Airships

[Jules]

Mike - I know you have an abiding interest in airship news :


http://news.com.com/2300-11395_3-608...7845&subj=news

[Michael Moorcock]

Thanks, Jules, nice site.
Airships make a much stabler platform than, say, helicopters. That's one reason they were used for filming sports events. Cameras which compensate for shake have probably made them a bit redundant now, but they can still be used for other operations. Also, of course, they could be used for air cargo and save a fortune in high octane fuel. The problem with passenger ships is ETA -- worse than regular ships. These days, people want to be somewhere within an hour or two at least of schedules.
It would be good, however, to have the alternative available. Fields, hangars and masts represent another problem which has to be addressed, but is easily solved.

[Hieronymus]

And tomorrow morning everybody to take an airship!

[Michael Moorcock]

Do we have an airship dingbat ? It would be nice if someone produced one!

[David Mosley]

Here's one I've found on the Interwebby thing:



but I'm sure we have enough graphic designers here who could render a nice animated one.

[Michael Moorcock]

That's funny, you can't make 'em go in a line. Like this

[lemec]

maybe if they were cat-powered they would go straight? ;)

[David Mosley]

That's funny, you can't make 'em go in a line.

Well, it can be done but if the winds are too strong it's a bugger keeping them in formation. :)

[versemicroverse]

Now this is an airship (Though I am kind of partial to the Ship that Sails on Land and Sea (hope I got that right)).

[lemec]

Now this is an airship (Though I am kind of partial to the Ship that Sails on Land and Sea (hope I got that right)).

that is a nice one. :)

[Pellaz]

Wow, yeah, that one's a beaut! I'd fly on THAT for a dollar!

[Morgan Kane]

found this......

http://www.salute.co.uk/salutegames/...s/american.htm

[lemec]

found this......

http://www.salute.co.uk/salutegames/...s/american.htm

haha cool, interesting that one was made from "Jabba's Sail Barge" or skiff.

pretty cool, reminds me of the flying gnomes in Dragonlance or TSR made those Spelljammer ships that one time.

I still prefer the balloon ship in The City of the Autumn Stars. ;)


St. Odhran was the man who piloted the balloon, eh?

[Hawksun]

Originally Posted by Michael Moorcock
The problem with passenger ships is ETA -- worse than regular ships. These days, people want to be somewhere within an hour or two at least of schedules.

That is a problem. A shame, really, as if people were prepared to accept a bit of uncertainty in their travel plans, they would make a great alternative to fixed-wing airliners, and produce less CO2 (I imagine). Besides, flying by airship would be a wonderfully relaxed way to travel, instad of being shut up in a pressurised cylinder for five hours or so, you could have a mini-cruise-liner sort of affair. An airship travelling at 150kts or so could probably cross the Atlantic in a couple of days or thereabouts.

As always, such inventions always attract the attention of mining companies, the milititary, etc. Inevitible, I know, but it would be nice if the human race could, just once, not use a shiny new invention to kill each other, or mess up the planet with. That said, airship technology would not be where it is today without the help of the German and Allied militaries during World War I, so the idealistic sheen of airships is already somewhat tarnished in that respect.

[Michael Moorcock]

Wind resistance is the big problem for scheduling. A small, highly manouevrable ship like the ones I went up in, courtesy British Airship Co.,
are actually less problematic. They were briefly running a service between London and Paris but it just didn't prove profitable, I suppose. The company went under because the guy guaranteeing them (Alan Swann was it -- the guy who owned Fosters) went bankrupt.
There just aren't enough passengers, it seems. Same as Amtrak, which I love. I've seen trains decrease along with services on what was certainly the finest railroad in the world when running at its best. At least I got to use it a lot during the 60s, 70s and 80s. Same as travelling on Concorde, which I enjoyed. Same as seaplanes. Same, for that matter, as travelling on trans-Atlantic ships. Mostly forms of travel which are in the past except for cruise liners and stuff.