Zeppelins relaunched
A future form of recreational travel? Like a leisurely train-trip taken to three dimensions, here’s a nice dream from BBC - cruising from London to Rome in 24 hours while enjoying the sights along the way at 450m altitude, wining, dining and sleeping well along the way.
Airships have been out of fashion since the Hindenburg, which is rather sad considering that they are a very safe and comfortable way of traveling.
Some companies produce airships today - The Zeppelin NT flown in the article above being the most accessible recreational option. Another prototype airship is Dynalifter, which is slightly heavier than air and intended for cargo loads of 160 tons with a speed of over 150 km/h.
Size matters, and with continuous improvements in materials technology, building larger, lighter and stable structures becomes cheaper over time (and while we’re at it, let’s cover them in solar panels) and while airplanes will still take care of the most time sensitive travel, it is not at all impossible that a new generation airships may mark the skies in the not too distant future. The cruise-in-the-sky idea is really more about marketing as the technology has been here for more then 100 years, so where is the first billionaire to grow tired of building brains, sailing 47-meter raido controlled boats, or the ol’ stop AIDS or play RL Championship Manager, to come help us all live the dream?
