Airships - the future of luxury travel?

 

Air travel produces huge amounts of CO2 and other greenhouse gasses and it is widely agreed that this urgently needs to be addressed.

Dale Vince, a green energy tycoon, plans to launch the UKs first electric airline.  Planes will run on engines that convert green hydrogen into electricity.  The aviation industry is researching other options to decarbonise including sustainable aviation fuel (biofuel made from agricultural products).  Dale Vince declared SAF “bullshit”.  “There is nowhere near enough land to grow the crops you’d need.”

What about airships?  Airships require less energy than any other aircraft.  They are lighter-than-air craft that travel under their own power, gaining lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air.  BUT there will be some serious PR work required because of their unfortunate history!

The Past

Airships have been a concept since 1670 when Francesco Lana de Terzi (the Father or Aeronautics) published a description of an “Aerial Ship”.



Fast forward to 1900 when the most successful airship of all time, the Zeppelin, made its first flight.

During WW1, the Germans believed they had the ideal weapon to counteract British naval superiority and strike at Britain.  When raids began in January 1915 Zeppelins proved to be a terrifying but inaccurate weapon.  Navigation, target selection and bomb-aiming was difficult under the best of conditions.  With the introduction of explosive ammunition in 1916 their flammable hydrogen lifting gas made them vulnerable and several were shot down in flames. Designs that reached greater heights were developed but this made their bombing accuracy even worse.

In the 1930s Zeppelins successfully competed with other means of transport.  They carried more passengers than contemporary aircraft and had amenities similar to luxury ocean liners.  They were more energy-efficient than heavier-than-air designs and were faster than ocean liners.  Airships had a future.

The infamous Hindenburg made ten successful trips from Germany to the US in 1936 but in May 1937 the Hindenburg caught fire while attempting to dock.  The accident caused the death of 35 of the 97 people on board and was widely broadcast in newsreel coverage, photographs, and recorded eyewitness reports.  The disaster shattered public confidence and marked the abrupt end of the passenger airship era.



During WW2 airships very successfully protected shipping convoys crossing the Atlantic.  Airships dropped depth-chargers, forcing German submarines to dive underwater where their speed and range was limited, preventing them from attacking.

The Present

Since WW2 there have been roles for airships including advertising, TV camera platforms at sporting events, for long-term observations and for sightseeing tours.  Recently Chinese intelligence gathering blimps made the news.

Helium is the most common lifting gas.  It is inert and non-flammable. Tests were completed by the UK defence department and, because the internal gas pressure was only 1-2% above surrounding air pressure, the craft withstood attack by small-arms fire and missiles.  The airship completed its mission and returned to base.

Today with large, fast, and increasingly cost-efficient conventional aircraft, it is unknown whether huge airships can again operate profitably as regular passenger transport but, as energy costs rise and carbon reduction gains importance, attention is returning to lighter-than-air vessels.

The Future

One proposed airship, using solar-powered engines and conventional jet engines, would only use 8% of the fuel required by jet aircraft and, using the jet stream, provide a fast and energy-efficient cargo alternative to maritime shipping.  Modern airships travel at about 80mph.

Many companies are now designing passenger airships that use modern materials and some aspire to be as luxurious as superyachts.  The Airlander 10 will cost about $50M-$70M.  The company says it has 15 letters of intent.  Luxury travel groups plan to use them for safaris, hopping from one camp to the next, or to fly from Svalbard to the North Pole.  The idea of slow cruising, at relatively low altitudes and in luxury surroundings has some appeal!

 


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