Future of Airships
- Thread starter TeeDee
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The military have big ideas for this as a logistical transport. A couple of years ago they were modelling these to carry main battle tanks and other vehicles. The promo videos showed the HAVs landing in the surf and offloading vehicles straight to the beach as well as other similar scenarios.
Still, it'll have many more civilian applications and hopefully it'll be in use before I pop my clogs. You never know, maybe we'll see scenes like Frtiz Lang's Metropolis yet!
Still, it'll have many more civilian applications and hopefully it'll be in use before I pop my clogs. You never know, maybe we'll see scenes like Frtiz Lang's Metropolis yet!
Shambling Shaman
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Looks good, thunderbird 2 
I wander what it handles like in strong winds?
Its almost like something you would see as a concept design at The Venus Project
I wander what it handles like in strong winds?
Its almost like something you would see as a concept design at The Venus Project
regarding the mil, i'm still unsure how these things will hold up to AK fire. i mean you don't want a couple of tonnes of supplies dropped in enemy territory because one chap has some spare lead and fancies throwing it at a balloon.
Shambling Shaman
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
I'm sorry - I now have an image of one of these full of holes and troop deploying from it with high squeaky voices...........
seperate gas bladders and kept at close to normal air pressure so the gas wont rush out. Plus i dont think these will be used to drop stuff in combat zones.
that makes me wonder, assuming they're using helium not hydrogen (boom) i would think that under load they would need to increase the pressure otherwise you will not offset the weight with enough lift.
as for combat zones there is talk of it ferrying cargo for troops which would put it at least in a hostile country. unless they mean from say a carrier to established shore bases which would actually be really useful.
Got up early today so saw it on the breakfast news. The key thing to note is that it is not actually an airship. I know looking at it that sounds daft but it doesn't get its lift solely from the gas in the "balloon bit". It gets it also from the shape (provides lift similar way to plane wings) and also from the propellers. It was described on breakfast news as a cross between and airship, plane and helicopter in the way it works. I'm no expert but IIRC it only gets 40% of its lift from the helium. I'm guessing that might make it more interesting than a plain airship.
Other uses are aid drops to disaster areas. Imagine if Australia had these they wouldn't need to worry about rushing supplies in before the floods blocked the roads. These can fly for several weeks at a time so I reckon they would make it better than a helicopter for food drops in situations like the tsunami, Haiti and the Pakistan floods. Oil companies are interested as it can be used to survey large areas without landing. There are potentially a lot of uses. However I do wonder If they will take off (axcuse the pun) so to speak as a marketable aircraft. There was something about a £100 million from the US military. Could have misheard that as it does sound very expensive at that price.
Other uses are aid drops to disaster areas. Imagine if Australia had these they wouldn't need to worry about rushing supplies in before the floods blocked the roads. These can fly for several weeks at a time so I reckon they would make it better than a helicopter for food drops in situations like the tsunami, Haiti and the Pakistan floods. Oil companies are interested as it can be used to survey large areas without landing. There are potentially a lot of uses. However I do wonder If they will take off (axcuse the pun) so to speak as a marketable aircraft. There was something about a £100 million from the US military. Could have misheard that as it does sound very expensive at that price.
Hope so! they said on the news that the first one could be flying as soon as this summer
Looks like good potential for disaster aid drops etc, like a few others have said not sure how it would stand up to combat situations for use in military.
not that I know anything at all about these things, but sure looks like it'd be easy to shoot down :0
After the hovercraft stopped being used cross channel they said it was dead. It has since been used as a landing craft for USMC and other units. It is used in Morecambe Bay as a rescue / coastguard vessel and has even been used in aid uses around the world from disasters through to mobile eye hospitals in the Amazon!!
My point is that by re-visioning (sorry management theor speak) an old technology it is often possible to find new uses or new ways to use the technology combined with other technology. They have combined airship tech with aeronautical wing design and no doubt high efficiency / lightweight engines to create this HAV.
Other uses could be for drones perhaps. I know existing plane based ones are able to stay up for this sort of length, but with a bit of tweaking I reckon this HAV could be made to stay up for longer than existing plane styles of drones. Despite what Hollywood make out spy satellites aren't actually able to "see" as much as the cold war spy films made out. A long range / remote use drone out of this tech could operate like a close up spy plane and quite possible get the images that they supposedly made out they could get from space. Such as reading a newspaper over someone's shoulder in the park. Just one potential use by the military. It doesn't have to me purely in the combat zone dropping off tanks or personnel for it to be of use to the military.
Is it British Tech BTW? I only ask because BAE Systems is kind of getting into the manless drone market and if this was not British then I reckon it is competition to the BAE ones perhaps. Not that I'm particularly jingoistic about it but I worked for BAE once and always want it to do better than its competitiors.
My point is that by re-visioning (sorry management theor speak) an old technology it is often possible to find new uses or new ways to use the technology combined with other technology. They have combined airship tech with aeronautical wing design and no doubt high efficiency / lightweight engines to create this HAV.
Other uses could be for drones perhaps. I know existing plane based ones are able to stay up for this sort of length, but with a bit of tweaking I reckon this HAV could be made to stay up for longer than existing plane styles of drones. Despite what Hollywood make out spy satellites aren't actually able to "see" as much as the cold war spy films made out. A long range / remote use drone out of this tech could operate like a close up spy plane and quite possible get the images that they supposedly made out they could get from space. Such as reading a newspaper over someone's shoulder in the park. Just one potential use by the military. It doesn't have to me purely in the combat zone dropping off tanks or personnel for it to be of use to the military.
Is it British Tech BTW? I only ask because BAE Systems is kind of getting into the manless drone market and if this was not British then I reckon it is competition to the BAE ones perhaps. Not that I'm particularly jingoistic about it but I worked for BAE once and always want it to do better than its competitiors.
Helium filled balloons on a smaller scale are already used in Afghanistan and other war zones.
Used to hold surveillance equipment above bases to keep track of the area around it. System here for example http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/jlens-coordinating-cruise-missile-defense-and-more-02921/ but to lift a tank you are going to need a HUUUUUUUUUUUGE balloon and engines for piloting.
excellent idea and i dare say it will have other uses too. Already companies are building prototypes to be used as replacements for satellites in low earth orbit.
Now i wonder if the material will make a good tarp???
Used to hold surveillance equipment above bases to keep track of the area around it. System here for example http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/jlens-coordinating-cruise-missile-defense-and-more-02921/ but to lift a tank you are going to need a HUUUUUUUUUUUGE balloon and engines for piloting.
excellent idea and i dare say it will have other uses too. Already companies are building prototypes to be used as replacements for satellites in low earth orbit.
Now i wonder if the material will make a good tarp???
