3 ms·
Looks interesting. Wikipedia says that its cruising speed is "148 km/h (92 mph; 80 kn)" - certainly faster than a car when coupled with a straighter flight path
by Brendinooo 10y ago
Looks interesting. Wikipedia says that its cruising speed is "148 km/h (92 mph; 80 kn)" - certainly faster than a car when coupled with a straighter flight path.
I wonder what the relative costs of operation for this are? If it ever becomes viable for passenger use, I could maybe see it being used for short commuter flights.
- abakker 10y agoIt seems like the ideal bus to go from Marin to San Francisco or San Jose
- wahern 10y agoOr just from one end of SF to the other. The commute from Ocean Beach (north of the park, without rail) is over 40 minutes on the rapid and usually over 30 minutes on the express. The 31-Balboa takes almost 1 and 1/2 hours to go the same 5 miles, longer than taking a shuttle bus or car for the 50 miles straight to San Jose, even during rush hour. Pro tip: Don't move to SF for the commute unless you'll live within walking distance of your workplace. I suppose you could bike, but the streets seem pretty lethal, especially considering how heavy the traffic has grown.
- 6DM 10y ago"Its cost of operation is apparently between 10 and 20 percent of that for a helicopter, and it only loses 10 percent of its helium per year." [0] Not bad, especially if you consider there's 100 paying customers on it. [0] http://www.theverge.com/2014/7/8/5880061/airlander-10-photo-essay http://www.theverge.com/2014/7/8/5880061/airlander-10-photo-...
- Animats 10y agoOnly losing 10% of the helium per year is a big improvement over the Zeppelin NT. Airship Ventures, which used to fly sightseeing trips from Moffett Field, had to quit when the price of helium doubled.