Dirigible Freighter Carrier from the Millenium Company

[stephendare]

[Jason]

Something like that could reinvent seaports alltogether.  The need for any water based freighters would be almost nill.

[Lunican]

Ocean freighters move some very heavy stuff so these airships aren't likely to be a replacement, but there may be a market for medium speed freight.

[Ocklawaha]

Zeppelin Aircraft Corp. Yesterday and Today! Somebody Please jump on this ship!

Good find Stephendare. This fits what we've been discussing for 2 years or more, "The return of the Zeppelin," is already off the ground and so far only San Francisco and Germany have made a gesture of interest.

I can't help but think we are seeing a rebirth of an entire industry, and industry that will involve high speed and high priority 20' TEU's. (containers). The math is done, the factory's are buzzing, Skunk Works is running Lighter then Air demonstrations, and our whole nation is asleep at the wheel.

Why can't Jacksonville set aside some effort to become the North American Port and headquarters for lighter-then-air-ships. No runways needed, just a big round pad, imagine the possibilities with Imeson? A new type of cargo ship tied up on land that is really just across the street from the cruise port. As Zeppelin has a keen interest in restoration of passenger flights, we could be the FIRST city in the eastern half of America with non stops to Germany, or San Francisco. IS ANYBODY AWAKE AT JPA or JAA?


OCKLAWAHA

[CS Foltz]

This is the first time that I have seen this post and it makes more than just a little sense! Only problem that I see is that it makes sense so you know just what that means! No way Jose!

[Ocklawaha]

Can you imagine though, one transport that eliminates a two step transport?

Dirigibles can land in parking lots, slowly and carefully.  Can you imagine a shipment being able to go from Tuscon Arizona to Nantes France with only one container load?

No rail or shipping to the east coast, no sea transport to europe, no transfer back to rail or truck to nantes.

That would have to trim off a lot of cost and paperwork.

Ock.  have you seen the fuel costs on these things?

Yeah, that's the crazy part and the reason for the draw back to zeppelins and blimps. It was said that the Graf Zeppelin could cross the Atlantic for the same amout of fuel it takes for a jumbo jet to go from the gate to the end of the runway. Now THATS economy. Economy that has for the first time in decades got some very serious players in the field.

OCKLAWAHA

[Dog Walker]

Ock, Maybe you could look up some figures for us.  My very faulty memory says something like 10HP generated by a twenty knot wind on 100 sq.ft. of sail area.

In any case, airships are so huge that they have multiple hundred thousands of sq.ft. of surface area.  In almost any kind of wind they are unmanageable especially in the turbulence near the surface.  They used to and still will require a huge ground infrastructure to land them and control them when they are docked.  The idea of landing them in a parking lot is out.

Wasn't the Akron was wrecked in a gale when the framework was collapsed by unequal forces of wind at each end of the ship?

Third, they will consume huge amounts of helium.  Helium is a tiny, slippery atom and leaks out of any possible kind of bladder.  It is my understanding that the cost of helium is the second largest cost of operating modern airships after salaries.

[civil42806]

Whats the cargo capacity compared to your typical ship?

[civil42806]

Its literrally immense.

immense is actually not a number

[NotNow]

It is my understanding that one cubic meter of helium will lift about 1 kg.  Or 1000 cubic feet of helium will lift about 20 pounds.  Add in the wieght of the ship itself and you will need a LOT of helium.

[NotNow]

This is flying now:

