Every year millions
of carefree people board cruise ships and never entertain a single thought
about the sinking of the Titanic. Same goes for the millions of people everyday
who travel and commute via plane, train or automobile. Unless you're severely phobic,
chances are transportation disasters are the last thing on your mind as you
embark.
So why then does the
mere mention of the blimp and zeppelin industry initiate an echo-chamber where
all we hear is "Oh the humanity!". Perhaps we should let bygones be
bygones and stop fixating on the 1937 Hindenburg disaster, for the dawn of a
new age of 'air vehicles' may soon be upon us.
British Company,
Hybrid Air Vehicles, is leading the charge. They recently pulled down two major
commercial deals, potentially indicating that the airship industry may once
again be taking flight.
The company's modern
airships are composed of semi-rigid lifting balloons, taking 40 percent of
their lifting capacity from onboard engines that provide vectored thrust.
Helium provides the remain 60 percent for liftoff.
Additionally,
fan-equipped pontoons on the underbelly of the hull give the airship the
ability to land on grass, concrete or water, without a ground crew.
Hybrid Air Vehicles
most lucrative deal is a $517 million contract with Northrop Grumman to supply
a Long-Endurance Multi-Intelligence Vehicle (LEMV) to the U.S. Army for
deployment in Afghanistan in 2012. The second deal is with Discovery Air
Innovations, who has agreed to buy vehicles capable of lifting 50 tons and
flying 115 miles per hour.
The military
airships potentially would be used for surveillance and transport, while the
Canadian contract intends use the air vehicles to deliver cargo in remote
regions of the arctic North.
Hybrid Air Vehicles
sees a bright future for their airships. The company seeks to tap the markets
of mapping and geographic monitoring, humanitarian aid distribution, offshore
drilling and luxury tourism.
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