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Airship
Lockheed Martin to develop geostationary Solar Powered Airship
By Paul Evans
22:12 April 30, 2009 PDT
May 1, 2009 The idea of replacing very expensive space based satellites and Aircraft mounted Airborne Warning And Control Systems (AWACS) with stationary platforms inside Earth's atmosphere has been floated for decades. Despite the fact that lighter-than-air vehicles or airships that could fulfill this role have been flying for over 300 years, the idea is only now getting off the ground. Lockheed Martin has been chosen by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for a US$400 million contract to to design, build, test and fly a 1:3 scale model of an airship surveillance and telecommunications platform called the High Altitude Airship (HAA). The full scale HAA would measure 240 ft long by 70 ft in diameter, run entirely on solar power and be able to stay aloft for up to 10 years. Read More
Magenn floating wind generators take advantage of high altitude winds
By Loz Blain
16:15 February 26, 2009 PST
Wind power is notoriously flighty, particularly at ground level. Most turbine-on-a-post wind powered generators operate at around 20-40% of their rated generation capacity, simply because wind is intermittent and changes direction. But a generator situated 500-1000 feet above ground level would enjoy much more consistent strong wind - which is why the Magenn MARS system makes so much sense. It's a helium-filled rotating airship that spins in the wind on the end of a variable-length tether that also acts as a power transmitter, and it's expected to operate at more like 50% of its rated capacity. Each MARS system will be cheap and portable, which will make them extremely useful in rural, camping and emergency situations. A prototype has successfully been flown in North Carolina. A great idea that makes economic sense. Read More
Zeppelin Airship travel makes U.S. comeback
By Kyle Sherer
17:23 October 14, 2008 PDT
Starting this month, Airship Ventures is offering tourists the chance to travel aboard a 246-foot long, semi-rigid Zeppelin NT – the first giant Zeppelin to grace the skies of the US since the Hindenburg tragically caught fire more than 70 years ago. Passengers can enjoy birds-eye views of the San Francisco Bay, Silicon Valley, Sonoma/Napa wine regions, and the Monterey/Big Sur coastline. Read More
Aeros Sky Dragon enters flight testing phase
By Kyle Sherer
10:51 August 6, 2008 PDT
New age dirigible designer Aeros has announced that its airship model Aeros 40D Sky Dragon MSN 21 has entered the flight testing phase. The craft will take flight at San Bernardino International Airport, and will be used as an airborne lab for the development of the new breed of variable buoyancy air vehicle – the Aeroscraft systems. Read More
Skyhook and Boeing build the world's largest VTOL aircraft
By Loz Blain
04:17 July 9, 2008 PDT
One of the greatest hurdles for major construction in remote areas is moving heavy building materials to the worksite. Road-building is an environmental issue, as well as often being cost-prohibitive and impossible in many terrains. Some areas are unreachable by cargo ship, large cargo planes require good weather and long runways, and helicopters simply can't carry heavy enough loads - which is why Skyhook's Jess Heavy Lifter is so significant. It combines the neutral buoyancy and stability of an airship with the lifting power of four big rotors. Capable of lifting 40 tons (80,000lbs) vertically and transporting the load more than 200 miles without refuelling, the JHL-40 offers twice the load capacity of the world's current largest cargo helicopter. Read More
French cyclist to attempt channel crossing on pedal-powered airship
By Loz Blain
18:29 April 30, 2008 PDT
May 1, 2008 Those magnificent men in their flying machines... the first purely human-powered aircraft, the Gossamer Albatross, crossed the English Channel in 1979 with its pilot Bryan Allen pedaling the feather-light winged plane across in two hours to collect the UKP100,000 Kremer prize. This feat caught the imagination of French cyclist Stephane Rousson, who this European summer will attempt to cycle across the Channel pedaling a twin-tilting-rotor helium airship. It's the first pedal-powered airship of its kind, complete with very delicate aerodynamics that mean Rousson will need to chance upon one of the three windless days of the year if he hopes to stay up-diddly-up-up and not go crashing down-diddly-own-down. Read More
Aeroscraft ML866 Milestone
23:51 April 7, 2008 PDT
April 8, 2008 A spectacular new type of aircraft is one step closer to take-off with the announcement that the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has accepted the type certification application for the Aeroscraft model Aeros ML866. Read More
Tandem high-flying airships reach up to 140,000ft
By Emily Clark
22:49 November 14, 2007 PST
November 15, 2007 JP Aerospace has developed a class of twin balloon, high altitude, low cost utility airships that will be the highest flying airships ever built. Designed for use in telecommunications, reconnaissance and even as rocket or UAV launch platforms, the Tandems fill the gap between free balloons and complex high altitude airships and are capable of flying to heights of 140,000ft. Read More
DARPA provides funding for Aeros' ballast-free airship weight control system
By Loz Blain
23:34 November 2, 2007 PDT
November 3, 2007 An integral part of the exciting ML866 "superyacht for the sky", Aeros’ Control of Static Heaviness (COSH) system allows airships to adjust their weight in mid-flight without the use of a traditional ballast material. After successful initial tests of the controversial system, Aeros has been awarded funding by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for further demonstrations. Under the program, Aeros will carry out the conceptual design, technology development, hardware development and bench demonstration, finalizing with the flight demonstration of the system on the FAA type certified Aeros 40D non-rigid airship. Read More
Aeroscraft ML866: superyacht for the sky officially launched
By Mike Hanlon
00:17 October 8, 2007 PDT
It’s as big as a superyacht and not quite as fast as a supercar, but it does have a range of over 3000 miles and can do it over land, sea or snow, lingering anywhere you like the view. A new category of aircraft that fits somewhere in between a blimp, airship or dirigible, the Aeroscraft ML866 project was recently presented at the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) show in Atlanta, Georgia. The key factor of the ML866 design is that it offers superyacht size and comfort in a platform that can operate independently from airports, meaning that a new class of luxury conveyance is about to become available which appears to trump them all. Read More
Hypersonic civil aviation: Sydney to Brussels in four hours
15:06 August 29, 2007 PDT
August 30, 2007 Imagine long-distance air-travel that could get you to the other side of the globe in less than a quarter of the time it presently takes? Researchers from Reaction Engines, a company created for design and development of advanced space transport and propulsion systems, are investigating the possibility of hypersonic civil transport in a three year study to examine the feasibility of reducing long-distance flights (e.g. from Brussels to Sydney) to less than 4 hours. Read More
Celeste H Calabro
- July 5, 2009 @ 22:20 UTC
