Luftschiff Gesichtet!

[Schöneboom]

ALAARRMMM!!!

http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/7682/luftschiff1vv1.jpg

Sighted over the Bay today! Note the lack of adverts, except for the airship company; they hope to stay in business by selling expensive joyrides. It's short-range only, no sleeping accommodations. Aber nicht schlecht!

[Schöneboom]

Another view:

http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/1531/luftschiff3sb5.jpg

[Oberon]

Would be nice to think the age of the airship is coming back, but in todays 'want it all right now', sadly I suspect that is not the case.

Good to see though :rock:

[Stealth Hunter]

Heinrich Mathy shall fly again!

[Skybird]

Would be nice to think the age of the airship is coming back, but in todays 'want it all right now', sadly I suspect that is not the case.

Good to see though :rock:

A German company tried to revive them after reunification. they ended being bancrupt - not enough interest by industries to use them as air-based cranes (the original idea in modern time), and no sufficient interest to use them for private business in a profitable way.

[Schöneboom]

This company, Airship Ventures, is flying a German-made Zeppelin NT, with state of the art tech: vectored thrust, fly by wire, aluminum & carbon-fiber frame, etc. The downside is the ticket price, approx. $500/hr. for sightseeing. The gondola holds only 12 passengers. Not the ideal business plan for these times! :huh:

[OneToughHerring]

Read recently from a historical source that when they were setting up the trans-Atlantic flights during the 50's there were some serious attempts to counter that from the German airship-makers. I wonder if anything came out of that. Meaning, did they build any interesting looking airships that went into service.

Would be a nice way to cross the atlantic in a big airship that would have all the luxuries and good viewing possibilities. I guess with storms and stuff it might be a bit dangerous though.

[AntEater]

There was a radio feature about the Zeppelin NG here recently.
These are rigid airships build by the Zeppelin company, who reactivated its old core business (Zeppelin Luftschiffbau GmbH) as a subsidiary.
The main business of Zeppelin (ZF and other companies) today is drive train and gearboxes for the automotive industry, but legally speaking it is the same firm that build the old airships, and the plant is in Friedrichshafen as well.
Sofar they build five rigid airships since 1995, a slow rate.
Next year they want to increase the size somewhat, but still no comparison the the old ones.

This Zeppelin, the 4th was used in London this year. It didn't cross the Atlantic in the air, but was assembled in Galveston and flew across the US to San Francisco.
AFAIK it is based at the old Hangars build for USN airships Acron and Macon.

What Skybird meant was the Cargolifter, which incidentally isn't dead at all.
The founder, like a true inventor of the 19th century tries again!
;)

[Fish]

Same airship this summer above the Dutch beach with advertisements.

http://img76.imageshack.us/img76/8766/pict0008hh4.th.jpg (http://img76.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pict0008hh4.jpg)http://img76.imageshack.us/images/thpix.gif (http://g.imageshack.us/thpix.php)

[Schöneboom]

The Zeppelin is certainly an inspiring sight, and people here always notice and smile when it comes over.

http://www.airshipventures.com/img/photo008roger_cain_2.jpg

I just read an interesting paper about the feasibility of using airships for transport of perishable cargo, for ex., pineapples & papayas from Hawaii to the mainland. With good designs (bigger, with more lifting power) the airship could fill an important niche between jet transport and merchant shipping. Mixed-use airships (cargo + passengers, or passengers + their cars) are certainly possible.

Another interesting development is that the military is looking into high-altitude airships (in the stratosphere, above the jetstream), here's the Lockheed-Martin link:

http://www.lockheedmartin.com/products/HighAltitudeAirship/index.html

[Schöneboom]

It came back today, right over my house! Here you get a good view of the tail rotors (one sideways like a helicopter's, the other a vectored pusher-prop). The sound is similar to a small multi-engined plane, but with less Doppler effect; it just fades away.

http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/7333/luftschiff7jl8.jpg

It's longer than a 747, so try to imagine that floating over you! :o

For a better sense of the scale; at this point the Zeppelin is over the water.

http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/1281/luftschiff4ng9.jpg

[XabbaRus]

It would be great if they made these again. With modern technology it could be a very majestic way to travel.

[AntEater]

Actually with 75m, these semi-rigid airships are smaller than the N-Class AEW Blimps (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N-Class_Blimp) of the US Navy.