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More airships crashed due to poor weather than fires, including the Akron (which was the deadliest of the airship crashes.) Or consider the USS Shenandoah, a h

More airships crashed due to poor weather than fires, including the Akron (which was the deadliest of the airship crashes.) Or consider the USS Shenandoah, a helium airship that was torn apart by the weather. It didn't burn though, and most of the crew survived (29 of 43). Perhaps with modern weather forecasting this threat could be effectively mitigated, but I have doubts.

bombcar 5y ago
We lost a decent number of planes to weather before we understood the dangers, and now we're pretty effective at avoiding them. Not sure all can be mitigated, however.
- robonerd 5y ago
  Planes have numerous advantages, particularly in the early days when mass adoption was still in question: Foremost, they're smaller. This means when one crashes, fewer people die (remember, I'm talking about the early days; Tenerife doesn't count.) Because they're smaller, they cost less. That means fewer investors get hosed when there's an accident, and it's relatively easy for innovators to find funding for new airplanes despite the crashes. Because airplanes were so much smaller and cheaper, it was even practical for a one or two man team to fund and construct their own in their garage; an airship is a much more demanding undertaking. Because they're smaller, they're easier to store inside during bad weather. They're also faster, which makes it easier to evade bad weather and also means you don't have to anticipate bad weather so far in advance. They can land almost anywhere, even in some farmers field, but airships can only be moored in a prearranged locations. That gives an airplane many more options for dealing with emergencies, which contributes to a perception of relative safety.
  - dredmorbius 5y ago
    Aircraft also fly above weather. Even in the early days, altitudes of 10k -- 30k feet were attainable. Airships and blimps spend most of their time at < 2k -- 5k feet. That's pretty much right in the heart of weather, as well as ground-influenced winds.

bombcar 5y ago

We lost a decent number of planes to weather before we understood the dangers, and now we're pretty effective at avoiding them. Not sure all can be mitigated, however.

robonerd 5y ago
Planes have numerous advantages, particularly in the early days when mass adoption was still in question: Foremost, they're smaller. This means when one crashes, fewer people die (remember, I'm talking about the early days; Tenerife doesn't count.) Because they're smaller, they cost less. That means fewer investors get hosed when there's an accident, and it's relatively easy for innovators to find funding for new airplanes despite the crashes. Because airplanes were so much smaller and cheaper, it was even practical for a one or two man team to fund and construct their own in their garage; an airship is a much more demanding undertaking. Because they're smaller, they're easier to store inside during bad weather. They're also faster, which makes it easier to evade bad weather and also means you don't have to anticipate bad weather so far in advance. They can land almost anywhere, even in some farmers field, but airships can only be moored in a prearranged locations. That gives an airplane many more options for dealing with emergencies, which contributes to a perception of relative safety.
- dredmorbius 5y ago
  Aircraft also fly above weather. Even in the early days, altitudes of 10k -- 30k feet were attainable. Airships and blimps spend most of their time at < 2k -- 5k feet. That's pretty much right in the heart of weather, as well as ground-influenced winds.