A New Way To Fly
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in Technology
This two-football-fields-long concept airship is the brainchild of Igor Pasternak, whose privately funded California firm, Worldwide Aeros Corporation, is in the early stages of developing a prototype and expects to have one completed by 2010. Pasternak says several cruise ship companies have expressed interest in the project, and for good reason: The craft would have a range of several thousand miles and, with an estimated top speed of 174 mph, could traverse the continental U.S. in about 18 hours. During the flight, passengers would peer at national landmarks just 8,000 feet below or, if they weren’t captivated by the view, the cavernous interior would easily accommodate such amenities as luxury staterooms, restaurants, even a casino.
I’d really like a new way to fly instead of the packed quarters of an airplane, and I think I’d pay a little extra for the privilege. I wouldn’t pay A LOT more, but I guess we’ll see if this is ultimately viable or not.
This entry was posted on Friday, November 3rd, 2006 and is filed under Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
November 4th, 2006 at 1:13 am
hindenburg anyone…oh the humanity
November 4th, 2006 at 12:31 pm
Wow, it only took one comment…
Come on VoR…don’t be so dramatic…this thing isn’t gonna be filled with hydrogen!
November 4th, 2006 at 2:17 pm
Yeah, but I looked at it and immediately thought the same thing…
November 5th, 2006 at 10:41 am
I’d pay a little more too, especially if I can have a bunk with a window.
November 5th, 2006 at 5:40 pm
USS Macon. not filled with hydrogen, but destroyed by a violent gust of wind.
“During the early evening of 12 February 1935, while returning to Moffett Field from an operation over the ocean, USS Macon encountered a storm off Point Sur, California. A violent gust tore off her upper fin, causing damage that soon brought her down into the sea. Though all but two of her crew were rescued, the dirigible sank in deep water, effectively ending the Navy’s controversial, and trouble-plagued, program of rigid airship operations.”
I live near moffett field. we still have wind out here.
November 6th, 2006 at 11:58 am
Actually I read that the Hindenburg disaster was caused not necessarily by the hydrogen, but by the flammable paint that was used, plus miscalculation on the amount of static electricity that would build up on the surface. Not to say that hydrogen dirigibles are safe, but they’re safer than the Hindenburg would lead you to believe.
The thing that surprises me is that the Hindenburg doesn’t come up more frequently when people talk about hydrogen-fueled cars…
December 11th, 2007 at 9:05 am
Cheap Protonix…
Cheap Protonix…