By Tim Harford Listen to podcast here: http://timharford.com/2019/11/cautionary-tales-ep-4-the-deadly-airship-race/ “A British Lord wanted to build the best airship in the world – and so he had two rival design teams battle it out to win the juicy government contract. Competition is supposed to bring the best out of people, but run in the wrong way it […]
By Hugh Riminton on Sunday Extra Listen to podcast here: https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/sundayextra/11751856 With growing concerns about the high GHG emissions produced by jet aircraft and shipping, scientists and engineers are looking at a new generation of low or no-emission airships to carry cargo around the world. Guest: Barry Prentice – President of Buoyant Aircraft Systems International […]
The Goodyear blimp is a household name and the most visible instance of applied airship technology today. In some respects, it is the best advertisement for the potential of airship technology to revolutionize future transportation, too. After operating GZ-20 blimps safely for 48 years (1969-2017), Goodyear retired the last of these well-known blimps and replaced […]
Article By Starre Julia Vartan – onezero.medium.com This August, Greta Thunberg sailed across the Atlantic in a zero-emission sailboat to protest the high carbon footprint of plane travel. But there’s good reason to think she may someday travel to climate protests via airship — the same giant aircraft, buoyed by gas-filled balloons, that were popular […]
It is abundantly clear that airships have great potential, despite being slower than airplanes. Airships are relatively fast, capable of crossing oceans and able to hover. They are fuel efficient, with huge cargo bays, and require less infrastructure than competing modes of transport. Despite these clear benefits, implementation has been difficult. Four challenges confront the […]
Article By Mylène Crête in Quebec City – www.ledevoir.com The Quebec government is right to invest $ 30 million in the construction of industrial airships, according to Barry Prentice, a transportation economics expert at the University of Manitoba who has been interested in this technology for many years. “This industry is still in its infancy, […]
Article By CÉLINE FABRIÈS -The sun The French company Flying Whales signed Wednesday morning the cooperation agreement and financial participation of $ 30 million with the Quebec government for the creation of a heavy load airship. Thanks to this agreement, Flying Whales’ Quebec subsidiary obtains the exclusivity of production for the American continent. As of […]
After aerostatic flight, the next most important technological principle to understand about airships is drag. The drag equation explains why airships fly slower than planes, but more efficiently, and also why airships fly faster than ships sail. It also explains why airships have streamlined, aerodynamic shapes and why commercial airliners fly very high, while airships […]
The optimism of airship advocates is based on scientific principles of which most people are only mildly aware. Understanding how helium or hydrogen gas allow an airship to float, and other principles of how airships work, enables us to appreciate what giant airships could do, if they were built using modern technology. Economic analysis of […]
Living under capitalism involves incessant technological change. Companies tweak their products, release new models, etc., but most of the changes are small, incremental improvements. Some, however, revolutionize lifestyles and the economy. Important new concepts become part of everyday language and change the world, as we know it. But to adopt and adapt takes decades. Careers […]
