Ocean Liner In The Sky - The Future of Air Travel

[BigBearJohn]

The Aeros Craft

Even though the Aeros craft dwarfs the largest commercial airliners, it requires less net space on the ground than any plane because it doesn't need a runway The airship takes off and lands like a helicopter straight up and down. This is not a Blimp. It's a sort of flying Queen Mary 2 that could change the way you think about air travel..

It's the Aero craft, and when it's completed, it will ferry pampered passengers across continents and oceans as they stroll leisurely about the one-acre cabin or relax in their staterooms Unlike its dirigible ancestors, the Aero craft is not lighter than air It's 14 million cubic feet of helium hoist only two-thirds of the craft's weight. The rigid and surprisingly aerodynamic body, driven by huge rear-ward propellers, generates enough additional lift to keep the behemoth and its 400-ton payload aloft while cruising During takeoff and landing, six turbo-fan jet engines push the ship up or ease its descent. This two-football-fields-long airship is the brainchild of Igor Pasternak, whose privately funded California firm, Worldwide Aeros Corporation, is in the early stages of developing a prototype and expects to have one completed by 2010.
Pasternak says several cruise ship companies have expressed interest in the project, and for good reason - the craft would have a range of several thousand miles, and, wit h an estimated top speed of 174 mph, could traverse the continental United States in about 18 hours. During the flight, passengers would view national landmarks just 8,000 feet below, or, if they weren't captivated by the view, the cavernous interior would easily accommodate such amenities as luxury staterooms, restaurants - - even a casino.

To minimize noise, the aft-mounted propellers will be electric, powered by a renewable source such as hydrogen fuel cells. A sophisticated buoyancy - management system will serve the same purpose as trim on an airplane, allowing for precise adjustments in flight dynamics to compensate for outside conditions and passenger movement. The automated system will draw outside air into compartments throughout the ship and compress it to manage onboard weight.


On a pressurized plane, windows like these would explode outward The Aero craft would not fly high enough to need pressurization). The company envisions a cargo-carrying version that could deliver a St ore's worth of merchandise from a centralized distribution center straight to a Wal -Mart parking lot, or, because the helium-filled craft will float, a year's worth of supplies to an offshore oil rig.

"You can land on the snow, you can land on the water, " Pasternak says " It's a new vision of what can be done in the air. "

http://www.sonnyradio.com/aeroscraft.htm

[marmar]

1. That thing is hideous.....

n/t

[HughBeaumont]

2. Looks about as safe as a dirigible also.

Even air travel isn't immune to the obesity epidemic, apparently.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

3. i would think any landing/flying

in and around thunderstorms would be out of the question...any strong wind (steady or not) would cause problems for something like that...though i do relish the thought of a nice leisurely flight across the country or the globe with some effing legroom!!!

sP

[gateley]

4. I think this is a wonderful - thinking outside the box -- vision of where

we may be going. Thanks for posting!

[Warpy]

9. It sounds wonderful

Instead of being crammed into the inside of a small fuselage like a bunch of sardines and hurtled through the air so far up that little on the ground is visible, people would find the journey a luxurious one with restaurants, bars, and staterooms and the ability to get around, socialize, watch the scenery, and generally enjoy a more leisurely trip. Getting there would be at least half the fun of a vacation. Even cattle class would have roomier seats and the ability to get out of them and move around a bit.

Given the choice, I'll take the blimp, please. I'm no longer in that big a hurry and of an age where deep vein thrombosis has to be considered on long air trips.

[gateley]

20. There is a cool pic of the interior and a little film at the link. nt

[BigBearJohn]

16. You're quite welcome.

[glitch]

29. Very much agreed

A state room on an airplane, in my dreams! Even a berth would do nicely, and they could do that now.

[Catherine Vincent]

5. An airplane with a hardon.

:evilgrin:

[Richard D]

6. I'd imagine . . .

. . . the first ones will be luxury. Second or third generation (if first one proves successful) will probably have much of the ship taken up by 32" legroom seats.

[TechBear_Seattle]

7. Not to ignite the Hindenburg, but helium is becoming very scarce

Interesting idea, but we would need to synthesize more helium for this concept to float in any commercial way. The amount on this planet is very small (relative to its mass) and there is no renewable source except in the heart of a star.

http://www.sciencefriday.com/program/archives/200710122
http://www.energybulletin.net/node/3135
http://www.phys.ufl.edu/~cryogenics/pdf/helium.pdf

[Silent3]

11. Ironic that the second most abundant element in the universe...

...is in short supply down here.

[TechBear_Seattle]

17. Helium is extremely light and extremely non-reactive

Hydrogen is a tramp: he'll hook up with anything and everything that comes along. Helium, being a noble gas, is much more discriminating.

What helium may have been on Earth when it was formed basically floated off into space a very long time ago. What we have now is the result of radioactive elements decaying. You might find this bit from the Wikipedia interesting.

