How Are Big Airships Really Making A Comeback Again?

Future big airships – Airlander 10 (Image Credit: Hybrid Air Vehicles)

There was really a time when big airships were considered the future of air transportation. As a child, I grew up watching science fiction movies set in distant futures that often portrayed giant airships as the primary mode of air transportation. Novels like H.G. Well’s “The War in the Air” (1908) popularised the notion of airship technology.

Yet, here we are in the year 2022. Big airships are not the norm when it comes to air transportation in our present reality. What happened? And how are they making a comeback again all of a sudden?

These are the questions I will be investigating in this essay. If alternative flight technology and innovative ideas inspire you, then buckle up and join me on this exciting ride! Let’s start by taking a look at what an airship is.

This essay is supported by Generatebg

What is an Airship?

You might be familiar with conventional airplanes, helicopters, drones, etc. The commonality among conventional flight technologies is that they are all heavier than air. You might be puzzled and think along the following lines:

“Well, of course, they are, genius! They are made of metal and whatnot. Why is this relevant?”

Well, if you are indeed thinking along these lines, then trust me: it is relevant. Flight technologies that are heavier than air typically obtain flight by moving through the air (known as dynamic lift). Such technologies are classified as aerodynes.

On the other hand, airships belong to the category of aerostats. These are lighter than air and obtain lift by buoyancy effect (known as static lift). You might be thinking:

“Hang on a minute, how can a giant airship be lighter than air?”

Well, it is because they need to be lighter than air that they end up being huge. Imagine a balloon that has a gas inside of it that is lighter than environmental air. For the balloon to carry any meaningful load, it has to feature a proportionally large volume. In simple terms, these are what airships are.

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Why Don’t We See Many Big Air Ships Today?

To answer this question, we need to look back at the history of airships. Before airplanes were a thing, airships were one of the prime contenders for air transport. Several affluent innovators and entrepreneurs tried their hand at designing, testing, and employing airships for recreational as well as commercial purposes.

One common aspect that I noticed when studying the history of airships is that there were a lot of accidents and deaths involved (right through the entire history!). But still, the allure of a large majestic flying beast kept inspiring innovators generation after generation. And it did pay off!

In the year 1900, Luftschiff Zeppelin (Airship Zeppelin) LZ1 made its first flight. The Zeppelin was named after Count von Zeppelin who was one of the prime innovators of the technology.

This marked the beginning of some of the most successful airships of all time. Then, the world wars came along!

The Effect of Wars on Big Airships

Airships were seen as tactical armaments during World War 1. They seemed fearsome but produced mixed results. They were huge and were easily affected by adverse weather, which led to frequent accidents. On the other hand, they could stay in the air for prolonged durations, and ordinary bullets did not affect them much. Apparently, a few bullet holes were not enough to bring them down.

Back then, the gas that airships used to float was primarily hydrogen; helium was still scarce. However, as soon as countries worked out that hydrogen is flammable, it was just a matter of time before explosive ammunitions sunk a whole bunch of airships.

Relegated to the backlines, the airships continued to prove useful to keep the submarines in check. They often just hovered over the water, and used explosive charges to either sink submarines or drive them deep enough for them to be ineffective.

Technological progress was not kind to the airships. Airplanes emerged as competitors to them as the wars continued. As long as the power-to-weight ratios of airplane engines were low and their specific fuel consumption high, the airships were able to keep up. But as these numbers began to change over the years, airships got more and more unattractive for military purposes.

The Post-War Saga

The airships did enjoy a brief period of post-war glory as they were employed for recreational and commercial (passenger) transportation. The Zeppelins were some of the safest ones in this regard. That was until the Hindenburg incident happened.

In the year 1937, the Hindenburg, a new Zeppelin model, was approaching Lakehurst, New Jersey, from Germany. Just minutes before landing, the Hindenburg suddenly burst into flames and crashed on the ground. This huge disaster happened right in front of a large crowd and was also filmed by reporters who were planning to record the airship’s arrival anyway. Of the 97 people on board, 36 died.

Further broadcasting of these disastrous scenes really drove the nail into the coffin for the airships and brought a definitive end to their “golden age.”

