Zeppelins

[RexMundi]

Re: Zeppelins

 

Blimps aren't Sexy ......if it was a Giant Suborbital thingie, that moved at Mach 50 bazillion, and needed 50,000 people on the ground to take care of it for 1 hour of operation, THEN the pinheads with the checkbook would look at it. It's the same thing as the Gun System vs Missile System on Aircraft arguement that's been raging since the 50's.....

 

But THAT, would have been sweet.

 

~Rex

[MisterVimes]

Re: Zeppelins

 

For the love of Zeppelins, here are some plans I've used.

“Graf Zeppelin” LZ 127 plans

[tkdguy]

Re: Zeppelins

 

Nice find, MisterVimes! Thanks for sharing it.

[Markdoc]

Re: Zeppelins

 

Look like they pulled a Fox Network on it. . . y'know' date=' it was good, it was innovative, so it got cancelled. C'mon, a blimp that could schlep half a [i']kiloton[/i] of troops, vehicles and gear halfway around the world in less than a week and someone pulls the plug?

 

sighs yet another ace piece of tech fades into the dimension known as "alternative history/what-could-have-been".

 

To be fair, like a lot of the cool military tech that inexplicably gets cancelled, the people pushing it never got around to explaining how they could make it work. The cool picture everyone has seen shows a little bitty airship

 

 

In contrast the Hindenberg, (which was about half the size of the Empire state building and about 4 times larger than the blimp in that sketch) and which used hydrogen, giving it an 8% greater lifting capacity than modern blimps had a lifting capacity of ..... drum roll .... about 10 tons. Technology has improved, but helium still weighs exactly the same as it did 70 years ago, so those kinds of numbers won't change.*

 

They never could expand how they could increase lifting capacity 50 fold, increase safety, armour the vehicle ... heck, basically anything. After all it wasn't congress that killed the program - DARPA itself asked for the program to be defunded, and the reason seems to be that they had come to conclusion it couldn't work.

 

cheers, Mark

 

*And yes, I know that WALRUS was technically not a blimp, but a heavier than air craft using helium for added lift - but the numbers still don't add up.

[MisterVimes]

Re: Zeppelins

 

Nice find' date=' MisterVimes! Thanks for sharing it.[/quote']

 

This is another that I forgotten I had. This site shows interior a variety of airships, interior and exterior views, cutaways, and deck plans (in some cases) suitable for making maps for miniatures. Airships Online

[tkdguy]

Re: Zeppelins

 

To be fair, like a lot of the cool military tech that inexplicably gets cancelled, the people pushing it never got around to explaining how they could make it work. The cool picture everyone has seen shows a little bitty airship

 

 

In contrast the Hindenberg, (which was about half the size of the Empire state building and about 4 times larger than the blimp in that sketch) and which used hydrogen, giving it an 8% greater lifting capacity than modern blimps had a lifting capacity of ..... drum roll .... about 10 tons. Technology has improved, but helium still weighs exactly the same as it did 70 years ago, so those kinds of numbers won't change.*

 

They never could expand how they could increase lifting capacity 50 fold, increase safety, armour the vehicle ... heck, basically anything. After all it wasn't congress that killed the program - DARPA itself asked for the program to be defunded, and the reason seems to be that they had come to conclusion it couldn't work.

 

cheers, Mark

 

*And yes, I know that WALRUS was technically not a blimp, but a heavier than air craft using helium for added lift - but the numbers still don't add up.

 

 

There you go again, injecting reality into a Pulp thread!

 

[tkdguy]

Re: Zeppelins

 

Here's another airship (civilian) being developed:

 

Bullet 580

 

 

It's nonrigid, and therefore is a blimp. It claims to be the largest airship, but according to the numbers, the Zeppelin NT is still a little larger. Here are the facts and figures for the Eureka.

[RexMundi]

Re: Zeppelins

 

Hmm....some possibilities there. Different look.......the multiple envelopes for different lifting capability sound cool, and it would at least meet LEED silver standards for the green crowd, heh.

 

~Rex

[Markdoc]

Re: Zeppelins

 

There you go again, injecting reality into a Pulp thread!

