Free Republic
Browse · Search
Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Blimp Race Emerging Between Russia and U.S.
Moscow Times ^ | 09/15/2013 | RIA Novosti

Posted on 09/15/2013 10:44:24 PM PDT by TexGrill

WASHINGTON — A Soviet-born U.S. entrepreneur has unveiled in California a revolutionary blimp prototype that he says will fly with the precision of a helicopter and that could transform the shipping industry, according to U.S. media reports.

The Aeroscraft airship, brainchild of Worldwide Aeros founder and CEO Igor Pasternak, successfully underwent tethered testing Saturday, according to technology website Gizmag.

Gizmag published photographs showing the 81.07 meter long and 29.56 meter wide craft, under development since 2006, lifting off the ground and remaining under control while attached to a cord.

Pasternak, who was born in the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan and later moved to Russia, told the Los Angeles Times that he arrived in the U.S. in 1993 and founded a company similar to one he had in Russia manufacturing blimps, small airships commonly used for advertising.

His efforts in the U.S. resemble those currently also under way in Russia, where a company called Augur RosAeroSystems is pioneering a drive to revive the airships and develop their use in cargo transport.

Indeed Pasternak and the head of the Russian concern, Gennady Verba, were schoolmates in Soviet Ukraine, where they both developed their passion for airships, a mutual friend, Mikhail Talesnikov, vice-president of the Russian company, told RIA Novosti in a recent interview.

In an interview this month with the Los Angeles Times, Pasternak said he dreamed of building airships since childhood. He said he received experimental airworthiness certification from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration for his prototype a mere two days before the test.

Unlike most blimps, Pasternak's airship uses new concepts and mechanics for compressing and releasing the lighter-than-air, nonflammable helium gas within itб similar to the way submarines use ballast and water intake to control precisely their ascent and descent, the reports said.

(Excerpt) Read more at themoscowtimes.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Science; Society; Sports
KEYWORDS: russiausa
I'm still betting that a Goodyear blimp can outrace a Vodka blimp.


1 posted on 09/15/2013 10:44:24 PM PDT by TexGrill
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: TexGrill
Go Team!Go!


2 posted on 09/15/2013 10:51:02 PM PDT by mylife (Ted Cruz understands the law, and he does not fear the unlawful.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: mylife

I can see the possibility of this technology replacing cargo ships, especially for cargo ships that might be targeted by pirates.


3 posted on 09/15/2013 10:54:49 PM PDT by Jonty30 (What Islam and secularism have in common is that they are both death cults)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: TexGrill

4 posted on 09/15/2013 11:08:07 PM PDT by kingattax (America needs more real Americans.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: kingattax

LOL!!

Blimpie!


5 posted on 09/15/2013 11:51:43 PM PDT by mylife (Ted Cruz understands the law, and he does not fear the unlawful.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: Jonty30
I can see the possibility of this technology replacing cargo ships, especially for cargo ships that might be targeted by pirates.
Because it worked so well the last time.


6 posted on 09/15/2013 11:55:13 PM PDT by Bratch
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Bratch

Popular Mechanics did an article on that, and Mythbusters confirmed PM’s theory.

It wasn’t the hydrogen, it was the coating the German’s used on the blimp that primarily was responsible for setting the whole thing off.

I’m sure modern standards would minimize this risk. The only real risk I see is somebody taking pot shots at it.


7 posted on 09/15/2013 11:57:54 PM PDT by Jonty30 (What Islam and secularism have in common is that they are both death cults)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: TexGrill

There’s a blimp gap!!?!


8 posted on 09/16/2013 12:19:51 AM PDT by Rightwing Conspiratr1
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Rightwing Conspiratr1

Blimps would certainly offer advantages over trucks when it comes to transporting goods, because one blimp could probably transport the equivalent goods of at least 10 trucks and it could do it over any terrain.


9 posted on 09/16/2013 12:34:22 AM PDT by Jonty30 (What Islam and secularism have in common is that they are both death cults)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: TexGrill

Nothing but a money sink. This will never be practical- no matter how much engineering and precision you put into it, light than air craft are always going to be at the mercy of the winds.


10 posted on 09/16/2013 3:48:50 AM PDT by TexasBarak (I aim to misbehave!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Bratch

The Blimps this fellow is making in The U.S. are not exactly like the airships of yesteryear. He is using a hangar at the old Marine Corps Air Station in Tustin, as his base. They are actually pretty intriguing, and I hope he makes a go of it. Thanks.


11 posted on 09/16/2013 10:00:16 AM PDT by jttpwalsh
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson