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Zeppelin returns to the U.S. through AirVenture

Jul 28

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AirVenture — The first Zeppelin to fly in the U.S. skies since the Hindenburg crashed in flames 74 years ago is here to give joyrides.

But the two are worlds apart, in technology, time and safety.

The Hindenburg, the first regularly scheduled aerial passenger service between the U.S. and Europe, was a an 803 ft long behemoth with a gas capacity of 706 million cu ft, and sleeping berths for 72 passengers. It was operated by a crew of 40 officers and men, and up to 12 stewards and kitchen staff. It was kept aloft by hydrogen, which was ultimately its downfall.

The Farmers Insurance Zeppelin NT here this week, built by the revived ZLT Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik company in Friedrichschafen, Germany, is just over a quarter the length of the Hindenburg, at 246 ft, and carries up to 12 passengers and two crew. Most importantly, it is filled with 290,000 cu ft of non-flammable hydrogen. It is powered by three 200-hp variable pitch, vectoring Lycoming piston engines, two on the hull and the third at the rear.

Unlike the well-known Goodyear airships, which are inflated bags known as blimps, the Zeppelin NT is a semi-dirigible with a structure of graphite reinforced plastic and three longitudinal aluminum girders that carry the motors and passenger gondola.

In that respect the new Zeppelins also differ from those of the past, which had a rigid skeleton covered in fabric that enclosed the decks and lounges and accommodated the huge gasbags.

Earlier this year, Goodyear committed to replace its famous blimps with three of the new Zeppelins, which will be assembled near Akron, Ohio. Each will cost about $21 million each, with technical support, and the first is slated for delivery in 2014. Interestingly, Goodyear worked with Zeppelin 90 years ago to introduce the rigid airships U.S.S. Macon and U.S.S. Akron to the U.S. Navy.

The Farmers Zeppelin, which is usually based in San Francisco and operated by Airship Adventures of California, will be giving rides at AirVenture through July 31.

-aviationweek.com

The Return of the Zeppelin

Oct 28

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The giant floating airships that once carried passengers and dropped bombs until the 1930s have been MIA for over 70 years. Now a California company is bringing the zeppelin back to the United States, with plans to offer aerial tours of the San Francisco Bay area.

The newly built 246-foot Zeppelin NT (New Technology) of Airship Ventures Inc. arrived in the Bay Area October 26. One of only three in the world, it was constructed in Hamburg, Germany, and transported by container ship to Beaumont, Texas. It then passed over the Golden Gate Bridge on the way to its new home at Moffett Field, a former naval air station in Mountain View.

Beginning October 31, Airship Ventures will offer rides that provide a bird’s-eye view of Napa and Sonoma wine country, the Big Sur coastline, San Francisco and other parts of the Bay Area.

“It’s a way to see the world in a way that you haven’t experienced it before,” said Brian Hall, who started the company last year with his wife Alexandra. “In a zeppelin, you’re flying low and slow. You’re going at a leisurely pace. You’re seeing things that you wouldn’t see from the road.”

While they may look like blimps, zeppelins have rigid internal frames covered with a canvas hull. The Zeppelin NT’s cabin holds 12 passengers and two crew members. Tickets start at $495 per person for a one-hour ride.

The zeppelin was invented by Ferdinand von Zeppelin of Germany in the late 19th century and was used for commercial passenger transport and military operations until the start of World War II. Its golden age ended in 1937 when the LZ 129 Hindenburg, the largest ship ever built, caught fire and burst into flames, killing 35 of 97 people on board.

While the Hindenburg was fueled by flammable hydrogen, the modern version uses nonflammable helium. According to Hall, more than 80,000 passengers have ridden without a safety problem.

Airship Ventures has ordered two more zeppelins and plans to offer tours on the East Coast starting in 2010.