4 ms·

One of the advantages of large lighter than air craft is that they actually tend to crash in slo-mo, so the "sudden stop" tends to be pretty slow. In the case

One of the advantages of large lighter than air craft is that they actually tend to crash in slo-mo, so the "sudden stop" tends to be pretty slow. In the case of the Hindenberg, a lot of the people who died did so because they jumped out too early and fell to their deaths, rather than "ride" the craft down. Even in the worst disaster, the USS Akron, most deaths were due to drowning and hypothermia after the ship went down, rather than impact.

anexprogrammer 10y ago
The majority of Hindenburg victims burnt to death - "riding the craft down" doesn't seem quite such an attractive option.
- simplicio 10y ago
  Well, obviously you don't want to hang around very long after its on (or even close to) the ground. IIRC, most of the burning deaths were crew-members in the upper parts of the ship who were either caught in the fire in its first stages or didn't have a way out even after it hit the ground. The lower decks weren't ignited till it hit the ground. But the point is that "impact" wasn't a common cause of death for those who stayed in the ship until it was near the ground. Even when the lifting gas is being vented fairly rapidly, they tend to comedown at survivable speeds.
- ars 10y ago
  The ones who burnt to death were trapped with no way out. They didn't have the choice to ride it down. Those were were not trapped either survived or jumped too early.
- PhasmaFelis 10y ago
  IIRC, most of the survivors simply waited near the bottom until landfall, then walked away. I think many of the victims had a choice between jumping or burning, but it definitely seems like a burning envelope is survivable if (your part of) the cabin doesn't catch. Maybe the focus should have been on making the cabin nonflammable. Suspending the cabin with an air gap, and lining it (especially on top) with serious fireproof and heat-resistant lining, might have done the job.
zefhous 10y ago
It's true the aerostatic lift would help here, but the Airlander 10 is not actually a lighter-than-air aircraft. It's a hybrid and requires aerodynamic lift from forward movement in addition to lift from its engine-driven propellers. The hybrid approach is puzzling to me because there are a multitude of advantages to be gained by being fully lighter-than-air.
- TrainedMonkey 10y ago
  Is 'not actually lighter-than-air' always true, or only when it is carrying 10 tons of cargo?
  - zefhous 10y ago
    My understanding is that when talking about aircraft, "lighter-than-air" means that it's designed to require no additional lift to keep it aloft regardless of cargo. Anything requiring non-aerostatic lift would be considered a hybrid. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerostat https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerostat
- tim333 10y ago
  I can think of a couple of advantages of hybrids. You could unload cargo without the thing trying to shoot up in the air and a problem with airships in general is them being blown around by the wind which may be less bad with a smaller hybrids. Also if you emergency land the thing may stay there whereas a fully lighter than air one would tend to drift off.

anexprogrammer 10y ago

The majority of Hindenburg victims burnt to death - "riding the craft down" doesn't seem quite such an attractive option.

simplicio 10y ago
Well, obviously you don't want to hang around very long after its on (or even close to) the ground. IIRC, most of the burning deaths were crew-members in the upper parts of the ship who were either caught in the fire in its first stages or didn't have a way out even after it hit the ground. The lower decks weren't ignited till it hit the ground. But the point is that "impact" wasn't a common cause of death for those who stayed in the ship until it was near the ground. Even when the lifting gas is being vented fairly rapidly, they tend to comedown at survivable speeds.
ars 10y ago
The ones who burnt to death were trapped with no way out. They didn't have the choice to ride it down. Those were were not trapped either survived or jumped too early.
PhasmaFelis 10y ago
IIRC, most of the survivors simply waited near the bottom until landfall, then walked away. I think many of the victims had a choice between jumping or burning, but it definitely seems like a burning envelope is survivable if (your part of) the cabin doesn't catch. Maybe the focus should have been on making the cabin nonflammable. Suspending the cabin with an air gap, and lining it (especially on top) with serious fireproof and heat-resistant lining, might have done the job.

zefhous 10y ago

It's true the aerostatic lift would help here, but the Airlander 10 is not actually a lighter-than-air aircraft. It's a hybrid and requires aerodynamic lift from forward movement in addition to lift from its engine-driven propellers. The hybrid approach is puzzling to me because there are a multitude of advantages to be gained by being fully lighter-than-air.

TrainedMonkey 10y ago
Is 'not actually lighter-than-air' always true, or only when it is carrying 10 tons of cargo?
- zefhous 10y ago
  My understanding is that when talking about aircraft, "lighter-than-air" means that it's designed to require no additional lift to keep it aloft regardless of cargo. Anything requiring non-aerostatic lift would be considered a hybrid. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerostat https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerostat
tim333 10y ago
I can think of a couple of advantages of hybrids. You could unload cargo without the thing trying to shoot up in the air and a problem with airships in general is them being blown around by the wind which may be less bad with a smaller hybrids. Also if you emergency land the thing may stay there whereas a fully lighter than air one would tend to drift off.