world's biggest airship crasch

a reply to: crazyewok

Interesting thing about the Hindenburg and helium. It was originally deigned to use helium, but the Germans could not obtain it from the US (who had a monopoly on it and did not want to let it into hands who might use it militarily against the US), so it was re-engineered to use hydrogen. The designer of the Hindenburg (Hugo Eckener) may have thought he had an understanding to obtain helium, but it was never approved.

The story below offers another explanation in re to Germany itself

Eckener, noted for his opposition to the Nazi regime (despite being funded by it), traveled to Washington in 1929 to argue the helium ban and demonstrate his intentions for the noble gas. Incredibly, he convinced U.S. officials to grant him the authorization to use helium to float his Hindenburg.
....
Eckener returned to Germany and quickly realized that he did not have the facilities or the equipment to store and use helium, and even if he did, the costs were far higher than he was allotted through his Nazi-funded budget. Being a relatively new commodity and one of limited supply, helium was 6-10 times more expensive than hydrogen in 1937.

source

Quite a discussion by aficionados follows this article
The Hindenburg Disaster

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: crazyewok

Not to mention the external paint that was flammable as hell.

Its Amazing the 3rd Riech lasted as long as it did......

originally posted by: TEOTWAWKIAIFF
a reply to: crazyewok

There are 3 of them coming out soon. Lockheed's, the one that crashed, and one from France nicknamed The Whale. The Whale runs on electricity (graphene supercapacitors). Not sure about Lockheed's version.

Long as they dont pump it full of hydrogen its a good idea.

originally posted by: crazyewok

originally posted by: TEOTWAWKIAIFF
a reply to: crazyewok

There are 3 of them coming out soon. Lockheed's, the one that crashed, and one from France nicknamed The Whale. The Whale runs on electricity (graphene supercapacitors). Not sure about Lockheed's version.

Long as they dont pump it full of hydrogen its a good idea.

Or sulfur hexaflouride. Would make the most useless airship ever. It would be a failship.

a reply to: crazyewok

All three use helium.

Hope that there are no more crasches!

i wonder....how much Helium is left these day's....a reply to: TEOTWAWKIAIFF

a reply to: ressiv

According to what this jerk posted over here there is about 1 billion cubic meters in the US Helium Reserve: ATS thread - Huge helium discovery 'a life-saving find'.

That lame thread continues that the find in Africa is estimated to be 54 billion cubic feet.

And if somebody figures it out, when fusion reactors start up, helium will be a 'waste' product from deuterium-tritium fusion reaction. So we will be entering a helium economy in the future! With blimps and flying cars and rocket packs and sky cities...

a reply to: Zaphod58

Especially since the flight control systems for these new-generation 3-D vectored thrust-driven airships are an entirely new area of expertise.

It's like writing the code for the dynamic positioning system on an offshore work vessel, only it has to work in three dimensions, with much stronger and more complicated currents to contend with, and it has to do it all with individual reciprocating engines instead of the much more responsive/predictable electrics that all the big ships use.

I wonder how heavy they are? The "lighter than air" term gets thrown around but how much do they weigh?

Remember this? ATS thread: NORAD 'blimp' comes loose from tether.

That thing weighed 10,000 pounds! It is small by comparison. And it took a hundred rounds to kill it!

Here is a direct link to Spiders mentioned earlier: Lockheed: No Roads, No Problem.

Lockheed had one crasch in the woods when they were testing it too! This is from 2011...

originally posted by: Junkheap

originally posted by: Iamnotadoctor
I was hoping it was going to explode...

The Hindenburg crash has given the airship industry a bad reputation ever since even though they use helium now.

At any rate, that was more of a bounce than a crash.

Problem is now - we're supposedly in a severe helium shortage, and we're supposed to be out of helium in the next twenty years or so. Gotta be another way to obtain it. MRI machines use helium as well.

edit: Oh look...they found a massive helium reserve. Convenient.

a reply to: TEOTWAWKIAIFF

Empty weight is 44,100 pounds.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Cool! Thanks.

Funny how large things weigh so much even when filled with helium! Sometimes I look at at a jumbo jet or cruise ship and think, "Really? Tons you say"? Wonderous our wold is!

a reply to: TEOTWAWKIAIFF

Yeah, it's kind of mind blowing to think how much a Nimitz weighs and how easily they float and how maneuverable they are.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Hybrid Air Vehicles Ltd can confirm a mooring line attached to the Airlander did contact a power line outside the airfield. No damage was caused to the aircraft and this did not contribute to the heavy landing.

