The volume of helium needed to lift the weight is physically large. This makes blimps large which results in some significant disadvantages: * They are slow.

The volume of helium needed to lift the weight is physically large. This makes blimps large which results in some significant disadvantages: * They are slow. In the beginning, they competed (effectively) against ships. "In July 1936, the airship also completed a record Atlantic double crossing in five days, 19 hours and 51 minutes." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LZ_129_Hindenburg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LZ_129_Hindenburg Today, they have to compete against jet aircraft - not effective. * Given their immense volume and slow response times, they are very sensitive to wind taking off, landing, and when on the ground. This severely restricts their use under conditions that conventional aircraft have no problems handling.