Posted on 02/01/2008 5:11:43 PM PST by Stoat
With its fins and whale-like shape, it resembles Thunderbird 2.
But, unlike the huge International Rescue rocket in the puppet series, this gigantic airship won't be roaring off in a blast of flame and smoke to any international emergencies.
Instead, its designers say it will gently lift 40 passengers into the sky for a serene cruise of the world.
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Uplifting: Manned Cloud's deisgners say it will offer eco-friendly holidays
The airship is a floating hotel called the Manned Cloud, and - according to its designers - it will be capable of circling the globe in a few days.
The 20 bedrooms will provide the ultimate room with a view as the airship cruises at a height of 18,000ft.
It has a restaurant, a library, a lounge and a gym on the first deck.
On the second level there will be 20 passenger rooms, terraces with panoramic windows, a spa and a bar room. The airship is powered by a giant rear propeller and also has two further engines pointing downwards for vertical take-off.
However, if you're thinking of checking in, you will have to wait until its expected launch date of 2020.
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The ship could circle the globe in about ten days
Massaud, the French company behind the venture, is billing it as an ecologically friendly way to travel, leaving little impact on the environment - and eliminating the need for hotels.
Designer Jean-Marie Massaud's team has been working in conjunction with the French National Office of Airship Research on the project since 2005.
A spokesman for Massaud, AurÈlie Ullrich, said: !The idea at the heart of this project is that passengers can see fantastic places like Thailand and theCaribbean without the need to build ugly hotels everywhere.
"It could land for a few days or for a week if there is a big event going on.
"We don't want to be carrying around gallons and gallons of heavy petrol or diesel and we are looking into fuelling it with some form of helium gas."
Mr Massaud said: "The Manned Cloud permits you to explore the world without leaving a trace. Passengers can experience spectacular and exotic places without being intrusive or exploitative."
The cost of a night on the airship is yet to be decided, but it is likely to be out of the reach of most pockets.
However, it could provide the perfect hideaway for camera-shy celebrities.
Glimpse of the Blimp
The Manned Cloud is almost 700ft long, 270ft wide and 170ft deep.
It has a staff of 15 to look after the 40 passengers.
Its makers say it will produce a top speed of 105mph and a cruising speed of 80mph. This means it could circle the globe in about ten days.
It will be able to travel for 3,100 miles --or across the U.S. - before needing to be refuelled by a form of helium gas.
Airships were the first aircraft to make controlled, powered flights, with French engineer Henri Giffard travelling 18 miles from Paris to Trappes in 1852.
It's alright.
But...
What's the price?
Let me guess. For obvious reasons, they don't want to admit that they intend to power this thing using hydrogen gas for fuel. So, they call hydrogen a form of helium.
I know of a rather large supply of helium, about 93,000,000 miles from here. Just have to separate it from the hydrogen. A few problems with heat, pressure, and gravity, but that is why we have engineers.
A spokesman for Massaud, AurÈlie Ullrich, said: !The idea at the heart of this project is that passengers can see fantastic places like Thailand and the Caribbean without the need to build ugly hotels everywhere.
"It could land for a few days or for a week if there is a big event going on.
Lets see... a large "ugly" hotel will easily accommodate 2000 guests. Instead of one "ugly" hotel they're going to park these things for perhaps a week, but alas, they only accommodate 40 guests each.
So which is more ugly, a single 2000 guest hotel or having 50 of these things parked all around the city, and those 50 would only take the place of one hotel. Locations with 10 hotels could instead have 500 of these parked all about.
I think it's a neat idea and I'd like to take a world cruise in one, but their marketing should be based in reality.
But Thunderbird 1 launched from under the rollback swimming pool...that has cool points too.
Unfortunately, their marketing is based upon the reality of their target customer demographic, which is obscenely-wealthy, self-loathing eco-hysteric, Leftist celebrities :-)
I think that they're the main group that considers amazing engineering achievements such as tall buildings to be "ugly" :-)
EGADS! The world has gone mad.
For fun, I just checked ebay for the price of a fireball XL5 toy I owned as a kid. The guy wants $800 bucks for the thing with a starting price of $500. I’m speechless...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&Item=140202745542&Category=733&_trksid=p3907.m29
And I don’t even see the jetbikes included. Boink!
I see that the seller “shecreature9” sells ONLY very expensive, very rare toys, and she sells A LOT of them, so the asked price may indeed be an accurate reflection of it’s value.
Too bad they don’t make cool metal toys like that anymore....some kid uses a metal toy to cut his playmate’s head off and then nobody else can have nice metal toys anymore :-(
(the item description says “Metal type: Steel” but it looks like it’s plastic)
That toy is plastic all the way, unless it differs from the one I had. I was really up on my toys, being a kid at the time, and if SOMEONE had offered an all-metal Fireball XL5 (one of the most popular kid shows of the day) in toy stores, I am certain I would have known about it.
Still, $800. Makes me gasp.
“Elegance, Charm and Deadly Danger”
The idea at the heart of this project is that passengers can see fantastic places like Thailand and theCaribbean without the need to build ugly hotels everywhere.
Has anyone seen the movie WALL_E? Looks like we are closer to our future than we thought. UGLY hotels? Terrorists will love it!!!
This will indeed make a tempting target. Muzzy terrorists love to destroy anything that can’t be built by their own “culture”....which is most things.
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