Airships for Everyone
Last week, news broke that Skyacht Aircraft, Inc. is developing the world's first personal blimp, and would eventually it will be for sale. The prototype model is pictured above. I emailed the principal designer how much it cost them to build, and he said, "it was 1,000 hours of work to build and the materials cost was around $20,000. My guess is that both those numbers will change a fair bit before the descendants of the current design reach the marketplace." I'll bet they will - the materials cost will be greater and the time cost will decrease. I wouldn't be surprised if we saw high-quality personal airships for sale by 2008 for $50,000 a pop. The main downside is the cruising speed - around 12 mph. From the site:
While some hot air airships exist today, these craft are extremely limited in their abilities. These limits arise because the envelopes (a.k.a. "gas bags") of these ships consist only of fabric with no rigid structural members (i.e. They are "non-rigids".) These designs rely solely upon internal air pressurization (the way a toy balloon does) to retain their shape. This lack of structural rigidity leads to both low airspeed and very limited steering.
So we need rigid-shell airships that have high speeds and extreme steering capability. Duly noted. Here are the specs on the personal blimp:
Length: 105 ft. (32 meters)
Diameter: 70 ft. (21 meters)
Seats: 2
Maximum Weight: 4,100 lbs (1,860 kg)
Cruise Speed: 12 mph (19 kph)
Propulsion Type: Gasoline
Lifting Gas: Hot Air
Size in Flight: 205,000 cubic feet
Size When Deflated/Folded: 1,500 cubic feet
Assuming the dual-seat cabin area takes up maybe 1,000 cubic feet, this gives us the general ratio of 200:1 between the size of the balloon and its payload.
This all reminds me: this gem, the Moller Skycar, can be yours by 2008 or 2009 at the latest for a deposit today of $10,000 and a total cost of $500,000:
The blurb from the site:
From your garage to your destination, the M400 Skycar can cruise comfortably at 275 MPH (maximum speed of 375 MPH) and achieve up to 20 miles per gallon on clean burning, ethanol fuel. No traffic, no red lights, no speeding tickets. Just quiet direct transportation from point A to point B in a fraction of the time. Three dimensional mobility in place of two dimensional immobility.
Sometimes stuff that sounds "too good to be true" is actually true. Test videos here. Obviously, what needs to be done is to combine the two ideas:
...and the result is a craft that some of us may be familiar with. The balloon/payload ratio is improved to 10:1, or even 5:1. It is my prediction that the fusion of cheap VTOL technology with rigid-frame airships will lead to a transportation revolution greater in significance than the rise of the automobile. Combined with software based on descendents of Sebastian Thrun's for self-navigating cars, you have an airship that can go park itself innoculously and propel itself back to your home at the push of a button. Redundant navigation networks coupled with radar beacons and emergency auto-braking will minimize any accidents. According to Thrun's comments at the Stanford Singularity Summit, this technology may be less than 15 years away, for cars at least. A three-dimensional version of the same technology cannot be far off.
This is all bad news for real estate investors. Just like the advent of the automobile allowed the existence of suburbs and made it possible to commute dozens of miles to work, the advent of personal airships will expand the suburb radius by an order of magnitude, making it possible to commute and distribute goods over hundred-mile distances. It also threatens the environment by greatly opening up the number of places one can build a house or factory.
Over at Onotech, San Francisco techie Ethan Stock is arguing the value of derigibles for mass transit as well as personal transit, in an age of prohibitively expensive and environmentally unfriendly fossil fuels:
Right now it takes about 10 hours to fly the 6000 miles from SF to London, at about 600 miles per hour. An appropriately designed dirigible could do it in 24 hours at 250 miles per hour, at a vastly (90%?) reduced fuel cost -- since a dirigible would benefit both from the cubic reduction in power-required vs. speed flown, and the absence of the need to expend power to keep the aircraft up in the air, which accounts for a large percentage of airplane fuel cost. Imagine that, instead of spending 10 hours on a cramped, noisy, EXPENSIVE airplane, you spent a full day and a full night on a quiet, spacious, dirigible? Broadband internet access would be essential -- not only could you make crystal-clear phone calls, but you could transfer any volume of data. You'd get nice meals from a large kitchen. You could walk around and exercise. You could sleep in a real bed. And in a world of $70 - $140 a barrel oil costs, all of this might be CHEAPER to provide than a miserable 10-hour flight.
Meanwhile, DARPA is talking about using airships for surveillance superiority, a Swiss inventor wants to replace all cell phone transmission towers with a few high-altitude ships, Dynalifter will be a 300-meter airship designed to take the place of trucks, Millenium Airship is doing the same thing, a heavier-than-air airship hybrid prototype will be built by 2010, Lockheed Martin wants to use the things for missile defense, and some people are discussing building stratospheric zeppelin hotels. Is there anything these glorious machines won't do?
See you in the skies!
August 15th, 2006 - 06:22
Wow, a personal airship would be incredible!
