Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
Solar airship will fly from NYC to Paris
First, let's just get this out of the way: it is not, I repeat not, a blimp. Whew! Okay. . . Turtle Airships (a Spanish company that seems to have some intense aversion to the word "blimp") is working on an airship that will make the journey from NYC to Paris, powered predominantly by the sun.
The top half of the blimp airship will be covered in solar panels that will store energy in batteries and use it to power four electric motors. The craft will also have a biodiesel engine as a back-up so the ship can fly in bad weather and at night. It will be able to take off vertically, land on ground or in water, and travel at around 40 miles per hour in ideal weather (making for a very long Transatlantic journey).
The airship is having a bit of difficulty getting off the ground at this point though, due to lack of funds. Turtle Airships is working on a prototype and hoping that as buzz for the project increases, so will the financing. Once the cash comes in, they say they're ready for lift-off.
Until then, you can indulge your Goodyear fantasies with Airship Ventures, which offers Zeppelin flights from several California cities, ranging from $199 to $600 per person.
[via Wired]
Filed under: Transportation
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Thomas Goodey Jul 28th 2009 8:37PM
This loony "airship" proposal is not generally considered as a serious one by people knowledgeable in the field, and you are making a mistake to publicize it, at least without a health warning upon investment!
campbell Jul 29th 2009 8:01PM
Hello. Darrell Campbell here. CEO of Turtle Airships and designer of the "turtle" airship. Thank you for the write up! I enjoyed those bits about Turtle hiving aversion to "blimp"! (one MUST have a sense of humor in this industry!)
Re: Mr. Goodey's comment: I do take exception to the "loony" tag. Of course, only crazy people would sail off into the west in danger of falling off the edge of the earth. I suppose I'm in good company with those kinds of crazy people.
"those people knowledgable in the field" That is laughable. The only filed extent is that of blimps or dirigibles; and those are patently severely limited; one reason why "airships" get so many rolled-eyes reactions.
More pointedly; regarding the idea of "investment". No one should ever invest in any potential without first giving it serious investigations; that's just good business sense. And no one, in the above article, nor at Turtle Airships itself, is suggesting that anyone "invest" anything at all. We don't, not until we are asked, period.
Bacca Yarro Sep 3rd 2009 2:08PM
You may want to look at a similar project:
http://www.solarairship.net
They have a flying solar powered prototype, and go much faster by virtue of flying in the jet stream. Also, since its above the clouds, a cloudy day won't stop the sun from powering the craft.
It's for cargo, but presumably the same thing could be used for passengers.