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Zeppelin Flies Again

Posted by Hemos on from the taking-to-the-air dept.

rakerman writes "The Globe and Mail reports Japanese firm buys first new-look Zeppelin. "Makers of the revived Zeppelin airship delivered their first helium-filled craft to a commercial user Saturday, a Japanese company that plans to use the 12-seat craft for sightseeing trips and advertising." They call themselves Zeppelin-NT, or as the Germans say "Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik GmbH"."

3 of 317 comments (clear)

  1. NOT A BLIMP! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative
    it's a blimp people, it just has a different name - whoop de do

    Actually, it isn't a blimp, it's a proper Zeppelin. The difference? A Zeppelin has a rigid frame, a blimp does not.

    Did you know that the US Navy built a few Zeppelin Aircraft Carriers in the 1930s? That's right - Zeppelins that could carry, launch and recover fighter aircraft. Fighteres were carried in a compartment in the body of the airship and were launched and recovered from a "trapeze". Link with pictures.

    Zeppelins are cool. I wish they'd become more widely adopted. Stoopid Hindenburg painted with Stoopid rocket fuel...

  2. Re:It's about time by Waffle+Iron · · Score: 5, Informative
    The Hindenberg accident was just the most memorable. However, most of the major dirigibles of the era were destroyed in mishaps. A lot of them got twisted to bits in thunderstorms; flying in those storm magnets was kind of like hanging out in a floating trailer park.

    The most famous exception to this, the Graf Zeppelin, was memorable mainly because it was able to operate so long without being lost in an accident.

    The Hindenburg was really just the last straw. Not to mention that even in the 1930s airplanes could transport a similar number of passengers faster, with fewer crew, and without needing a vessel comparable in size to the Titanic.

  3. A Zeppelin, not a Blimp by beq · · Score: 5, Informative
    From the company's website:
    The rigid framework weighs about a tonne and provides great stability. It comprises triangular carbon-fibre frames and three aluminium longerons braced by aramide cables. All the main components of the airship such as cabin, empennage and engines are mounted on this rigid structure. This arrangement ensures that the airship retains optimum manoeuvrability even with a loss of envelope pressure

    Looks like a Zeppelin to me.
    --
    -Brendan