Zeppelin NT
The Zeppelin NT is a 246-foot long semi-rigid airship inflated with helium. The Zeppelin NT made its first flight on September 18, 1997, and when configured for sightseeing and tourism it can accommodate up to 12 passengers and two pilots. (NT stands for Neue Technologie, in German, or New Technology, in English.)
Structure and Framework
The semi-rigid airship is built around a framework of aluminum and high-strength, lightweight carbon-fiber, onto which the cabin, engines, and tail assembly are mounted; this arrangement provides structural support for the key components of the airship, and provides safe and stable flight performance, including a quiet and comfortable ride for the passengers. While the Zeppelin NT is longer than a Boeing 747 airliner, its primary structure weighs only about 2,200 lbs (1,000 kg) due to the high-tech materials used in its construction.
Lifting Gas
The Zeppelin NT is inflated with approximately 300,000 cubic feet (8,425 cubic meters) of helium, contained in a strong envelope made of high-strength multilayer laminate.
Engines and Propellers
The Zeppelin NT is driven by three gasoline-powered 4-cylinder Lycoming IO-360 piston engines, which have proven their reliability in decades of use in small private planes.
Three of the ship’s four propellers can swivel up to 120 degrees, which greatly increases the maneuverability of the Zeppelin NT, which is capable of vertical take-offs, stable hovering, and even backward flight. The ship can fly at a maximum speed of 78 MPH, but usually cruises at about half that speed when used for sightseeing and tourism.
Specifications
| Maiden flight: | September 18, 1997 | |
| Engines: | Lycoming IO-360 with 147 kW/197 hp each | |
| Length: | 75 m (246 ft) | |
| Max. width: | 19.5 m (64 ft) | |
| Height: | 17.4 m (57 ft) | |
| Envelope volume: | 8,425 m³ (297,526 cu ft) | |
| Max. take-off weight: | 400 kg (881 lbs) | |
| Payload: | 1.900 kg (4,188 lbs) | |
| Max. speed: | 125 km/h (78 mph) | |
| Max. flight altitude: | 2,600 m (8,530 ft) | |
| Max. endurance: | ca. 24h | |
| Range: | 900 km (486 NM) |
Passenger Flights
Passengers can take sightseeing flights in Germany provided by the Deutsche Zeppelin-Reederei. Companies that provided Zeppelin NT flights in the United States and Japan have ceased operations.
{ 22 comments… read them below or add one }
Think you should add to the list all the new airships, the now and the future of airships, like the onemaned ones up to the NT Zeppelins, maybe the nuts with the lawn chair and a bunch of balloons…. Rick
I’ve been meaning to do that for a while! I just need more free time.
can any please, clearly give me an idea where can be the Gondola is placed, I mean at what position from the CG location & also How the surface area of fins calculated along with Rudder and elevator too.
Just read that the Airship is closing down, what will happen to the airship ???
Hey there Dan, this is a really great website. The Zeppelin NT actually has 2 engines that can vector 120 degrees up (the side engines) and the aft engine vectors down 90 degrees. Great website, been coming to this site for a long time to check out airship history!
- Dave
Would it be possible to build an airship(lighter than air) that could transport 100 people at a time go up to 200 mph and go up to 20,000 ft in altitude by changing the airships’ shape, using light weight materials (carbon, aluminum,titanium), providing wings, small jet engines, and computerized guidance systems?
It takes 300,000 cubic feet of helium to carry 10 people. To carry 100, you would need a ship so massive it would be an engineering feat to keep it together in one piece. Seriously doubt it could go 200mph. 20,000 feet might be possible but you would need pressurized cabin (i.e. even more weight).
RS, carrying 100 people would be no problem, as there were airships built in the 1930′s that could carry that load halfway around the world. You wouldn’t have to change the shape to go fast, (1930′s airships could go faster than 80 mph) but you would need more power and a stronger structure than was available in the 1930′s. With the new materials, twice the strength for half the weight is possible. In addition, engines are more fuel efficient and lighter. So while I’m not sure you could get to 200, you could go faster than 80 mph. 20,000 feet is tough. you would have to (probably) trade range for altitude capability. Really, no one knows until someone does it. Good Luck.
