popsci.com— Boeing has teamed with a Canadian company to develop a commercial heavy-lift aircraft that combines helicopter rotor systems with a neutrally bouyant airship.
Jul 10, 2008View in Crawl 4
I've been reading about the immanent return of the blimp and/or dirigible in Popular Science and it's sister magazine Popular Mechanics since 1974. There comes a point when you just don't get excited about it anymore. PopSci and PopMech, get lost!
A German company (don't remember the name) attempted to resurrect large, heavy-lift airships a few years ago, not sure what became of them. The idea was huge though, when you consider that almost every large construction project is constrained to use components that are either manufactured on-site or can fit on a flatbed truck or train. Imagine not having that size constraint for pre-fab buildings, power generation equipment, industrial equipment, components of civil engineering projects (bridges, freeway overpasses) etc. The scale of projects and cost reductions (cheaper to manufacture in a factory) could change the world around us in ways that are hard to fathom because everything we see is constrained by a road width standard established 2000 years ago in ancient Rome (limiting today, for instance, the allowable diameter of the space shuttle's booster rockets, which have to fit on trains). Heavy-lift airships could thus usher in a sci-fi like future, potentially very exciting stuff.
Realistically, it's very easy to make a cable that supports 40 tonnes or more. This would be thousands of times less likely to break than, for example, a 747 randomly breaking in half and falling from the sky along with its cargo.
helicopters can only carry a fraction of how much this sky crane can do. it would be amazing if this could be used for firefighting . it would solve our fire problems.
londubhJul 12, 2008
I've been reading about the immanent return of the blimp and/or dirigible in Popular Science and it's sister magazine Popular Mechanics since 1974. There comes a point when you just don't get excited about it anymore. PopSci and PopMech, get lost!
glitchenzoJul 12, 2008
I have an awesome book all about the Macon and the Akron. They are the two coolest airships ever built.
desertdenizenJul 12, 2008
A German company (don't remember the name) attempted to resurrect large, heavy-lift airships a few years ago, not sure what became of them. The idea was huge though, when you consider that almost every large construction project is constrained to use components that are either manufactured on-site or can fit on a flatbed truck or train. Imagine not having that size constraint for pre-fab buildings, power generation equipment, industrial equipment, components of civil engineering projects (bridges, freeway overpasses) etc. The scale of projects and cost reductions (cheaper to manufacture in a factory) could change the world around us in ways that are hard to fathom because everything we see is constrained by a road width standard established 2000 years ago in ancient Rome (limiting today, for instance, the allowable diameter of the space shuttle's booster rockets, which have to fit on trains). Heavy-lift airships could thus usher in a sci-fi like future, potentially very exciting stuff.
frost9999Jul 12, 2008
Realistically, it's very easy to make a cable that supports 40 tonnes or more. This would be thousands of times less likely to break than, for example, a 747 randomly breaking in half and falling from the sky along with its cargo.
choobahJul 12, 2008
Erm...didn't the Akron (as well as its sister the Macon) crash? So when did it leave? 1933.<a class="user" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Akron_(ZRS-4)">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Akron_(ZRS-4)</a>
an0nym0usJul 12, 2008
Nah, they will just have a new job title.
brybry800Jul 24, 2008
helicopters can only carry a fraction of how much this sky crane can do. it would be amazing if this could be used for firefighting . it would solve our fire problems.