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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"."

16 of 317 comments (clear)

  1. Oh the humanity! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    This is a terrible day! What a tragedy! Oh, my God! Those poor people!

    1. Re:Oh the humanity! by Microlith · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Thankfully, this time the outer surface isn't coated in ROCKET FUEL with a nice HYDROGEN supply beneath.

    2. Re:Oh the humanity! by cayenne8 · · Score: 5, Funny
      Damn, when I first read the headline, I thought they finally were going to hae a Led Zeppelin reunion concert tour.....

      Oh well........

      :-(

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    3. Re:Oh the humanity! by karait · · Score: 5, Funny

      Zeppelin-NT A product composed of TWO items famous for crashes!

  2. It is over me currently by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Zeppelin NT came to Istanbul for a private BMW meeting I guess. Thing looks damn cool and huge :)

  3. Zep2k by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    They should upgrade to Zep 2000 (based on NT technology.)

  4. Article has errors by BeeRockxs · · Score: 5, Interesting

    " The new craft designed by Germany's Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik -- named Zeppelin NT for "New Technology" -- is filled with helium rather than the intensely flammable hydrogen that fuelled the earlier generation of airships. " The earlier generation of airships was also designed to be filled with Helium, not Hydrogen. Short supply forced them to use Hydrogen.

  5. Comment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    You lost a great opportunity to be quiet. Don't let those pass you again.

    Sincerely,
    Mr Blinky

  6. It's about time by Jesrad · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Ever since the Hindenburg accident the technology has been nearly dead, just as if we had stopped building ships after the Titanic sank.

    --
    Maybe we deserve this world ?
    1. 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.

  7. Touting the Canadian Horn here by WormholeFiend · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Check out www.21stcenturyairships.com

    This guy made spherical airships despite everyone telling him it would never work.

    Personally, I find this much more interesting than the Zeppelin "comeback".

  8. Advertising? by Guppy06 · · Score: 5, Funny

    "a Japanese company that plans to use the 12-seat craft for (...) advertising."

    If they put light-emitting diodes on the sides for an electronic billboard, would that make it a LED Zeppelin?

  9. 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...

  10. Helium Supply by lcars1701z · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Even though it's the second most abundant element in the universe after hydrogen, helium is fairly scarce on earth. The majority that we get comes from extraction from natural gas. Ambient air extraction is not economically feasible due to the low concentration (1 part per 200,000). I've heard that demand will outstrip supply by 2010 and the $19.95 Party Balloon kits at Costco will be a bit more costly. What is the future of lighter-than air transport with the "lighter" part being costly in the near future?

  11. Re:NT? by cmacb · · Score: 5, Funny

    I think Microsoft has a solid claim for prior art on vapor technology.

  12. 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