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Archive Gallery: Revisiting the Golden Age of Zeppelins

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Article from Popular Science:

When it comes to retrofuturism, few motifs lie closer to our hearts than the 1920s-style airship. These majestic “whales of the sky,” once considered a standard feature of future skylines, had an unfortunate tendency to burst into flames or get caught in thunderstorms. Only in the imaginations of science fiction enthusiasts do they continue flourishing.

Their demise is regrettable, considering our enthusiasm for their development in the 1920s. After serving the German army in World War I, zeppelins garnered popular appeal when Hugo Eckener re-established them as vessels of peaceful air travel rather than as weapons of warfare. Although Germany continued dominating the industry, American and British manufacturers produced airships that — for better or for worse — changed the course of aviation.

Read more here: http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2011-04/archive-gallery-revisiting-golden-age-zeppelins

The pioneering Brits who are heralding the dawn of the new Zeppelin age

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Article from DailyMail.co.uk:

When the Hindenburg blew up in 1937, so did the airship industry. So why is Britain building a fleet of the world’s biggest, for the Americans, in our old Zeppelin sheds?

2015: Regent’s Park International Airport

A line of limousines and taxis snakes its way into the Royal Park to deliver 300 well-heeled passengers and their smart luggage to the discreet air terminal. They are in no rush because the flight they are about to board to New York will take two days.

Moored on the grass outside the terminal is a 600ft long behemoth, a vast Hybrid Air Vehicle. A cross between a balloon and an aircraft wing, this new-wave blimp is filled with non-flammable helium and air. Slung beneath is a vast passenger cabin akin to a miniature first-class cruise ship with dining rooms, a ballroom, bars and a casino.

Read the rest of the article here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-1357747/Airships-Pioneering-Brits-heralding-dawn-new-Zeppelin-age.html?ITO=1490

‘World’s largest’ airship coming to NASA Ames in Mountain View

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From Mercury News:

A really big blimp is on its way to NASA Ames Research Center.

The Bullet Class 580, considered the world’s largest airship by volume, will have a new home at Moffett Field’s Hangar 2 as it prepares for a first flight, possibly in February, NASA announced last week.

The company developing the airship, E-Green Technologies Inc./21st Century Airships, has leased roughly 24,000 square feet of hangar space from NASA Ames beginning Jan. 1. The ship, 235 feet long and 65 feet in diameter, is expected to arrive in Mountain View packed into two 40-foot shipping containers this month or early next month, said Diane Murphy, spokeswoman for the Alabama-based company.

Read more here: http://www.mercurynews.com/peninsula/ci_16813268?nclick_check=1

The Flying Luxury Hotel

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Popular Science Article:

This is not a Blimp. It’s a sort of flying Queen Mary 2 that could change the way you think about air travel. It’s the Aeroscraft, and when it’s completed, it will ferry pampered passengers across continents and oceans as they stroll leisurely about the one-acre cabin or relax in their well-appointed staterooms.

Unlike its dirigible ancestors, the Aeroscraft is not lighter than air. Its 14 million cubic feet of helium hoist only two thirds of the craft’s weight. The rigid and surprisingly aerodynamic body-driven by huge rearward propellers-generates enough additional lift to keep the behemoth and its 400-ton payload aloft while cruising. During takeoff and landing, six turbofan jet engines push the ship up or ease its descent.

Read more here: http://www.popsci.com/aeros/article/2006-02/flying-luxury-hotel

BP Oil Spill: Navy Sends MZ-3A Blimp to Help Survey Gulf of Mexico

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From ABC News:

The government says more than 45,000 people and 6,900 ships or boats are fighting the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. But it’s time for heavier — or, perhaps, lighter — artillery.

The Navy has now sent a blimp — the MZ-3A Airship — to patrol the shoreline from above, direct skimmers trying to corral floating oil, and look out for wildlife in harm’s way.

The MZ-3A, almost identical to blimps used for advertising and bird’s-eye views of sporting events, has been brought in from Yuma, Arizona. The Navy says the helium-filled ship, 178 feet long and capable of carrying 10 people or equipment, can stay in the air far longer than helicopters or planes, burning just 10 gallons of fuel an hour at its maximum cruising speed of 55 mph.

Read more here: http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/bp-oil-spill-navy-sends-mz-3a-blimp/story?id=11096348&page=1