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The Hindenburg had Daimler-Benz DB 602 engines, each with a dry weight of 1,976 kg (total 7,904 kg). With these beefy engines the ship consumed from 130-180kg o
by phillipseamore 5y ago
The Hindenburg had Daimler-Benz DB 602 engines, each with a dry weight of 1,976 kg (total 7,904 kg). With these beefy engines the ship consumed from 130-180kg of diesel pr. hour so they must have had considerable diesel tanks as well.
As you burn fuel the ship becomes lighter so the Hindenburg vented about 20% of it's hydrogen to maintain equilibrium in a North-Atlantic crossing. That's about 16,400 kg of hydrogen released in an average flight.
I'd guess the engines of the Hindenburg were probably providing much more power than needed. So a nuclear powered airship might be very much possible, especially since it does not require venting (or gas re-fueling) as it's weight does not change.