Is the Airship TLA Technology?

[saundby]

In light of recent news, such as Discovery Air's order for a large number of Hybrid Air Vehicles (21st century Marriott Avitors, basically), and Aviation Capital Enterprises ordering other Hybrid Air Vehicles from Lockheed-Martin, I had occasion to wonder...is the airship, which we so frequently associate with the late 19th and early 20th century, actually futuretech?

The early attempts at its use were of limited success, with many problems and not very broad through society despite their high profile. Since then, there's been a continuous nibbling at the problems associated with using these vehicles. Now with the hybrids (heavier than air vehicles using a combination of buoyancy and aerodynamic lift, like Marriott's precocious Avitor design), we're starting to see them become a more stable, if niche, technology. With the potential for becoming a general technology in the future.

Do the problems of operation, control, and materials put these in the TLA category?

 

[Peter Schutze]

>Do the problems of operation, control, and materials put these in the TLA category?

TL-A .... no. I would think it is very situational from world to world.

No abundance of fossil fuels means LTA is going to stay important until antigrav is common.
If oil wasnt so abundant on Earth (or the main source of helium not concentrated in the USA) I would have expected LTA to have remained a key transport niche technology. While the 100mph pre WW2 Zeppelins etc achieved isnt as fast as a c130 or 747 achieves but for the same amount of fuel a LTA based Fedex could ship heaps more cargo

A desert world means hydrogen gas is going to be rare .... cracking precious water to provide liftgas on Dune ?!!!

Atmospheric and gravity would also be key considerations

 

[Madarin Dude]

They are the future tech in a number of sci fi novels and I often wonder why it is not embraced more as a viable technology. I think it would be a great alternative transport to modern air travel more of a see the sights while you cruise along to a destination.

 

[BytePro]

Public perception plays a big role in what tech that is adopted and pursued - most especially in the modern world... technical hurtles are often much easier to overcome than social ones!

LTA suffered tremendously from the Hindenburg disaster. Most notably, because it was filmed and radio broadcast - preserving the 'evidence' of how 'deadly dangerous' LTA was. Heck, I remember seeing this many times as a child in public and private schools - over 40 years after it happened!

The Texas City Disaster was orders of magnitude worse - yet I never once saw or heard anything about it while in school. Yet, 40 years later, the tar like remains of the burnt down refineries were still evident and one would be hard pressed to find any pictures not showing only the direct ship explosion results. Most 'historical records' barely even mention (if they do at all) the deaths attributed to the oil refineries...

Big money is tied to oil and, I suspect, is another reason why the 'Hindenburg disaster' was so well publicized.

 

[samuelvss]

I would say they are TL 8, but agree with Peter Schutze that it would be situational. I the new Hybrid airships are Helium rather than Hydrogen. I think that there may be a commercial LTA/hybrid niche in under-developed worlds, where it is cheaper than grav and HTA airframes, and slower than HTA but requires less developed landing faciliites. I vectored thrust in the Hybrids would allow a certain hovering for limited purposes, like dropping cargo where there is not a large enough clearing to set down.

 

[BytePro]

Yeah - TL8 sounds pretty good for use on a larger scale.

Developed worlds might use them for social/environmental reasons. On planets with gravitics, they would still have an advantage being able to float almost indefinitely without any fuel costs (turbulence, solar and thermal differentials could easily power them).

They would also make great unmanned platforms (IIRC, in the RW, there were plans for using them for wireless internet, not to mention military apps for over the horizon early warning systems).

Believe one of the Mongoose adventures featured a LTA... (deckplans available - but didn't locate on new site )

 

[samuelvss]

Grav LTA/Hybrid.

Come to think, there is not a reason that Grav could not be used on one of these. When Grav is supplemental, as ooposed to providing the primary lift, it gets really cheap.

There was a great little write-up in an early JTAS about a grav-assisted ATV, which was not a great deal more expensive but a lot more capable.

 

[saundby]

When I think of some of the ingenuity people showed with the U.S. Army jeeps liberally littered in some parts of the world after WWII, I wonder if the same sort of ingenuity couldn't be used with some bog-standard 3I stuff.

Like an Air/Raft. It won't lift big logs alone, but get a big gas bag...