Source: Airlander Media Statement - 25th August 2016.

I like how there is no word on their carsch but a confirmation their mooring line touched a power line! I went to check to see if there was a follow up on damage or even the next flight but came up empty.

Bummer,

a reply to: FarCrowd

Of course they found another source...

CERN needs helium to cool the magnets, and they wouldn't dare risk their ability to mess with our worldline because of something as simple as a global helium shortage now would they?

PRL Logistics and its partner Straightline Aviation are bringing a helium-filled Airship to Alaska.

The $40-million Airship is being built by Lockheed Martin. PRL Logistics Vice President Kathleen O'Connell says the first off the assembly line will come to Alaska sometime in 2018.

O'Connell says the aircraft can carry 18 passengers and up to 44,000 pounds of equipment. She says that's more weight than a C-130 airplane can hold.
...
PRL Logistics says the Airship will be based at its Kenai operations and serve the peninsula and Cook Inlet.

Read full story at: KTUU.com (NBC affiliate, Anchorage, AK) - Anchorage company brings helium-filled airship to Alaska.

OOOHHH! The AK is getting a Lockheed Hybrid Airship! That is going to be cool! I want to go to the unveiling just to see the spiders at work. That is a lot of money, 40 million. Then there is operating expense. I really could see somebody like Teaton Gravity Research hauling a bunch of snowboarders and camera equipment around to do video shoots in never before seen locations!

I hope I do not see it crasch.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: crazyewok

Not to mention the external paint that was flammable as hell.

Painting the outside of an airship with what was essentially solid rocket fuel and then pumping it full of hydrogen: Best idea ever.

An attempt to sell the concept the US military fell apart. Lockheed lost a competition to supply a hybrid airship to the US Army to Northrop Grumman, which had teamed with UK-based Hybrid Air Vehicles. The army, however, cancelled the programme, but sold the prototype vehicle back to HAV. The renamed Airlander 10 resumed flight testing earlier this year, but is now on hiatus to repair damage from a crash landing on 24 August.

Flightglobl.com, news, Nov. 17, 2016 - New buyer signs for hybrid airship, but Lockheed waits on launch.

That is the closest thing I can find to an update on the Airlander 10 crasch. The article is about the Lockheed hybrid airship and their chicken-n-egg conundrum in selling one.

I did not know that Airlander 10 comes from NG roots. I found that part interesting. The updates is: they are on hold TBD.

Finally! Some real updates on the Airlander 10 crasch!

Known as the Auxiliary Landing System (ALS), the setup consists of two pilot-deployable airbags, located on either side of the flight deck. When activated, each one fills with 15 cubic meters (530 cubic feet) of helium gas within 20 seconds, extending to its full length of 3 meters (9.8 ft).

...

Plans call for the ALS to be used on most of the remaining landings in the flight test program, which should resume soon after the Airlander 10 is brought out of its hangar later this month.

When it does come out, it will be with the help of another just-announced innovation – the Mobile Mooring Mast. It's a tracked vehicle with a retractable mast on top, which will be used to push and pull the airship around the airfield.

NewAtlas.com, April 5, 2017 - Airlander 10 airship gets outfitted for cushier landings.

The Airlander 10 should be in the air this month for more test flights. The ALS look like a big, 10 foot Styrofoam coffee cup sticking out the bottom. Which would keep a hard landing from being so dramatic.

Add to that the MMM vehicle to help tug the airship around the field should also up the safety factor.

Nice to see that they addressed the issues!

◾44,100 lbs (20,000kg): The weight of the airship

◾20,000ft (6,100m): The altitude it can reach

◾80 knots (148km/h): Maximum speed

◾5 days: How long it can stay airborne during manned flights

◾22,050 lbs (10,000kg): Total payload - the weight the ship is able to carry

BBC.com, Feb. 3, 2017 - Airlander 10: Longest aircraft tested after crash repairs.

The aircraft's cockpit was badly damaged when it nosedived at the end of its second test flight on 24 August.

In a statement a spokesman for HAV said the repairs had gone well.

He added: "The mission module build team has been turning their attention to the large number of tasks that will be required before hangar exit and recommencement of the Flight Test Programme.

"With the equipment installed, power on was achieved and on-aircraft testing has now begun."

(same)

Missed this one!

And since the numbers have not been posted, figured a share was in order.

After power on, they tested in the hangar and looks like April is out of the hangar and back to test flights time. The cabin bore the brunt of the flop. The whole thing was removed, repaired, then put back on.

Thus ends the sage of the Airlander 10 crash.