One of the advantages of this is that it allows a more streamlined shape, so the airship can reach greater speeds. Many of the airship designs how being proposed are hybrids: they are slightly heavier than air, and stay aloft with a combination of buoyancy and aerodynamic lift. The airship can move cargo for costs that are competitive with rail, road and HTA transport. Two-thirds of freight in the USA and Europe is moved over land. Air cushion landing gear allows the airship to land on any reasonably flat surface. Airships can move heavier loads for significantly lower operating costs, and can take them to exactly where they are needed. The only real advantage that conventional heavier than air (HTA) aircraft have is speed. Why the Return of the Airship Makes More Sense Than Ever You only need hangar for construction and heavy overhaul.” In WWII we operated those ancient blimps all over the world (many in Med) without hangars. Materials used in the envelope are now predicted to be good for 20+ years versus the good ol' days when it was 6 to 8 years. And for the hybrid aircraft form of LTA (with air cushion landing gear), can off-load anywhere (does not use airports). For commercial freight, it is much cheaper than fixed-wing air and about twice the cost of sea ships, but gets there in a few days vs. “Our Navy and CNA and IDA analyses show that for equal mission accomplishments (ASW, air defence, surveillance), LTA (Lighter Than Air) does it for about one third the life cycle cost of fixed-wing aircraft and about 1/4 against helicopters. Using many modern technologies, the airship has the potential to be one of the most important transportation systems of the 21 stcentury. Modern airships use non-flammable helium as a lift gas.Īlthough airships provided nearly a century of use, they are in some ways an idea that was tried before its time. Sounds good in practice, but the challenge of counteracting a 500 ton change in buoyancy as seven M1A2s roll off may well necessitate some kind of auxiliary tie-down system.This site also reveals the interesting fact that 62 out of the 97 people on the Hindenberg survived: considerably better odds than one would get in a modern airliner crash. The ATG/HAC/LM design is hoping to avoid this problem by using the air cushion landing pads to 'suck' the vehicle onto the ground. Cargolifter subsequently went bust, and its one achievement - Europe's largest hanger - was converted into a tropical theme park.Ī key problem faced by Cargolifter was the amount of pre-positioning equipment needed to tie-down the airship, which ran counter to the idea of getting heavy loads (mainly industrial heavy equipment, generators, etc.) to less accessible places. It would have saved alot of problems the project is facing now in terms of transportĪs it happens, Airbus did actually look at using the Cargolifter CL160 airship (160 ton payload, a mere one-third of that planned for Walrus), but after looking at Cargolifter's business plan Airbus decided it would be easier to negotiate 42 bridges on the river Elbe. Its a suprise EADS Airbus hasn't considered airships for transporting their A380 pieces. Reduced need for ferry flights would equal savings in terms of fuel usage and fatigue life.ĭeployment planning simplified (no need for tankers, reduced need for SAR cover). Point to point delivery (home base to operating base).Ī large payload and cargo bay would mean no dismantling of the aircraft would be necessary and several aircraft could be carried at once. This seems like a job that a heavy lift airship could do much more efficiently. The RAF has used C-17's to transport Tornado F3's to and from the Falkland Islands to avoid complex long distance ferry flights or the trouble of getting them onto ships. I didn't mean they would only be used for disaster relief, there are plenty of jobs they can do to justify their purchase. You cannot make money if they are in storage or tethered to the ground awaiting that twice-a-year occasion when a disaster arises. To be economically viable, the airships have to be flown on a daily basis.
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