# Low carbon flights in an airship?



## Mailliw (May 27, 2021)

So a company is planning on using a commercial hybrid airship to offer low carbon flights. I've hear of alot of proposals to revive rigid airship for passenger service and my response is always the same; it's fun to think about, but I'll believe when I see it. My great aunt once flew on the Hindenburg and I've always been fascinated by zeppelins, but outside of alternative history the have extremely limited appeal in modern times. Sightseeing is a good use, but even for that they haven't caught on. So's delivering cargo to remote areas, but nothing ever comes of those proposals.


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## MARC Rider (May 28, 2021)

I suspect that something will have to happen to make routine conventional aircraft non-viable before anyone gets serious about restarting zeppelins. Something like a major long-term reduction in the availability of jet fuel. Of course, under those conditions, there will probably also be a major long-term reduction in the availability of gasoline, so nobody will be able to get to the zeppelin-port anyway.

One thing I've always wondered about flying in airships is how they handle turbulence. I'd hate to have to make a 60 hour transatlantic flight on a zeppelin if the ride was more like the "vomit comet."


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## Mailliw (May 31, 2021)

My great aunt said she couldn't even tell the ship was moving without looking out the windows.


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## Qapla (May 31, 2021)

Airships would be soooo much faster than LD trains ....


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## railiner (May 31, 2021)

Airships should best be left for what blimp's are used for now....an aerial billboard, and camera platform over sports stadiums....


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## Bob Dylan (May 31, 2021)

railiner said:


> Airships should best be left for what blimp's are used for now....an aerial billboard, and camera platform over sports stadiums....


They're also used by the Government for Ariel Surveillance along the US-Mexico Border.


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## MARC Rider (May 31, 2021)

Qapla said:


> Airships would be soooo much faster than LD trains ....


Hindenburg - HISTORY

Not quite. Maximum speed was 85 mph, cruising speed was 78 mph. But, yeah, you never had to sit in sidings for freight trains.  On the other hand, if the crew saw a thunderstorm, they took all necessary action to fly around it, keeping as much distance as possible from the storm, seeing that zeppelins (especially zeppelins filled with hydrogen) and thunder, lightning, and thermal updrafts don't mix very well. (See USS Shenandoah for the sad tale.) This meant that schedules were more aspirational than actual.

Hindenburg Flight Operations and Procedures | Airships.net
Normal cruising altitude was 200 meters (650 ft) but would fly slower to stay below the clouds.
The operating crew consisted of 39 officers and men -- these things were more like operating an oceangoing ship, not an airplane. Even with modern automated systems, I would expect a larger crew on an airship than on an airliner.
Hindenburg Flight Schedule | Airships.net
The trip between Frankfurt and Lakehurst could take between 48 and 78 hours. I guess it depended whether you had a tailwind or not. The trips between Frankfurt and Rio De Janeiro took 80 - 110 hours.
I wonder if they packed the German version of Amstew for the times when the airship was running late. 

Was there train service between Lakehurst and New York?


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## MARC Rider (May 31, 2021)

The Goodyear Blimp is now a Zeppelin


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