Solar Blimp to Fly from NYC to Paris, Rests on Land or Water
A Spanish company called Turtle Airships is working on plans to build a luxurious solar-powered blimp which can take passengers from New York to Paris.
Perhaps the only thing cooler than being powered by lightweight photovoltaic cells, this airship is also designed to rest on land or water.
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The first blimp prototype will be propelled in two nontraditional ways. The outside of the ship will be covered with Cadmium-Indium-Germanium (CIG) photovoltaic cells, picked for their their light weight. The cells should generate enough power to move the blimp at around 40 mph in average conditions, or at around 70 horsepower. Meanwhile, a diesel drivetrain will generate the rest of the power, and ideally the designers will look to an adapted hybrid electric model for that. And because blimps fly at low altitudes, they don’t have to deal with problems that plague diesel engines at elevations over 30,000 ft.
The only thing currently keeping this visionary project from flying is funding. But Turtle Airships hopes that will change after the completion of a genuine prototype that will demonstrate the project’s viability to funders. “Our goal in flying this remote control model is to get some video of it onto the Web and hopefully attract some financing that will enable us to move on from there to a genuine, manned, demonstration model of a Turtle Airship,” said one spokesperson.
The folks at Turtle Airships don’t like calling their aircraft a ‘blimp’: “It is a rigid shelled, amphibious, solar powered, all weather, FAST aircraft that is lifted by helium, but it is not a blimp.”
Even so: it’s a blimp.
Though that doesn’t take anything away from the ingenuity of its design. Their idea is certainly not one short on vision. And who wouldn’t want to take a transatlantic ride on a flying luxury cruise ship powered by sunshine?
Nasty memories of the Hindenburg aside, it may not be long before passengers are flying comfortably from New York to Paris– and beyond– aboard Turtle Airships.
Source: Wired
I, being only one person, believe that this idea will fail. That being said, let me tell you all why I believe this idea will fail. Storms and a blimps inability to fly through them at low altitudes will limit the reach of this idea. It can rest on land and water. Yes it can, but it cannot rest on something that is not also at rest. During storms the ocean will not be at rest and this blimp will crash/sink. It risks too many lives to be marketable beyond trips across the North Atlantic. Storms are the reason this idea will not develop, but entertainment will be the reason they ultimately fail. Being pushed by 70hp and nothing else the trips will be extremely long by todays standards. The only way extremely long trips have lasted in todays world, and made money in a modern world is by: 1) returning to the starting place, and 2) entertaining the guests during the travel time. Many modern curses have water slides, casinos, buffets, arcades and bars for guests to enjoy. A blimp, running on 70hp, will not have what it takes to provide this to it’s guests. The idea is flawed, but finally, I would like to give some suggestions on how to improve this idea. First, target your audience. It will be those with spendable wealth. Look at what they like to do, than tailor the wasted space inside the blimp’s ‘balloon’ as a space for guests to go. Build driving ranges, bars, playgrounds, and rooms for passengers to go. This will involve pioneering new light weight gas mixtures that have enough oxygen to support life. A direction for research would be light weight materials as a source of lift. Your welcome, I’ll take a job if you’ve got one.
“Even so: it’s a blimp.”
Mr. Nelson? You should do some basic research before
publishing, perhaps to the extent of a dictionary.
Dictionary.com provides the correct definition of the English word “blimp,” as follows:
“1. a small, nonrigid airship or dirigible, esp. one used chiefly for observation.”
The Turtle Airships representative you quoted is clearly justified in his or her reluctance to refer to the company’s rigid airship design as a blimp, when a blimp is (see above definition) specifically NON-rigid.
Your comment to the contrary is patently incorrect and needlessly dismissive of Turtle Airships and their laudable goals.
Your ignorance, Mr. Nelson, is only equaled by your smug, cooler-than-you attitude. It’s unappealing and reflects poorly on Cleantechnica.com, as well as yourself.
Airships are, at least in theory, a viable ‘green’ solution to a lot of our travel needs. However, I’m going to agree with Thomas in that targeting the long-haul market is possibly not the best way to head with these ships. Mostly because of the length of time such trips would take.
However, I do believe that airships pose a viable alternative to conventional heavier-than-air flight in the short-haul arena. Short-haul is the relm of the low-cost carrier (Ryanair, Easyjet, SouthWest Airlines) - and one of the biggest overheads these companies have is fuel. Airships, especially solar-powered ones such as the above example cut down on that cost substantially. So they take 4 hours instead of 1.5, but for the same cost or cheaper the comfort and quality abord such a flight could outstrip anything offered by current airlines, cattle-class or otherwise.
Light freight by blimp! Straight-line traffic free fast, no tires to burn, no frustrated drivers cursing small car traffic! no huge trucks to pass in the freeways, Go for it! As for passengers, it seems ideal too! Room to walk around, bar, lounge, girls! computer plug-ins at desks why not! you have the space and the lift - beats the hell out of buses, and probably better than congested trains foe longer distances? Who knows? They will certainly take less fuel than jet planes, and possibly solve the high cost tickets, and probably relieve the airport congestion - all good ! Give it a go! Oil is not getting any cheaper, and society still demands we travel, so what else! I like it!
I would be sure to have touchdown points in Newfoundland, Greenland, Iceland and Scotland and fund mostly by cargo. I would like this option. Just nothing as flammable as the Hindenburg please.
Heidenberg crashed and burned because of it’s construction materials, not the gas inside. Treehugger, don’t perpetuate misconceptions, thanks.
It’s perfectly safe to use Helium.
Anyways, I heard about this company a few years ago. Went to their website. It was the sorriest site I’ve ever seen. Hopefully they’ll get this off the ground. I would definitely travel this way.
XVX for life, R.A.S.H. ’til death.
It seems like some of you are assuming that the entire “balloon” area can be used for something other than holding gas. I believe the small area at the bottom of the blimp is where you can store people or freight. If you fill the “ballon” with stuff, then it won’t float.
“Even so: it’s a blimp.”
As a_a_a said, no, it’s not — if it has a rigid structure, it’s a zeppelin (just like the Hindenburg was, BTW). Blimps have NO structural supports.
And to Hann — the gas (hydrogen) inside Hindenburg CERTAINLY contributed to the accident, otherwise there wouldn’t have been an enormous fireball.
@ angry_airship_afficionado: Your lack of research and comments are annoying. Dictionary.com is just ‘one’ version of the definition of a “blimp.” Try Merriam Webster you doof. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/blimp - 1: an airship that maintains its form by pressure from contained gas
It’s a freakin’ blimp. Don’t over-analyze it.
90 hours to fly from NY to Paris? No thank you.