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Dare We Deploy Dirigibles?

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Loulit01

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This European airline just ordered a fleet of airships​


www.cnn.com

This European airline just ordered a fleet of airships | CNN

Air Nostrum, a Spanish airline, has ordered 10 Airlander 10 aircraft to make regional journeys around Spain.
www.cnn.com www.cnn.com


I'm no expert but the ship looks like it would take a good buffeting from bad weather. Otherwise, cool!
 
Theyre 3-4 times as slow as an ordinary jetliner, so it's not exactly for people who have a schedule to keep.
 
Spirit of The Millennium said:
As transport, airships are more comparable to cruise ships than to jet planes. They are great for sight-seeing.
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That is what I was thinking, great for sightseeing, but for travel the trains in Spain are already
competitive with Airlines for travel within Spain.
If one were traveling between say Madrid and Barcelona, the flight would only be 45 minuets, but
getting to the airport and security checks ect, would make the 2.5 hour train ride competitive.
 
longview said:
That is what I was thinking, great for sightseeing, but for travel the trains in Spain are already
competitive with Airlines for travel within Spain.
If one were traveling between say Madrid and Barcelona, the flight would only be 45 minuets, but
getting to the airport and security checks ect, would make the 2.5 hour train ride competitive.
Click to expand...

Madrid and Barcelona are the two biggest cities, so you're cherry-picking a bit. All of Europe has excellent rail service between cities. An airship might be competitive between small towns and other tourist attractions, enhanced by the view from low altitude and slow speed. And it would have a speed advantage over both road and rail, in taking people around the islands.

That said, I'm getting a sense of luxury which I would never pay for. I would be taking a train, for the less spectacular but still very entertaining views.
 
Spirit of The Millennium said:
Madrid and Barcelona are the two biggest cities, so you're cherry-picking a bit. All of Europe has excellent rail service between cities. An airship might be competitive between small towns and other tourist attractions, enhanced by the view from low altitude and slow speed. And it would have a speed advantage over both road and rail, in taking people around the islands.

That said, I'm getting a sense of luxury which I would never pay for. I would be taking a train, for the less spectacular but still very entertaining views.
Click to expand...
It was just the fist time on a list I saw, but it is very easy to get around Spain on Rail.
I have both driven from Madrid to Segovia and taken the train, I think the drive is about 2 hours,
and the train is 30 min.
 
Peter said:
They're called Airlander 10 if anyone wants to look for info.
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It might be a cool sightseeing outing, but not a way to get from point a to point B.
 
Peter said:
Yes but they use a fraction of the fuel which is a huge factor these days.
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Its only a factor if one is a climate cult neo-luddite.
 
PoS said:
Its only a factor if one is a climate cult neo-luddite.
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It could also be a factor in a sightseeing operation, how much does it cost for each flight,
Fuel, labor, capital, ect. For other sightseeing operations, the fuel cost is likely a large factor.
 
longview said:
It could also be a factor in a sightseeing operation, how much does it cost for each flight,
Fuel, labor, capital, ect. For other sightseeing operations, the fuel cost is likely a large factor.
Click to expand...
If they end up replacing cruise ships Im all for it, but I wouldnt use them to replace aerial transport.
 
PoS said:
If they end up replacing cruise ships Im all for it, but I wouldnt use them to replace aerial transport.
Click to expand...
Agreed, these would likely not be viable for transport, especially in Spain, where the high speed rail is well developed.
 
Used to see them all the time near sporting events but I think they use drones now. I think I've seen one in the last 20-30 years.
 
PoS said:
Its only a factor if one is a climate cult neo-luddite.
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lol this guy thinks fuel burn doesn't affect the operating costs
 
I feel like there's a largish opening for dirigible cargo runs, rather than transportation.

It's like a slow speed/high efficiency cargo helicopter. Safer than cars to automate, even.

It may be a solution looking for a problem, but better than no solution at all.
 
As a developing idea, its intriguing. If they can increase capacity and speed then this could actually be a decent future option. As it is, with an 80MPH max speed and a 275-300 mile range it would take approx 12 hours of flight time and 3 stops to be able to travel from NYC to Jacksonville Florida.
 
PoS said:
Deuce and his usual strawman fallacies.
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You said there's only one reason it could possibly matter.

Fuel economy matters to any transportation operator for obvious financial reasons.

Your claim is rejected.
 
Deuce said:
You said there's only one reason it could possibly matter.

Fuel economy matters to any transportation operator for obvious financial reasons.

Your claim is rejected.
Click to expand...
Your silly strawman is obvious once again. I do understand its the only way you can keep up, however.
 
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