Specifications
Measurement A380-800 A380-800F
Cockpit crew Two
Seating capacity 525 (3-class)[5]
644 (2-class)
853 (1-class) 12 couriers
Length 73 m (240 ft)
Span 79.8 m (262 ft)
Height 24.1 m (79 ft)
Wheelbase 30.4 m (100 ft)
Outside fuselage width 7.14 m (23.4 ft)
Cabin width 6.58 m (21.6 ft) for Main deck
5.92 m (19.4 ft) for Upper deck
Wing area 845 m2 (9,100 sq ft)
Wing sweep 33.5°
Operating empty weight 276,800 kg (610,000 lb) 252,200 kg (556,000 lb)
Maximum take-off weight 560,000 kg (1,200,000 lb) 590,000 kg (1,300,000 lb)
Maximum payload 90,800 kg (200,000 lb) 152,400 kg (336,000 lb)
Maximum operating speed
at cruise altitude Mach 0.89[5]
(945 km/h, 587 mph, 510 knots)
Maximum speed Mach 0.96[122]
(at cruise altitude: 1020 km/h, 634 mph, 551 knots)
Take off run at MTOW 2,750 m (9,000 ft)[93] 2,900 m (9,500 ft)[93]
Range at design load 15,200 km (8,200 nmi, 9,400 mi) 10,400 km (5,600 nmi, 6,400 mi)
Service ceiling 13,115 m (43,030 ft)[123]
Maximum fuel capacity 310,000 l
(81,890 US gal, 68,200 imp gal) 310,000 l
(81,890 US gal, 68,200 imp gal),
356,000 l
(94,000 US gal, 78,300 imp gal) option
Engines (4 x) GP7270 (A380-861)
Trent 970/B (A380-841)
Trent 972/B (A380-842) GP7277 (A380-863F)
Trent 977/B (A380-843F)
Thrust (4 x) 322 kN (72,000 lbf) - 374 kN (84,000 lbf)


Of course, I have no idea what the comparable fuel burn would be because the airship does not exist.  But in the "fast" cargo realm, which I believe is what we are talking about, I'm not sure this is a game changer.

[civil42806]

e

http://www.skyfreightercanada.com/aircraft.htm

      Cargo weight - 70 tons
      Cargo volume - 14 TEU's
      Maximum range - 2000 Nautical miles @ 50 ton payload
      Cruise speed - 80 kts
      Landing zone - 2000 ft diameter circle
      Fuel - Jet-A
      Obstacles - 3 foot (including water)
[/quote]

  MAS recognize that the world requires a revolutionary hybrid heavy lift Airship to fulfill 21st Century transformation mission requirements. These requirements result in the need for an air vehicle that can provide heavy lift global reach transport of varying weights, sizes and volume. MAS will start with a 50 ton lift vehicle and will base the production of larger air vehicles on future demands; however we have already been queried on a 500 ton lift vehicle.

http://www.skyfreightercanada.com/aircraft.htm

      Cargo weight - 70 tons
      Cargo volume - 14 TEU's
      Maximum range - 2000 Nautical miles @ 50 ton payload
      Cruise speed - 80 kts
      Landing zone - 2000 ft diameter circle
      Fuel - Jet-A
      Obstacles - 3 foot (including water)

  MAS recognize that the world requires a revolutionary hybrid heavy lift Airship to fulfill 21st Century transformation mission requirements. These requirements result in the need for an air vehicle that can provide heavy lift global reach transport of varying weights, sizes and volume. MAS will start with a 50 ton lift vehicle and will base the production of larger air vehicles on future demands; however we have already been queried on a 500 ton lift vehicle.

http://www.skyfreightercanada.com/aircraft.htm

      Cargo weight - 70 tons
      Cargo volume - 14 TEU's
      Maximum range - 2000 Nautical miles @ 50 ton payload
      Cruise speed - 80 kts
      Landing zone - 2000 ft diameter circle
      Fuel - Jet-A
      Obstacles - 3 foot (including water)

70 tons, quite frankly thats nothing.  Dont think the shipping industry has anything to worry about.  Plus has been said before it doesn't exist.

[CS Foltz]

Current Technology kinda limits the possibilities. Simple physics dictates Lighter than Air Ships have limits on lift capacity as well as speed and range. Next step would be antigravity or something along those lines....possibly magnetic technology and we just are not there quite yet.....maybe the next generation will enjoy benefits of that but don't look for step by step enhancements to bring this kind of technology up and running today! But tomorrow is getting real interesting!

[civil42806]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_Douglas_MD-11

Here are the stats for the McDonnel Douglas MD 11  about the same.   Considering.  The fuel costs are substantially different.

Operating empty weight    283,975 lb (128,809 kg)
Max landing weight            430,000 lb (200,000 kg)

or about 73 tons.

Large boats, forget the airplanes, they are competing against large ships.  MD-11  well I would bet it would be just a bit faster than a blimp!

[NotNow]

A working prototype would answer a lot of questions:

What is the actual fuel rate of burn?  (type and number of engines, length and rate of run)
What are the environmental limitations?  (altitude, temperature, humidity, wind)
Size of the craft and related questions?  (sail area, takeoff and landing requirements)
Crew and equipment required?  (specialized maintenance, helium, load and offload)

Until these and other questions are answered it is really just speculation.  Cool looking thing though.