3 ms·

I thought you just tied the zeppelin down. Couldn’t you reduce the amount of helium in them?

• ahelwer 6y ago
  Pumping helium in & out of a zeppelin would be even more complicated than pumping water.
  • philwelch 6y ago
    Or you could load a heavier material for ballast, and gradually transform it into a lead zeppelin. But seriously, why can’t you just tie the zeppelin down? Is there not any sort of cable material with enough tensile strength?
    • ahelwer 6y ago
      Hmmm, running some rough calculations the passenger load probably wouldn't exceed about 50 tons for 500 people. Which is very doable to do with a tether. So maybe you're right! Solar-powered passenger airships could be the future. It's cargo airships I'm thinking of that really have these drawbacks.
      • philwelch 6y ago
        And for a cargo zeppelin, swapping out full shipping containers for weighted ballast shipping containers seems pretty easy. Though I seriously doubt cargo zeppelins make any sense at all.