[Silent3]

22. I'm familiar with the physics and chemistry...

...just bemoaning the fact that things work out this way.

[dflprincess]

8. I always thought it would have been fun to fly on the Pan Am Clipper

http://www.airliner.net/

This might be even better. The Clipper actually seemed to me to be more like train travel in the air.

[Arugula Latte]

10. Oh, the humanity!

[KG]

13. it had to be said....

[Dreamer Tatum]

26. Looks more like a huge manatee, actually nt

[Arugula Latte]

27. That could be their marketing hook, right there: "The Sea Cow of the Air"

[On the Road]

12. Oh, God, That is Beautiful

Would love to take a trip on one of those.

If the costs are competitive, this could become a revolution for certain kinds of transport. It could be much more fuel efficient than an passenger airliner, or for that matter five hundred semis of cargo. It could also alleviate airport congestion.

John McPhee's "the Deltoid Pumpkin Seed" describes a small aeronautics company in southern NJ attempting to marry dirigible technology with an aerodynamic shape that provided lift. That particular project never got off the ground, but maybe this one will.

[KharmaTrain]

14. Cargo Shipments, Maybe...Passengers? Not So Much

Amazing how many people are still stimgatized by the Hindenburg crash of 1937...and that technology has stood still since that time.

I see a lot of potential in the commercial cargo hauling capabilities of this plane...like a barge...where costs are more important than time. However, expect for "cruise travelers", I see limited appeal for a commercial market (unless the costs were very low). Many people loath the 6 hours from NY to LA, 18 doesn't seem like an upgrade...even if you can walk around. It sounds like a fun way for a retiree to travel or may attract overseas traffic as a true "liner of the skies".

Personally, I like the concept...I have no fear of helium (as it looks like there's a lot of insulation around the fusilage) and anything that travels without mass consumption of fossil fuels is a welcome improvement. I'll be curious to see a prototype in action (neat photo of O'Hare in the OP)...it may just be one solution to the large transportation puzzle that needs to be solved to eliminate our dependence of both big oil and large corporates.

[mtf80123]

15. I love the idea!

Especially since it will draw its' power from fuel cells!

[dpbrown]

18. Nice. I'd ride it.

Cruise the continent from 8,000 feet. Okay.

[vinylsolution]

19. I was wondering what became....

... of the Ron Paul blimp.

Does it deliver pizza locally? Or maybe this is the way forward for U-Haul.

The entire Republican Party could use it for a direct flight to Uranus. They'd love that.

[PermanentRevolution]

21. Interesting concept

Not much good for actual commuting, but I can see the possibilities for a continental cruise line. Instead of a 7-day cruise around the Caribbean, you could have a 7-day New England package, or a 5-day Southwest, or 10-day Pacific Coast, etc. touching on the major tourist destinations in the region and returning to a home port. Maybe even a 14-day Coast-to-Coast trip. Could be a whole new way to see the US...

[quiet.american]

23. Hmn... you take the first ride and let me know how it turns out. :) nt

[mainegreen]

24. Is it time for the yearly 'blimps will save us all thread'?

Seriously, blimps are never going to be more than a teeny niche application, unless a massively huge source of helium is found.

Till then, I'm betting on trains and boats.

[backscatter712]

25. We may very well see craft like this, but not the luxury.

For the most part, the airlines will do the same thing with this aircraft that they did with previous aircraft - cram as many passengers in them as possible, and unless you pay through the nose for a first class ticket, you'll be treated like cattle. It's just that they'll be able to cram several thousand head of cattle, I mean passengers on this beast.

If you're lucky, and it's a long trip, the flight attendants might even give you a meal of hardtack and swill during your flight!

[Initech]

28. I can conjure up an image for that:

[slor]

30. I do not like to fly...

but I would fly in that! I love it.

[cobalt1999]

31. It flys as 8,000 feet, so it doesn't go above the weather.

That would mean going through thunderstorms or, in the case of a large storm front, landing and waiting it out.

I could see the cruise aspect in areas with good weather.

[Codeine]

32. When this finally happens

it can cruise next to the monkeys that will be flying out of my ass.

[misanthrope]

33. When does it arrive in Lakehurst?**nm

**

[IDemo]

34. That would be a great platform for a Viagra ad n/t

[cynatnite]

35. Looks like the world's biggest....

oh, never mind. :smoke:

[Canuckistanian]

36. No. I was PROMISED a personal hovercraft

And a personal hovercraft I shall have.

[1]

37. i would so totally fly in that...

i could never afford it, but i might win a trip on a game show or something.

of course i did travel once between boston and d.c. on an amtrak train. an "overnight" type thing in a sleeper compartment. the greatest trip i have ever taken. sleeping almost all of the trip, arriving refreshed and relaxed in the morning to a danish, a cup of coffee and newspaper delivered to my cabin door.

hummm... 100 year old technology and it was cheaper than a plane flight.


hummm...