4 ms·

Pumping helium in & out of a zeppelin would be even more complicated than pumping water.

• philwelch 5y 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 5y 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 5y 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.