Who else on this forum thinks the Zeppelin should make a come back?

4 December 1998, 10:08 AM

I've always been intrigued by the behemoths. Why doesn't goodyear make a few. They would look so much better than the dinky little goodyear blimp. They can just fill it with helium. And remove a few pounds of weight. Hey, I've always wondered something. Any chemists out there may be able to answer me this. Do you think Helium, heated to a sufficient temperature, would have a better lifting capacity than just plane old room temperature helium? If so they could use that. What a billboard a Zeppelin would make.

4 December 1998, 10:35 AM

I personally think that a Zepplin would make a marvelous sightseeing ride. They are slow virtually noiseless and able to hover. People, however remember the Hindenberg and are reluctant to go within 500 feet of such a thing! It never ceases to amaze me that people will board a jumbo jet when many of them have crashed, but no one will get near a Zepplin because of one accident!

mike_baram · 4 December 1998, 11:55 AM

If newsreel cameras had not been at Lakehurst, the scope of the disaster would never have been so widely known.
When planes crash, all we see is the aftermath.
I, for one, would love to see airships come back...a nice leisurely cruise over the ocean rather than that DAMN UP AND DOWN CRAP that everyone besides me seems to love in ships.
Sorry.....my Navy sea time was limited to destroyer escorts and one LST.....I hate big bodies of water.

Ira_Silverman · 4 December 1998, 03:41 PM

Zeppelins are making a comeback!

Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik (The original Zeppelin-wereke) in Friedrichshafen has built and flown a new Zeppelin this year. Smaller and lighter than the originals, and using Helium for lift, they have hopes of using them for aerial tours of Europe. Check out their web page at:

http://www.zeppelin-nt.com/

BTW, current research indicates that the explosion of the Hindenburg was not because of Hydrogen igniting, but rather Aluminum powder in the silver paint. Apparently a Hollywood special effects expert viewing the newsreel footage noticed the way the Zeppelin sparked and initially ignited, and saw similarities with the aluminum powder used for enhancing explosions in the movies. Of course, once there was a fire, Hydrogen made a great fuel.

Supposedly, Hugo Eckener was aware that the ignition started with the Aluminum powder, and had the information suppressed. He felt they could always replace Hydrogen with Helium (once the US embargo was lifted), but that they couldn't solve the paint problem.

VBR,

Ira

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Barrett · 4 December 1998, 05:56 PM

Mike: LST (Love Sugar Tare in WW II talk) meant:
Large, Slow Target rather than Landing Ship Tank.

Shooter · 5 December 1998, 01:27 AM

Ira:

Are the new Zepp's rigid or non-rigid?

Personnally, I love the idea of airships. Fuel efficient, comfortable, with the ability to rise above foul weather, they have only one drawback. They are difficult to land in any other than perfect conditions.

I once watched a bunch of bluejackets struggling with a blimp in a shifting crosswind up at NAS Lakehurst. They struggled for over an hour, and even with a winch they had a fight on their hands. And blimps are little airships. A Zeppelin would be a bitch to land.

If they could come up with a better mooring method, airships could still be the transportation method that all of the seers of the 1930's thought that they would become in the future.

r/s

Bill

Shooter · 5 December 1998, 01:35 AM

Barrett:

Slow is not the problem. Shallow draft and flat-bottomed is the problem. LST's wallow in heavy weather.

I was on the USS Fairfax County in the North Sea, enroute to Norway when she ran into a winter storm. She rolled thirty-five degrees to port and starboard as well as pitching fore & aft for the best part of the day and into the night. I am not normally subject to sea sickness, but I was on Drammamine on that cruise, lemme tell ya!

r/s

Bill

Ira_Silverman · 5 December 1998, 05:05 AM

Shooter:

The Zeppelin NT is definitely a rigid - it's amazing what can be done with a graphite composite frame.

Also - no Aluminum skin - it's blue and white.

It first flew in September 1997, and is well into testing. Air & Space Smithsonian ran an article and a few sidebars on it.

VBR,

Ira

mike_baram · 5 December 1998, 05:31 AM

The Fuji Blimp lands regularly at Oakland airport when it's assigned to Bay Area sporting events, and I've seen it land and take off. No problem, even on windy days (of course if the wind is really bad, it won't fly - safety considerations).
Hopefully, the new Zeps would have a venting or gas collection system to decrease lift during landing.

Barrett · 5 December 1998, 03:40 PM

Man, I'd LOVE to fly in a Zep. But I've seen "Hell's Angels," and if they expect me to squeeze into the observer's car that's lowered below the cloud deck to spot for them, I absolutely INSIST that it's a dual-winch system. And I get to keep the only onboard set of cable cutters with me at all times...