Airships have so much potential. My personal favourite are the orbital airship concepts. The mind boggles at the possibilities once affordable, safe and high volume traffic into sub-orbit become possible. Within a decade we should see some pretty massive changes in aerospace.
August 15th, 2006 - 14:36
I used to play around mentally with airships a lot about 6 years ago. Had similar ideas to Michael regarding hybrid Moller-style cars with Airship functionality. Michael. Are you in contact with any people doing real airship work? Here’s a proposal that I suspect would make a huge difference if its viable. Could high speed flywheels be used to gyroscopically stabilize airship orientation while traditional style sails enabled tacking and other wind based propulsion?
Also, why use gasoline rather than solar heating (via controlling albedo). While your at it, you can run fans with solar energy using thin film solar polymers on the bag and/or sail. Fly above the clouds for clean sailing. Use solar to recharge flywheels as well. Good tacking may enable two way use of jetstreams.
August 15th, 2006 - 15:51
Are you in contact with any people doing real airship work?
Only the personal blimp guy… regular contact, certainly not – since when are airships a central focus of mine?
Could high speed flywheels be used to gyroscopically stabilize airship orientation while traditional style sails enabled tacking and other wind based propulsion?
Could Michael Vassar spend a few hours writing a white paper on this? ;)
Also, why use gasoline rather than solar heating (via controlling albedo). While your at it, you can run fans with solar energy using thin film solar polymers on the bag and/or sail. Fly above the clouds for clean sailing. Use solar to recharge flywheels as well. Good tacking may enable two way use of jetstreams.
You have too many good ideas for me to digest in one go!
August 19th, 2006 - 07:58
All I can say is…wow. As a flying car and airship enthusiast, you have totally made my day. This is a future worth living to see. I have GOT to get me one of those rigid personal airships.
Also, I love the idea of the flying “cruise” airships across the ocean. Add shopping, gaming, and other entertainment facilities and you’ve got a fun and luxurious way to travel — two values that have been all but eliminated from air travel. This would be like a cruise ship that actually gets you somewhere: both the journey and the destination would be the reward.
August 19th, 2006 - 10:01
I am an aerospace consultant and I have a Client (an aerial advertising company) that is considering buying a used hot-air airship for use as an advertising vehicle. (The reason being that it takes 8-10 months to place an order for a factory to manufacture a new ship)
My Client has aerial advertising jobs that it needs to execute right away, and cannot afford to wait.
The hot-air ship is intended for use in the tropics where the temperature is hot year round.
Please contact me if anyone is aware of the availability of used hot-air airships for sale or lease. Or if an operator is interested in handling a turnkey airship flight operations for my Client overseas.
Please direct me on how to get additional information on “personal blimp” by Skyacht Aircraft Inc., which information is presented on this website.
Does any one know whether the “personal blimp” production has gone beyond the prototype stage?
I await your response.
Sam Ndatah
August 19th, 2006 - 16:21
Does any one know whether the “personal blimp†production has gone beyond the prototype stage?
It has not.
August 20th, 2006 - 14:12
“…and the result is a craft that some of us may be familiar with.”
Indeed. Go Highwind! :D
August 21st, 2006 - 14:03
And they told me that flying cars were a broken promise!
August 21st, 2006 - 21:53
I’d like an aircar as much as the next guy, but blimps are terribly vulnerable to weather. I live in Mojave, CA, where sometimes the wind stops. Maneuvering a lighter than air ship in 50 knot winds is not something I’d wish on my worst enemy.
A rigid frame does nothing for the fact that the vehicle is, overall, less dense than a dandelion seed- that’s what lighter than air *means*. The US Navy lost several rigid airships to breakup in weather that would have merely inconvenienced a normal aircraft.
August 21st, 2006 - 22:04
Maneuvering a lighter than air ship in 50 knot winds is not something I’d wish on my worst enemy.
Oh well, VTOL-only aircars might be more likely for personal use. The many applications I listed near the end could still make airships useful.
Whoa, your company website looks pretty amazing! I’ll check it out.
October 12th, 2006 - 09:51
This is what I was looking for, glad I found it.
April 4th, 2007 - 01:15
Great information, you think and love as I do!
June 18th, 2007 - 09:06
Probably a dumb question, but I am young and its my life dream to do this.
How possible do yout hink it is to make an airship such as the Highwind or say airships from FFXII or those from the anime The Last Exile?
November 10th, 2007 - 15:16
Hi there,
Years ago when I had the chance of reading some futuristic dreams in an old Popular Mechanics issue, my great aunt show me drawings she had made about giant dirigibles with pizza-slice shapes and covering great areas and volumes; she added the possibility of using them remotely to carry great volumes of water to extinguish wood fires as well as to transport water to places in immediate need. Some of her drawings showed the possibility of being used as cranes.
Just to tell you that my great aunt had died 12 years ago at the age of 85 will give you an idea of how advanced she was. I redrawn her designs and I still keep them as a good remainder of her positive and futuristic thoughts.
