Airship!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-26372277

I’m giving that marks off for being a bit funny looking. But airships are cool, even if they don’t explode.

Doesn’t seem like a very useful cargo capacity though?

I though that too. A ship 300ft long that can only lift a small car.

i think crc should buy one and air drop all their deliveries

massive crc logo good advertising, infact i reckon that you could sell add space on them

kimbers – Member

i think crc should buy one and air drop all their deliveries

Ideal really- in fact, with so much empty space in the boxes, you could just fill them with helium and tow them behind the airship.

How can that be ‘green’?

How much resource to build it? How much manpower to operate it?

There is only a finite amount of helium available and we using it up all the time!

50 tons not a decent capacity?

On the radio they said it would do 100mph for 3 days using a fraction of fuel planes use.

Ah, yes, followed that for a while on the news til it was canned.

Originally specced for the US army, it has very efficient ‘loitering’ capability at altitudes well beyond the range of a disgruntled tribesman with an AK47 or RPG so could be filled with cameras and sensors and stay on station for ages.

That original intended use partly explains the low payload. In a cargo carrying role, using wing like lift from the body means it can avoid venting (very finite, very useful and very expensive) helium to ‘make up for being empty’ as it can be set up to be just about too heavy to float off on its own.

Sure, it’s 300 feet long but it’s mostly hollow. If the 400 foot long version is also a third bigger in the other two dimensions then the extra helium alone would more than double the payload.

Unfortunately, from some angles it looks like a bottom.

How much resource to build it? How much manpower to operate it?

It’s big, but it’s mostly empty. So probably not much.

Unfortunately, from some angles it looks like a bottom.

Don’t we all.

There is only a finite amount of helium available and we using it up all the time!

When the helium runs out, our MRI scanners won’t work any more 🙁
And we won’t be able to do funny voices.

50t a decent capacity? Compared to what? An aircraft, a truck or a ship?

What are you going to carry with it?

It can’t possibly compete with ships and if it is trying to compete with freight aircraft, most cargo carried by air is done so because of the speed. This thing is too slow.

Looks cool but pretty useless. More wasteful false green technology.

Only on STW could someone be truly offended by an airship 🙂 you’d think it had sex with your other half

Paint it green with a big number 2 on it.

When the helium runs out… we won’t be able to do funny voices.

There’s always sulfur hexafluoride

What are you going to carry with it?

It can’t possibly compete with ships and if it is trying to compete with freight aircraft, most cargo carried by air is done so because of the speed. This thing is too slow.

I think one of the original uses envisaged was disater relief. It can get cargo to places where there are no landing strips and do it a lot quicker than sending a ship

Ah you know what? That’s awesome- I was assuming vented helium just mixes into the air but it achieves escape velocity and fires off into space!

OK, it’s also bad obviously, but still awesome.

I remember reading a sf novel- maybe a kim stanley robinson- where they used vacuum airships- just get the envelope stronger, or fill it with vacuum baloons, if you can get the balloon light enough to be bouyant when voided. “What’s holding it up?” “Nothing”. Or, whatever the opposite of an aerogel is, anaerogel.

Fill it with methane? Would couple nicely with it looking a bit like a bottom.

nickjb – Member

When the helium runs out… we won’t be able to do funny voices.
There’s always sulfur hexafluoride

…… I think that Went over most peoples heads……

Fantastic mode of transport I had several flights on the AirshipIndustries prototypes in the mid 80’s v strange sensation compared to a regular balloon or anything else, shame the Commercial applications are quite limited..

And it’s financed by Bruce Dickinson.

How would it cope with the recent high winds?

was it airship industries ones which traversed over London through the 80s carrying a variety of advertising banners on their sides?

How would it cope with the recent high winds?

Beaten to it 😉

And in other news, British manufacturing make apparatus that weaves cotton, which can then be made into wearable garments.

How would it cope with the recent high winds?

Badly.

I think one of the original uses envisaged was disater relief. It can get cargo to places where there are no landing strips and do it a lot quicker than sending a ship

It could? That depends really. If the thing is based in Europe and the disaster is in Asia, that’s quite a long leadtime before it gets there. Ships are common place and you could easily get some supplies by sea from a nearby Country.

However, even if it gets there quickly, it’s only 50t of cargo, about 1.5 artic loads. Compare that to a ship that carries 1000’s of tonnes.

