Posted on 11/20/2015 1:57:39 PM PST by SatinDoll
Lockheed Martin has been given the green light to build its radical hybrid airship that will launch in 2018.
The US Federal Aviation Administration has this week approved a certification plan developed by the company, taking it one step closer to starting commercial deliveries.
Lockheed says the airships can transport heavy cargo to remote locations, burn significantly less fuel than conventional aircraft and land on any flat surface, including sand, snow and water.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Add a two tone brown paint job and you’ve got ...
The Oscar Meyer Blimp.
A laser pointer is essential to getting a laugh.
Hydrogen? Nein! That way lies the Hindenburg.
The only reason Germany filled them with hydrogen was that helium was unavailable in the quantities they needed.
How will she handle in even a moderate storm? The fact that the craft has a section dedicated to weather monitoring and route planning would seem to answer that question. But for many reasons re-development of this technology is long overdue.
There you go tons of UFO sightings solved
Impressive.
They will certainly have a military role.
I understand there’s a surplus of dirigible hydrogen at Lakehurst, New Jersey.
Neat!
Paint it red and call it the “Scarlet Pimple.”
Like sailing ships of old, they leverage the upper wind currents, but do so with modern technology.
They will sail the wind currents and routes of old.
Strikes me as belonging in a Woody Allen film.
It DOES look like a huge flying ass! Wonder if it smells bad?
They should put Congress in a large box underneath it and just run a hose to the gasbag. That much hot air would keep anything afloat.
If you loaded the Congress critters at altitude, it would also be a great experiment: will hot air lift bovine excrement?
Ahhhh...remember the Hindenburg? Oh,the huge manatee!
They should fill it with hydrogen. It’s lighter than helium, and cheaper, too.
...
Agreed.
There’s been plenty of mishaps with helium filled craft, too.
“There’s been plenty of mishaps with helium filled craft, too.”
It’s true. I lost a balloon when I was six and the loss permanently traumatized me.
I’d love to see an updated Hindenburg. The original could carry 72 passengers and 61 crew. It was originally designed to use helium. Modern materials for the frame and especially the envelope would save large amounts of weight. Modern engines are lighter and require less fuel. More weight saved. You could probably cut the crew down to 40 individuals and maintain first class service.
A transatlantic flight on the Hindenburg cost the equivalent of $6,800 now. If it can carry 100 passengers, it can gross $680,000 a week.
Imagine your cruise to the Alaskan fjords or the Mediterranean trip circled Rome, Athens, and Cairo.
IMO it would be a very profitable enterprise.
Why not the S.S.Mae West?
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