The best for you
August 24th, 2008 - 14:12
Airships for everyone, in years gone by, great flights would be taken to prove the worthiness of a flying machine, why has this stopped?
The machine in question flies with the aid of a petrol driven motor @ 12mph, why do we need to fly faster.
In the great australian wilderness, couples who retire travel the country in VW camper vans, lets be a little more realistic about what we want these flying ships to do, we want them to fly 50 feet above the ground be easy to operate and maintain with the ability to carry weight of two beings, and the commodities that we use on a day to day basis. Does this machine have that ability or could it.
When I retire in 20 yrs I would like to fly from town to town, living off my pension and seeing the country for what it is.
John
August 29th, 2008 - 11:00
I was picturing about a 25 foot 6 passenger craft or smaller. A change in aerodynamics by flattening out the shape and marketing these to those who want to work in Boston but live on an Island in Maine. By air at 75 miles per hour straight non stop would take 1:10 minutes. At 125 mph you could be there in 30 minutes. If a safe craft with open easy landing was available, the need to live so close would allow many to move back to the country or at there favorite summer spot and have the best of two worlds. The amount of ceo’s, presidents, agressive hard working executives would take this up in a heart beat. My old ceo could hardly be kept from speeding his car off into a ditch. The personallity of an entire generation would be able to afford something as well. With no restrictions the way to assure regulation does not get set before kicking off a company expansion, flood the market with an investment of a product even at a loss to get into the air with a track record before government can get involved. Grass roots marketing and an incredible investment into this market could create a billion dollar industry world wide for millions of executives, wealthy as well as entrepenues whom would use this for instate delivery’s, transportation like a taxi etc… The ability to do this cost effectively should be capable because the craft is not a heavy built car. It needs to be light, the energy to move a floating craft is 1/10th a car engine so the size of a motor is relatively small. The gas or floating needs should be the most expensive part so that is where the money would be, assuring safety and consistent use. Having places to park and service would be the money in the market. If someone wants to be a billionaire from making these crafts, they will lose the imagination of the young and executive class if cost is too much. The potential to make residual money for decades by the gas and parking etc… would be the best marketing plan to get the product running and visual. Youth would dream again of traveling in the air creating future market very quickly.
Thanks, I would love to be part of this industry,
AFR&Associates
11 grandview st
ste 1000
Lisbon Maine,
04250
Riordanenergy@gmail.com
January 5th, 2009 - 11:59
I love the idea fo Hybrid Airships! In the design of a flying wing, of course. Assuming that at 2mph 1m^2 of wing area would lift 2kg, an airship composed of a 9m long, 3m diameter cylinder with an 18m long strut running along the bottom, and wings stretched out on this frame, would provide enough lift for maybe 150kg at low speeds. Launching would consist of the craft (Lighter than Air) being moved along at 2mph, having it’s wings unfolded, and then the passengers would walk underneath, load cargo, and climb aboard (making it Heavier than Air. It could be stored quite easily, by having the strut fold alongside the body. The entire structure would be lifted by the lifting gas (I propose Hydrogen) with the wings providing lift for cargo and passengers.
December 3rd, 2009 - 07:08
bookmarked, i will add your homepage to my toolbar
March 4th, 2010 - 23:23
I have a thought, but I can’t find any hard science on this idea. What is the effect of a static DC Field on a helium balloon? I’m wondering if with a little tinkering, if you could make the lift of Helium better, or make a full system so the ship itself is fully controlled in even the worst weather.
May 22nd, 2010 - 13:39
This article helped me a lot. It tells all the things that you need to know and what you need to do. Thanks a lot for sharing your knowledge to us.
August 29th, 2010 - 19:11
why have so many contracts been awarded ,with dead lines of 2011 and why are such large ships being built and seen in USA ,JAPAN , EUROPE ?
And all we are told is nothing.
July 22nd, 2011 - 06:35
I am Oleg V Anokhin, Dr. of Chemistry of Materials from Ukraine.
I ready propose for realize + take patent New idea for future technologies of New principale of Blimp construction.
I send my search result of Patent – free for take this solutions for real industry.
New principle for energy transfer for traction propeller, airscrew, water screw .
Results for: B 64 C 11/00 (11/ 32 . . mechanical )
| propeller B64C 11/00
Document count: B (11527) 64 (4754) C (14554) 11/00 (1084) B 64 C 11/00 (236) propeller (20)
This new principle will give for all kind of business – who on its production activity, productive activity ALL kind of propeller, propfan, air or water engines – to find a new solution for give transfer of power for their constituent – which give for system haul, draw.
I send for You my CV and wait Your proposition – if such ( pioner solutions ) interesting for Your sphere of interest.
I send for you my CV for underline my real interest,
Have a nice day, Oleg Anokhin
http://www.apply.com.ua
P.S. for me in Ukraine take patent – impossible.