The BBC and Gazpachot have interesting articles on the possibility of a return to the use of Zepellins. Although they'd slow travel down to a much more leisurely pace, the idea is interesting since they'd make air travel a bit more like boat travel with ample space and the possibility of enjoying the scenery. They're evidently safe, economical, and eco-friendly as well.
8 comments:
Hello friend. Interesting blog, interesting idea, to slow down. I stopped flying years ago and seldom go anywhere anymore. That is further than 100 miles away from here.
A flight in a Zepellin might be interesting though, I wouldn't mind having a small one or two person one I guess.
"Military men are just dumb stupid animals to be used as pawns in foreign policy."
Great quote, I will post it also. Have a great day, hugs.
The airship idea comes up every few years but is as silly as ever. Airships are slow - very slow - are pretty much at the mercy of the winds and have little practical carrying capacity.
Their uses are therefore very limited. They are also pretty expensive in relation to faster means of travel and are easily out done by even by slow moving ships for cargo carrying.
Unless something drastic happens to our technological society the airship will remain obsolete. It is a technology that has had its day.
It does bring up some interesting possibilities though. Instead of airports, we'd have airship ports all across the country. I'd imagine it would be more like taking a cruise. I've been in helicopters before and being a couple hundred meters off the ground is a great perspective--you can really get a sense of the lay out of the land (although the noise and vibration somewhat detracts from the experience--a problem the airships wouldn't have, presumably).
They would be perfect for "moving through Kashmir".
Sorry that was the best Led Zep reference I could come up with.
Wouldn't the rebellious Kasmiris shoot it down?
(;
That would probably happen after a communication breakdown.
Sorry, I couldn't help myself.
Zeppelins have one more trait that is going to become extremely, extremely important shortly since oil is hitting $100 a barrel and is only going up: They are highly fuel efficient, since they require no fuel to keep them in the air and have little friction to slow them down as they move through the air (depends on the speed of course -- try to push a zep at high speed thru the air, it's like pushing a barn door, takes a lot of fuel).
However, they're no faster than high-speed bullet trains, and they're not as fuel-efficient or safe as high-speed bullet trains (don't try to ride a Zep through a storm, the wind will blow it all over the place!), so I think in the end this is not going to go anywhere. The only place a Zep makes sense is for places where there's not enough traffic for a bullet train, but because of the amount of space needed for Zeppelin hangars and fields, your typical Alaska bush airport or whatever isn't ever going to be able to accomodate one.
So I don't think it's going to happen in any big way. Maybe a couple of novelty zeps, and that's it. Meanwhile, we need to get crackin' on those bullet trains, even if we have to buy the running gear from the French and/or Japanese (who have perfected the technology)...
I agree with you on that one. Trains are a great way to travel. You can read, watch the scenery, or talk to a neighbor. We should have cheap train travel between all major cities.
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