Looks cool, interesting engineering but flawed and limited.

You dont tend to see ships or articulated lorries in areas that have been devasted and need aid relief where the transport infrastructure is shattered thougj do you winston? It’ll do double the load of a c130 withouth the need for an air drop…interesting and in some limited circumstances life saving..whats not to like? Oh hamg on, I forgot this was single track

the land that hope, optimism, and joy in fellow humans has long abandoned 😀

UKIP should have one then they could lower farage into any disaster situations wearing waders and tell us how gays made the weather bad because of the EU

whats not to like?

I didn’t say I didn’t like it. It just seems pretty useless and I don’t like the way stuff like this gets touted as environmentally friendly.

From the other BBC article

“We are jointly funding £2bn of research and development into the next generation of quieter, more energy efficient and environmentally friendly planes,” says Business Secretary Vince Cable.

Just to clarify on the load carrying capability.

The current aircraft can carry a load of 1225kg for up to 21 days, but on shorter flights could take up to 5 tonnes. Aircraft still on the drawing board may be able to carry 50 tonnes or more.

The 50t capability is just a proposed concept.

5t on shorter flights, so it’s a little bit more than a Black Hawk?

And on longer flights. The same payload as a transit van.

Just to put the payload into some sort of context:

A CH47 Chinook will lift about 8000kg
A C-130 will lift about 14000kg
A C17 will lift about 60000kg
An AN124 will lift about 200000kg

Wikipedia will tell you different figures to those above, but the Wikipedia maximums are calculated on a best-case scenario (low altitude airfields, little fuel, favorable weather, etc). In reality the operating maximums are often much less.

I’m glad that some clever British engineers are pushing some fancy technology, but i can’t see it changing the world to be honest.

a maritime SAR assset on semipermanent loiter over busy seaways, or for a border patrol monitoring. Possibly a scientific platform.

a maritime SAR assset on semipermanent loiter over busy seaways

So when it gets very windy and a maritime SAR is needed what happens?

There is only a finite amount of helium available and we using it up all the time!

Daft question, but where’s it going? If it doesn’t react with anything it can’t be being used up, like oil is for example. Is it shooting off upwards into space or something once it’s released?

Is it shooting off upwards into space or something once it’s released?

This.
It is so light and inert that it achieves escape velocity and escapes the atmosphere without reacting with anything which would trap it.

massive floating billboard

Daft question, but where’s it going? If it doesn’t react with anything it can’t be being used up

Its used in rocketry – I don’t know what for. Apparently most of the current stock of helium was mined by NASA in the 60s and its running out.

I was told by someone who makes the cooling elements for MRI scanners (helium is the coolant) that the helium you use to fill party balloons and make your voice go funny is so impure there is barely any helium in it. (She may have been exaggerating)

My firm do shed loads of work on the Cardington hangers (excuse the pun). The thing is massive… Truly massive, and reminds me of the plane thingy in thunderbirds.

Isnt this just a case of “expensive mothballed DARPA project given cheapish second chance by 1980’s music star”
Cool project, and his idea to video the earth is cool too.

80s music star? You do realise that Bruce Dickinson has released a hell of a lot of truly excellent music since the 80s don’t you? Oh, and still plays to millions of people around the world each year with Iron Maiden.

Bruce Dickinson has released a hell of a lot of truly excellent music since the 80s don’t you?

That’s debatable!

However, even if it gets there quickly, it’s only 50t of cargo, about 1.5 artic loads. Compare that to a ship that carries 1000’s of tonnes.

So, exactly how do you imagine that a 30,000 tonne freighter would be able to drop it’s cargo fifteen miles inland after a massive earthquake or tsunami? Grow wheels and drive there? Walk? For a start the local freight-managing infrastructure is likely to be trashed, roads the same, and in mountainous regions landslides, etc would likely render access impossible for weeks.
And you think this sort of vehicle is just an example of ‘useless green technology’? Please, this sort of vehicle has been in use for the best part of a century, it’s fuel consumption is a tiny fraction of any passenger jet, and it’s ability to access extremely remote areas with a far greater payload than one 4×4 truck makes it invaluable.
A passenger-carrying version would appeal to better-off people who aren’t in a hurry, and would relish a Trans-Atlantic trip low enough that they could wave to the crew of ships below, and watch pods of whales, which Zeppelin passengers could do before the Graf Zeppelin blew up.