Around the world a new generation of airships is being rolled out with a view to transforming how cargo is transported, but with only 40 blimps currently in operation, how long will it be before the airship takes off again?
Blimp, zeppelin, dirigible, airship; in 150 years of aviation history the humble airship has changed very little. What has changed is attitudes towards the ships and their potential as the sixth mode of transport in a world that is constantly looking for solutions that can incorporate sustainability and lower costs while still meeting demanding schedules.
Today, around the world, dozens of companies are experimenting with how to reinvent the airship and in January 2016 Airships Arabia DWC LLC was registered in Dubai South.
Licensed to provide consulting services in aviation, management and logistics, on its website, Airships Arabia claims it will initially support companies and government entities in dealing with airship matters while preparing to upgrade its license, once ready, to allow airship operations, maintenance and support.
As a re-emerging tech, interest in the airship is seeing a steep rise and there are more than 10 companies working on competing designs today. But they dont stop at the airship.
AA is licensed to fly both hybrid and conventional airships, as well as the provision of maintenance support to other types of Lighter-Than-Air (LTA) vehicle, such as aerostats.
The traditional airship relied on highly flammable hydrogen to create lift under the LTA principle, whereas the new generation of hybrid ships rely more on being heavier than air machines.
In total, the hybrids combine three sources of lift, making use of the aerodynamic shape to generate lift from motion through the air and using inert helium to generate 80% of the total lift. Their size however, means that they can generate a significant amount of such lift at relatively low airspeeds. The third source of lift, comprising around 20% of total output, is derived from either vectoring of the engines or directing engine thrust up, to provide lift or in other directions for directional thrust as required.
Airships are far slower than planes: they max out at just 110kph, but consume much less fuel and cost about half as much to make. They are also easier to fly in dense, cold air than in hotter, more turbulent southern climes.
The new generation
Of the estimated 40 airships operating currently the majority are used for observation, tourism or advertising and AA isnt the only manufacturer looking to capitalize on the opportunities these afford.
In March of this year, a company called Aeros was granted a patent number by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). In the UK, Hybrid Air Vehicles has created the Airlander 10; at 92m, the longest aircraft in the world, stretching nearly 20m further than an A380 jumbo, and holds over 28,000 cubic metres of helium and can stay in the air for up to five days.
These development join the Aeroscraft in Los Angeles that is already in development using a flying prototype that is smaller than the planned full-size vehicle and defense giant Martin Lockheed has built a scaled prototype and signed a letter of intent with Straightline Aviation of Britain to supply 12 airships for $480m.
The application of airships is wide and varied. In tandem with their use as passenger ships at the start of the last century, they were used to bomb London during the First World War and to deliver relief supplies to African colonies. Italy built a hangar at Augusta in 1917, which is still standing, to support airship patrols against German U-boat attacks. Many countries, including Britain and Russia, employed airships and tethered balloons as reconnaissance platforms.
But the Hindenburg disaster in May 1937 changed all that and the airship was confined to the history books for decades after 13 passengers and 22 crew died in the accident.
The new generation of airships is firmly fixed on the objectives of the worlds low-carbon future with entrepreneurs and global companies scrambling to develop prototypes many with impressive safety and sustainability credentials with the ability to protect and transport huge volumes of cargo.
Like ships of the ocean, airships enjoy increasing economies of size; a doubling of an airships dimensions could quadruple its cargo capacity. Once airships are once again large enough to cross oceans economically, international trade will become their primary market.
No road no problem
Hitting the sweet spot between fuel consumption, speed and cost, the primary benefit of the airship is that it can carry heavy cargo to remote places.
In the 1990s a project called CargoLifter launched in Germany, sponsored by companies who move goods of up to 160tons. The challenge was to transport goods from factory to client site without the use of ships, road convoys, rail or pipeline.
Interest hit runaway proportions. If the response said anything it was that the logistics industry was all ears when it came to alternative methods of transportation.
Around 70,000 investors put up 250m in capital; they were reported to be 65% private individuals, 29% financial institutions and 6% industrial partners. A giant hangar was construction near Berlin for the purpose of the exercise and the private enterprise started to build huge research and production facilities with the money raised.
Due to what CargoLifter cited as technical issues the project ended and the competition was called a failure. Development halted in 1996 after the company went bankrupt.
Another aircraft, the CL 75 Aircrane transportation balloon prototype, was built next but destroyed in a storm in July 2002. According to sources, in June 2003, the companys facilities were sold off for less than 20% of the construction costs. The Skyship airship, which had been purchased by Cargolifter for training and research purposes, was sold to Swiss Skycruise and used in Athens for flights connected with the 2004 Olympic Games.
Its a very different type of disaster to Hindenburg, but its still one from which reputational damage was done and lessons can be learnt. Too often manufacturers aim for designs and ships that are too grand and attempting to carry too much weight.
Some corners are calling for ship developers to focus on smaller ships until the demand, and buy in to the industry, can justify increasing the economies of scale of an airship operation.
The devil in the detail
In its current incarnation, the airship must be grounded in order to load and unload cargo. It must also be connected to a logistics hub, which requires three important components: labour, connective transport links, airport infrastructure according to AeroSpace Review.
It is thought that airships could form a vital part of multi-model networks, specifically when reaching remote and inaccessible places. This would also keep costs down because each mode in the solution has its own unique attributes but transport airships will dominate where no existing infrastructure exists for truck and rail transport, as is the case in Northern Canada for example, or Western China.
Whats important to remember is that in this day and age the airship isnt trying to compete with the airline industry reaching speeds of up to 80mph and with the ability to reach remote locations the airship actually competes far more with road transport methods.
Additionally, in terms of cargo airships will be especially well-suited to goods that do not require expedited transport, but are too delicate or perishable to travel by ocean.
In the Middle East, where Airships Arabia is developing three types of vehicle, the mission is clear: in addition to the certification, regulation and government and private sector liaison role of the organisation, AA will operate its own fleet of airships to provide freight services at competitive prices.
With initial payload capacity of 10 tonnes per load growing to more than 50 tonnes per load in due course, and with an unrefueled range of more than 3,500 km, AA will provide stiff competition for established transport modes when services commence in 2018, not to mention a blast from the past.
Click Here for an exclusive interview with Airships Arabia MD, Gregory Gottlieb.
ABOUT AIRSHIPS
Why are airships believed to be the next big thing?
In countries which have a high percentage of inaccessible landmass the airship can deliver goods at the speed of a truck without the need to create new road infrastructure and without creating pollution. Such a technological introduction could significantly open up these countries to economic development.
How do airships work?
The most common gas in use today is helium, which has a lifting capacity of 0.064 lb/ft3 (1.02 kg/m3). Hydrogen was commonly used in the early days of airships because it was even lighter, with a lifting capacity of 0.070 lb/ft3 (1.1 kg/m3) and was easier and cheaper to acquire than helium, however, the Hindenburg disaster ended the use of hydrogen in airships because it burns so easily.