Comments on: The Airship and Futurism: Utopian Visions of the Airship

By: Vedran

Vedran — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:26:53 +0000

In defense of that Russian fantasy dirigible, the drawing is not to scale. The decks and components are exaggerated in the “main” drawing. The smaller cross section to the left is the accurate scale. You can see the lower decks at the bottom, the upper decks at the top of the airship, and the (substantial) space in the middle for the lifting gas ballonets.

The design is still a bit on the optimistic side (it probably wouldn’t fly), but it still leaves more space for lifting gas than most fantasy airship designs.

By: jim

jim — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 01:12:44 +0000

I love your airship article. It takes me back to the 40’s (yes, I am that old) when those magazines talked about things like these air ships and other aircraft which captured your imagination.

Those airships would have been safer to navigate then, because there was less air traffic. A big fear is being run into by another aircraft, despite all of the moderrn navigation wonders available today (witness the air collision over the weekend in Colorado in clear skies.)

But, the artcles on these aurchips are wonderful. I get a kick out of all of the little bi-plane commuter planes that are incorporated into these drawings. Great stuff.

Jim

By: Tormod A

Tormod A — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 08:19:44 +0000

Thank you anyway for your good work!

And also for saving me from investing in turtles.

Cheers,

Tormod

By: Dan (Airships.net)

Dan (Airships.net) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 14:08:25 +0000

Thank you for your comment and suggestion. I only wish I had the time to do more on my site, including analysis of various airship plans, from the realistically possible to the overly ambitious to the apparently fraudulent (e.g. the attempt to sell e-books by “Turtle Airships”).

By: Tormod A.

Tormod A. — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 09:56:37 +0000

Dan, your site is fantastic!

Have you considered doing something on the above mentioned scenario: That rigid airships, or hybrids like “Buoyancy Assisted Lift Air Vehicle (BAAV)”, might hit the skies again, as a competetive means of transportation? I really miss an investigative apporach (like yours) to this, as the only information I can find on the web are either promotions of yet-to-be constructions (though presented as an existing reality with animated videos), or journalistic renderings of the same material.

The projects that seem fairly serious are Aeroscraft, SkyCat and SkyFreighter, as summed up in this link: http://ecogeek.org/automobiles/1215
In addition to these, there’s also the SkyHook, (presumably) being developed for heavy lifts. And the existing Zeppelin NT should have some potential beyond sightseeing.

However, when you look beyond the fancy artist animations, what you detect is models made out of plastic bags swiveling through a hangar (apart from the Zeppelin NT, which is actually there).
So – is this just another futrurism, or is it real this time? I really would love to see them come true, as this seems to be the most eco-friendly way of travelling or transportation. I’m dubious, though, as to whether these models really fly well.

I would love to see you add an investigation of the future of airships to your site!

Best,

Tormod

By: Zach A

Zach A — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 02:49:03 +0000

Hey so just got that book in, lol. Can’t wait to read it.

By: Zach A

Zach A — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 21:27:08 +0000

Hey so that book from Goodyear perked my interest, and so I decided to check through my university library, and low and behold, I can get the book through inter-library loan from another library in my state. Should come in within a few days. Lol.

By: Zach A

Zach A — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 23:56:02 +0000

Of course, lol.
I myself have been fascinated for years by rigid airships. I’m a history education student working on my bachelors, and currently writing a research paper over the 1938 decision by the US gov’t not to sell helium to Germany for use in the LZ-130, so I’ve got airships on the brain at the moment. I’m really enjoying your site. Very well done.

By: Dan (Airships.net)

Dan (Airships.net) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 22:51:02 +0000

Thanks for taking the time to post your comment!

Obviously, I have the whole book… but if I posted everything in my collection, the website would be way bigger than most people want to read.

Thanks for saying hello!

By: Zach A

Zach A — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 22:47:24 +0000

Great stuff! Really liked the stuff from Goodyear-Zeppelin. Do you have more images from that book?