 

 

Well shucks, for pulp, Zeppelins 4 times the size of the Hindenberg with a lifting capacity of about 30 tons (you face diminsihing returns with regard to size - as it gets bigger, you need to make the frame stronger) are technically possible. And while 30 tons might not let you airlift a modern battalion, it will let you add steam-powered catapults and a landing deck for a couple of fighters, while still having barracks for a platoon of rocket-troopers and a decent saloon and restaurant!

 

cheers, Mark

[RexMundi]

Re: Zeppelins

 

I demand such a Zepplin!!!!!!

 

Though to be honest my players aren't bright enough to spend points on the skills to fly such a beast. Now marooning them on one, that has potential.

 

~Rex

[megaplayboy]

Re: Zeppelins

 

 

Squee!

[megaplayboy]

Re: Zeppelins

 

And, of course, this one, from the animation War of the Worlds: Goliath:

 

[RexMundi]

Re: Zeppelins

 

pretty sure I posted some links for the Goliath stuff in another thread around the pulp stuff here somewhere. Anyone hear if the flick is actually Out yet though? Been busy so haven't been ghosting things like I usually do.

 

~Rex

[DusterBoy]

Re: Zeppelins

 

Blimps aren't Sexy ......if it was a Giant Suborbital thingie, that moved at Mach 50 bazillion, and needed 50,000 people on the ground to take care of it for 1 hour of operation, THEN the pinheads with the checkbook would look at it. It's the same thing as the Gun System vs Missile System on Aircraft arguement that's been raging since the 50's.....

 

But THAT, would have been sweet.

 

~Rex

 

Uh Rex, you do know that Mach 50 bazillion = approx 55256.87 times lightspeed right?

 

(Yes, I did do the maths, sort of )

[RexMundi]

Re: Zeppelins

 

Uh Rex, you do know that Mach 50 bazillion = approx 55256.87 times lightspeed right?

 

(Yes, I did do the maths, sort of )

 

Something like that.....never claimed to be smart or accurate, Just Pretty.

 

~Rex

[tkdguy]

Re: Zeppelins

 

In Europe, Goodyear is sponsoring the Zeppelin, even if they still have lots of their iconic blimps. Not too surprising; the Zeppelin here is sponsored by Farmers Insurance, so they have their logo on the airship.

 

 

I thought it was mislabeled, but if you look at the design, you'll see it's a Zeppelin NT, not a blimp.

[DusterBoy]

Re: Zeppelins

 

Heeeey. . . it's the Goodyear Blimp. Repped

[Escafarc]

Re: Zeppelins

 

[tkdguy]

Re: Zeppelins

 

Navy Lakehurst Historical Society

 

Includes pictures of the Shenandoah, Akron, Los Angeles, and of course, the Hindenburg.

[Ian Mackinder]

Re: Zeppelins

 

Very cool link. Some interesting stiff there.

[tkdguy]

Re: Zeppelins

 

Some of Graf von Zeppelin's competitors:

 

Schütte-Lanz airships

 

Parseval airships

[tkdguy]

Re: Zeppelins

 

To get a feel of how unfamiliar Zeppelins have become, see this article.

[Ian Mackinder]

Re: Zeppelins

 

To get a feel of how unfamiliar Zeppelins have become' date=' see this article.

 

I can understand this.

 

Years ago, there was a company operating a couple of blimps here in Sydney, doing joyflights and so forth. I remember walking along a quiet street late one night, gradually becoming aware of a funny noise (engines) and looking up.

 

It was a blimp (surprise, surprise), several hundred feet almost directly above me, with lights illuminating it from the interior Chinese-Lantern-style. It took my brain a second or two to catch up and put all the data together (blimps were still a novelty, and my mind had been totally elsewhere anyhow), during which time the rest of me automatically went into "Holy ####!!!!!" mode. Took a couple of minutes for the adrenaline-induced shakes to taper off, during which time the blimp pulled away and became more recognizable.

 

If it is totally unexpected, and you need to stop and think about what you are seeing anyhow ..... Yeah.

[AmadanNaBriona]

Re: Zeppelins

 

I had me a wacky idea whist nodding off.

I imagine you could make an active camouflage system for a steam powered dirigible by channeling your steam vents to create a "cloud" around your airship.

 

Cut engines, heave to drift, vent your steam and *poof* You're a cloud

[Ian Mackinder]

Re: Zeppelins

 

Not a bad idea. I'm thinking said dirigible would need to keep venting lots of steam in order to maintain this cover - it would dissipate and/or condense fairly quickly otherwise.