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To: Quick Shot

Soldier 3: “What’s the difference between a dirigible and a blimp?”


10 posted on 02/15/2016 8:53:11 AM PST by Texas Eagle (If it wasn't for double-standards, Liberals would have no standards at all -- Texas Eagle)
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To: Texas Eagle
A dirigible has a rigid frame with the lifting bags inside.

A blimp is just a big balloon.

21 posted on 02/15/2016 10:02:43 AM PST by chaosagent (Remember, no matter how you slice it, forbidden fruit still tastes the sweetest!)
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To: Texas Eagle

A dirigible has a rigid frame, a blimp is a gas bag, usually with a smaller bag inside to maintain shape as pressure in the main bag changes with altitude and pressure. This actually was NOT a blimp - it was an aerostat, an unpowered tethered balloon, like the observation ‘sausages’ of World War I, or the barrage balloons of World War II.

Airships with rigid frames come in two flavors - rigid and semirigid. Rigids have a full frame to maintain shape, Semirigids have a metal (or now, carbon fiber) hull to which engines and gondolas are attached (Blimps just hang them from wires from the gas bag).

Trivia point - the newest Goodyear blimp isn’t a blimp at all. It is a semi-rigid built by the Zeppelin company in Germany, although some claim the extent of the hullwork make it a full rigid.


22 posted on 02/15/2016 10:04:04 AM PST by PAR35
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