After this saga, airships were still developed and used for niche military and research purposes, but nothing extraordinary happened. More recently, airships have been used for advertising and recreational purposes. The famous Zeppelins still exist, albeit in their modern forms. However, by and large, airships are incomparable with airplanes in terms of popularity and utility.

But hang on. The story might not be over yet. The tide could be turning for the airships soon.

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The Future of Big Airships

We no longer live in times of war. Two of the prime concerns presently are climate change and carbon emissions. A typical airplane uses a lot of its fuel just to stay in the air. This aspect of an airplane’s fuel inefficiency is coming more and more under scrutiny.

An airship, on the contrary, does not need to burn as much fuel to stay in the air. Modern airships are estimated to produce less than half of the carbon emission of a comparable airplane.

A few daring and innovative startups see value in this space and are trying to innovate. In short, they are currently designing and testing the airships of the future. Noteworthy examples of this are the Airlander 10 from Hybrid Air Vehicles and LTA60T from Flying Whales.

For starters, such modern airships use inert helium instead of flammable hydrogen as the Hindenburg did. The Airlander 10, for instance, is a hybrid airship and a functional prototype exists. It is “hybrid” because it is actually heavier than air and uses conventional aerodyne lift to get off the ground. Once it is airborne, it uses its aerostat properties along with modern control systems to manoeuvre.

In its current form, the Airlander 10 is estimated to produce only 25% of the carbon emissions of a comparable airplane. If electric engines are fitted instead of combustion engines, this number could go down to 10%. This is the main draw to such solutions.

But alas! All this comes at a price called speed. Such vehicles can only cruise at a top speed of around 125 kilometers per hour. So, what could we use them for? Right, let us answer that question next.

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The Use Case for Future Airships

With speed being a prime limiting factor for future airships, they have two primary use cases:

1. The luxury travel/cruise segment.

2. The cargo haul use segment.

Luxury Travel

Imagine a cruise ship in the sky. An airship with its massive size and presence has a rich feeling to it. Hybrid Air Vehicles, for instance, is trying to target this segment.

With very low fuel consumption and carbon emissions, one could plan for multiple-day trips to remote locations. Remote destinations are possible because, unlike an airplane, future airships would not need a long super-smooth runway, an airport, and an army of maintenance personnel.

Having said this, luxury travel comes with luxury requirements such as grand toilets, beds, swimming pools, bars, a big team of attendants, etc. All of these don’t come at a light weight.

Cargo

Imagine huge windmill rotor-blades or spacecraft parts being transported by big airships. Even current state-of-the-art trucks struggle when road infrastructure is lacking in remote regions. This could be an ideal opportunity for airships. Flying whales, for instance, is targeting this segment.

Apart from such use cases, airships could also be used for heavy lifting over short distances (known as heavy-lift, short-haul). Cargo transportation is not smooth sailing though.

It is often the case that landing and take-off locations are not necessarily flat are friendly to airships. Also, once the cargo is dropped-off, the loads change significantly. All of a sudden, the airship would become significantly lighter. Letting helium out would only add to the expenses as helium isn’t cheap.

Compression and decompression of helium might be a solution, but engineering such solutions adds to the weight. One another option could be to just pick up an equivalent ballast at the drop-off location.

Since these problems are dynamic in nature, any potential solution needs to be tested extensively in all possible weather conditions. So, there’s a lot of work to be done before airships are ready for this use case.

Final Thoughts

Itis clear that our environmental needs demand solutions like airships to be revisited. Having said this, the path ahead seems to be a long one.

Not only do these daring startups need to solve very challenging technical challenges, but they also need to clear strict regulations to be permitted for commercial operations. The last time that commercial airships were approved was in the early 1900s. All this means that such ventures will not come cheap in terms of budgets either.

Even though the skies ahead seem to be harsh for prospective future airships, once reliable advances are made, entirely new markets are likely to open-up (like spacecraft launching pads, for instance). With their unique advantages (and disadvantages) over conventional airplanes, future airships are more likely to complement conventional aircrafts as opposed to replacing them.

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Further reading that might interest you:  Why Are Analogue Computers Really On The Rise Again? and Why Do You See Mirrors Flipping Words?