGW on his second sector! |
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