Hey I just suddenly got re-interested in airships about two hours ago (after several years of not-so-intensive admiration for airships) and I have this question I havent been able to answer by myself or using the internet. I am familiar with the fact, that modern airships use helium or hot air just to make them super-light while engines do the rest of the job. So here comes the question: Are there any modern airships, that would use engine(s) powered by solar panels attached to the semi-rigid construction. And would it even be possible to generate enough electricity on an airship comparable in size and wight to the Zeppelin NT?
It’s a neat concept, but you’d need all rigid framework to hold them up, the only other problem is possibly weight (I don’t know how much they weigh so it might not be a problem) but that could be very ecenomic with something in the style of the old WW1 height climbers, which could fly above large cloud cover. Not really ascociated, but a picture of the R101 looks like it has solar panels on top! (of course just the style of outer covering but still, maybe a premonition:))…
Hello people,
I just discovered your blog and especially this thread and message. Actually this idea is not new : papers can be found on this subject back in the 80′s. Very few RC-solar powered blimps (1 or 2 as far as I know) have been flying since the early 90′s, and the first manned, solar-powered blimp has flown next to Paris, France in 2009 and 2010, operated by students team Projet Sol’R.
Since then we are making a few improvements in the structures of the airship, but hopefully our blimp will fly again this year !
I’m sorry to contradict you Hendrick, but we are all inflatable, no rigid structure at all : the inner pressure is sufficient to hold the panels on the envelope. Moreover we have flexible cells -however that can be discussed, mainly for reasons of efficiency.
That comes with many interesting challenges our project is here to take up !
I’d be very glad to tell more on this system, I cannot doubt many of you would be interested and could have interesting ideas to bring !
they now have a water based paint that can do just that collect solar in all shades of light you can paint a roof with it attach wires and voila energy.
professor at university of melbourne
It would be necessary to have extremely light weight solar panels to drive the motors. It would be also make the airship prohibitively expensive.
Is the graphic something that was used for promotional purposes only, or is this zeppelin owned by Disney?
The images and logos carried by Eureka are paid advertising; the ship is owned by Airship Ventures.
How is the NT14 coming along?? (19 passenger) Is this project still a go??
I have long been interested in Lighter than air vehicles. Though this is actually a heavier than air craft it is winderful to see them back in the air and carrying passengers. Well Done!!
I don’t understand your comment about this being a heavier-than-air craft. It’s not. It’s a semi-rigid airship filled with helium, which provides the lift.
The Helium provides “only” 95% of the Lift. About 5% have to be given by arodynamical force. This fact makes sure, that the Zeppelin returns back.
The Zeppelin NT is clearly a LTA aircraft. It is true that at take-off it has a positive weight (of usually some few hundread kilogramms). But with a fuel capacity of about 1100 liters (2500 with range extender) it becomes lighter during flight as fuel is consumed. In addition the temperature of the environment and lifting gas can change during flight (think of adiabatic effects during altitude changes!) making the ship heavier or lighter.
So, the 95/5 % lift-ratio is just a typical take-off condition and shifts during flight.
A very, very interesting Blog.
Greetings
Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,
ich bin aus der Republik Armenien. Ich habe an der Agraruniversität der Republik Armenien studiert und vom 2. April bis 31. Dezember 2008 habe ich Zeppelin Service Engineer qualification programme erfolgreich abgeschlossen. Ich beherrsche die Deutsche Sprache und träume von einer kurzfristigen Arbeit in Deutschland, was für meine Fortbildung sehr nützlich wäre. Wenn es möglich ist, könnten Sie mir bitte schreiben, ob ich bei Ihnen arbeiten darf.
Mit freundlichen Grüßen
Gagik Nahapetyan (27 Jahre alt)