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The Age of the Airship Returns?
Popular in Victorian and Steampunk fantasies, airships and zeppelins evoke a certain elegance that most modern travelers don't associate with the airplane. Some companies are capitalizing on that idea, and a need to move cargo by air in an era of ever-increasing fuel costs, to re-re-introduce commercial zeppelins. Popular Mechanics notes four notable airship designs, all with specific design purposes. One craft in particular, the Aeroscraft ML866, is being funded by the US government's DARPA group. It looks to combine the best elements of the helicopter and the zeppelin. "The Aeroscraft ML866's potentially revolutionary Control of Static Heaviness system compresses and decompresses helium in the 210-ft.-long envelope, changing this proposed sky yacht's buoyancy during takeoff and landings, Aeros says. It hopes to end the program with a test flight demonstrating the system. "
he wants his world of tomorrow back.
--- Grow a pair, liberals... stop letting the Republicans bully you!
No, the Stargate program has control of that. Go talk to Captain Carter and see if she can give you a few pointers.
The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
(sorry, had to be said)
Table-ized A.I.
Cool.
But since love is irrational, then only a float is going to be at all useful.
And it lifts better too!
Of course vacuum would provide the best lift of all in the atmosphere. So why is it that my beautiful 21" crt monitor, which is little more than a big cube of vacuum, is so damn heavy?
"It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
Shouldn't all comments referring to the Hindenburg be modded "Flaimbait"?
I know what you did last summer. Just kidding, I don't work at the NSA.
Think how crushingly heavy it would be if you broke the vacuum!
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You can make it from hydrogen. It's a bit tricky, though.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Blimps don't need to make economic sense because they are fun. Also, if we don't have zeppelins, then how am I supposed to fulfill my dream of throwing somebody off of one and then saying "No ticket"?
I hear the sun's been doing it for years. Maybe we should ask it for advice.