Airship News
(Like the news about electric cars sorta "flooding in" these days, thought I post just one message in this thread about "airships in the news" that I can add to/update over time)
"Lockheed sees buyer for hybrid cargo airship in 2015"
(From late 2014):
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/21/us-lockheed-cargo-idUSKCN0J52BL20141121
Includes:
"(Reuters) - Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) expects to reach an agreement next year with a launch customer for a giant new hybrid airship that would revolutionize the way oil and mining companies haul equipment to the Arctic and other remote areas without roads.
The initial version of the airship, filled mostly with helium, would carry 20 tons of cargo, but could easily be scaled to roughly the size of a football field with 500 tons of capacity,"
So, even a "baby sized" airship otta carry 40 "normal sized" passengers? Hehe... and end of that article:
"He said the airships would likely cost tens of millions of dollars, making their cost comparable to what operators now pay to truck cargo via seasonal ice roads, but about five to 10 times cheaper than much cheaper than transport via helicopters."
"tens of millions". Say for example $30 million, good for... 60 years? So 1/2 mill. p.a. plus/minus. (Apart from cost for ticket, food and bevs served? Promo sold eg "Buy a Seat" sales?
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"Second Goodyear airship being built at Wingfoot Lake blimp base"
http://www.ohio.com/news/local/seco...ng-built-at-wingfoot-lake-blimp-base-1.560961
Includes:
"“It is pretty neat. The technology behind putting the airship together is a lot different from the airship technologies of the past,” Bradley said. “It’s a pretty big leap forward.”
Besides having a lightweight internal frame, the new helium-filled airships also are noticeably longer and faster than the traditional nonrigid GZ20A blimps that they will replace. The NT models can carry two pilots and 12 passengers."
... so a tire company has a bigger promo budget than the City of Toronto. Apparently.
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"The British airship manufacturer making a rapid ascent"
http://www.grant-thornton.co.uk/Thinking/The-British-airship-manufacturer-making-a-rapid-ascent/
Includes stuff like:
"“There is more demand for air transportation now than there has ever been. At the same time there is a concern for the environment and so Airlander, as a practical and green flight technology, fits the bill.”
Airlander is the company’s key product – a new generation of airship that can (in the case of the 50 model) travel for 2,600 miles and carry a substantial 50 tonnes of cargo in the form of six standardised shipping containers. The surveillance spin-off can stay airborne at 16,000ft for five days solid. Passenger versions are even mooted for the future. But the big question with airships is: are they safe?"
Hehe... goes on to describe helium as "safer" than hydrogen, failing to point out that helium is a finite resource. Leaked out, disappears off into space never to return.
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"Hawaii attorney wants to use airship to shuttle people over lava if molten rock blocks highway"
http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/29663fbabf67484da90ab60f6bf10b69/HI--Hawaii-Volcano-Airships
Includes:
"A gondola attached to a buoyant ship called a SkyFlyer would carry about 25 passengers at a time over the lava, Steve Strauss told the Hawaii Tribune-Herald. Each trip would take about five minutes and cost about $15 one way."
