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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsZeppelins could make a comeback with this solar-powered airship cargo mover
From https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/varialift-airships-solar-powered-airship/
Zeppelins could make a comeback with this solar-powered airship cargo mover
By Luke Dormehl
October 8, 2019 10:18AM PST
Varialift Airships
Zeppelins, the rigid airships most famously epitomized by the Hindenburg, now seem kind of retro, rather than the image of futurity they represented in the 1930s. But they could be about to make a comeback in a big way courtesy of a new aluminum-shelled, solar-powered airship thats being built by the U.K.-based company Varialift Airships.
According to the companys CEO Alan Handley, the airship will be capable of making a transatlantic flight from the United Kingdom to the United States, consuming just 8% of the fuel of a regular airplane. It will be powered by a pair of solar-powered engines and two conventional jet engines.
While its lack of onboard battery would limit travel to daylight hours, and its speed will only be approximately half that of a Boeing 747, the Varialift airship does promise to be a useful cargo carrier. Its creators claim that it will be able to carry loads ranging from 50 to 250 tons. Larger models with payloads up to 3,000 tons arent out of the question either. Bulky cargo such as electricity pylons, wind turbine blades, and towers, or even prefabricated structures such as oil rigs could be carried underneath using cables. That means that cargo will have a weight limit, but no practical size limit.
Because it is an airship, which lifts off more like a balloon than an airplane, the Varialift airship could also be useful in this capacity since it doesnt require a dedicated runway. This could make it valuable as a delivery vehicle in places with poor infrastructure.
[...]
By Luke Dormehl
October 8, 2019 10:18AM PST
Varialift Airships
Zeppelins, the rigid airships most famously epitomized by the Hindenburg, now seem kind of retro, rather than the image of futurity they represented in the 1930s. But they could be about to make a comeback in a big way courtesy of a new aluminum-shelled, solar-powered airship thats being built by the U.K.-based company Varialift Airships.
According to the companys CEO Alan Handley, the airship will be capable of making a transatlantic flight from the United Kingdom to the United States, consuming just 8% of the fuel of a regular airplane. It will be powered by a pair of solar-powered engines and two conventional jet engines.
While its lack of onboard battery would limit travel to daylight hours, and its speed will only be approximately half that of a Boeing 747, the Varialift airship does promise to be a useful cargo carrier. Its creators claim that it will be able to carry loads ranging from 50 to 250 tons. Larger models with payloads up to 3,000 tons arent out of the question either. Bulky cargo such as electricity pylons, wind turbine blades, and towers, or even prefabricated structures such as oil rigs could be carried underneath using cables. That means that cargo will have a weight limit, but no practical size limit.
Because it is an airship, which lifts off more like a balloon than an airplane, the Varialift airship could also be useful in this capacity since it doesnt require a dedicated runway. This could make it valuable as a delivery vehicle in places with poor infrastructure.
[...]
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Zeppelins could make a comeback with this solar-powered airship cargo mover (Original Post)
sl8
Oct 2019
OP
2naSalit
(85,638 posts)1. Is there a link?
I had a dream either last night or night before about zeppelins and in that dream I saw what a 21st century zeppelin would look like. I want to see if they match up.
2naSalit
(85,638 posts)4. Can't imagine it would be
a good thing in a big storm which we are likely to see more of in the future than not.
It looks a little like the ones in my dream.
Baclava
(12,047 posts)5. 2 jet engines, can only travel during the day? ha ha
The dream of the zeppelin never dies!
Without Bonzo it's just not the same.