Today's burning question: Dude, where's my zeppelin?

[dianeduane]

Oh, here?  Thanks.  Always wanted a personal blimp.  (I love the little fins...)

(via Futurismic and BoingBoing)

Comments

[bellinghman.livejournal.com]

Now that is quite something. It's interesting to see the much lighter construction incumbent on a hot-air blimp: the fins being single panel cloth instead of inflated structures, for example.

I wouldn't want to be somewhere that it went overhead. The number of people crashing their cars would be scary.

Having said which, back during the last big football championship in London, there was frequently a pair of airships chasing each others' tails over the old Wembley stadium. Why they insisted on continual movement, I don't know, since they could just hang in place, but then the camera helicopters were buzzing around like demented midges next to them, and the choppers could also hover if they felt like it.

[pendlemac.livejournal.com]

I think the airships have to keep moving as they have air-cooled engines. The air-flow at the speed required to keep in one position against the wind may not be enough.

[bellinghman.livejournal.com]

Ah, now that does make sense.

Also, I suppose, there is the fact that control surfaces don't work if there's no airflow over them. If they need to get out of the way of something, or even just turn round, then they need to be moving through the air.

[pendlemac.livejournal.com]

And, of course, just after posting the other comment I found the following on the site pointed to by Diane :-

'So helium ships don't fly based on buoyancy alone. Instead, the ships are kept slightly "heavy" and flown by driving along under power with the nose pitched up and having the resulting aerodynamic forces lift the ship.'

Ho hum. :-))

[cee-m.livejournal.com]

I have to say I would be scared out of my mind that we'd get blown away, but at the same time you get to visit Oz or something like it. :) Cheers.

[handworn.livejournal.com]

You could fly the blimp to your private island (http://www.privateislandsonline.com/), right?

[siliconshaman.livejournal.com]

Looks like something Jules Verne would have written about!



I want one!