4 ms·

That would be very risky: those monsters aren't friends with the wind. Any glitch and a lot of power gets applied to that building. Another glitch and a large f

by ptero 4y ago

That would be very risky: those monsters aren't friends with the wind. Any glitch and a lot of power gets applied to that building. Another glitch and a large frame falls down on the street. You can read reports of Nobile airship trips. And wind could delay trips by days.

mirekrusin 4y ago
You wait for hurricane, typhoon and/or cyclone for quick travel.
reaperducer 4y ago
Apparently not too risky, since, as the parent pointed out, in the early part of the previous century, it wasn't unusual for tall buildings to be used for airship docking. The Empire State Building mooring wasn't a one-off. There were many others. What is now the InterContinental Hotel in Chicago was one.
- nsonha 4y ago
  That's because human lives were cheaper back in those days. The problem with docking a giant people carrier above a densely populated area is that you have even more lives at stake.
  - Retric 4y ago
    We send airplanes over densely pack cities all the time. We even let the rather pointless Goodyear blimp do so. Docking an airship would be safer if the area beneath it was completely clear such as a river, but in normal wind conditions it isn’t particularly dangerous.
    - ptero 4y ago
      Goodyear blimp only flies in relatively good weather. On airplanes over cities though: compare the cross-section and the corresponding force exerted by the wind on a modern jet and a blimp. Jet engines can compensate for wind gusts that would make landing an airship in a tight spot hopeless. A fun example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPn3MBNt7Rc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPn3MBNt7Rc
      - Retric 4y ago
        Airline landings really aren’t very precise which is why runways are so wide. In terms of wind, airships with the right control systems can be designed to hold position in 50+MPH guts. That takes a lot of power and rapid response, but modern airships can do 110kph and presumably commercial adoption would need higher speeds.
        ptero 4y ago
        > In terms of wind, airships with the right control systems can be designed to hold position in 50+MPH gusts. That takes a lot of power and rapid response I am not sure: countering the change in direction seems very hard. But I do wish luck to those who are working to push this technology along. > modern airships can do 110kph That is how fast the Zeppelins of 100 years ago traveled: cruising speed of 76 mph.
        Retric 4y ago
        The response speed is via reversible variable pitch propellers, which is a very cool technology. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variable-pitch_propeller_(aeronautics) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variable-pitch_propeller_(aero...
    - nsonha 4y ago
      Any flying machine has some maneuverability when flying PASS a populated area, even in emergencies. If you just dock above the area at all time, it will increase the risk immensely.
- ptero 4y ago
  Thank you, I will look it up. I wonder what the success rate was for those, I thought they sometimes went to backup locations. I read accounts of using airships in the exploration of the North in the early 20th century and I got the impression that they often dropped ropes in a clear spot away from the exact landing point and were led by a landing team to the final docking, which would be hard to do in the middle of a city today.

by ptero 4y ago

mirekrusin 4y ago

You wait for hurricane, typhoon and/or cyclone for quick travel.

reaperducer 4y ago

Apparently not too risky, since, as the parent pointed out, in the early part of the previous century, it wasn't unusual for tall buildings to be used for airship docking. The Empire State Building mooring wasn't a one-off. There were many others. What is now the InterContinental Hotel in Chicago was one.

nsonha 4y ago
That's because human lives were cheaper back in those days. The problem with docking a giant people carrier above a densely populated area is that you have even more lives at stake.
- Retric 4y ago
  We send airplanes over densely pack cities all the time. We even let the rather pointless Goodyear blimp do so. Docking an airship would be safer if the area beneath it was completely clear such as a river, but in normal wind conditions it isn’t particularly dangerous.
  - ptero 4y ago
    Goodyear blimp only flies in relatively good weather. On airplanes over cities though: compare the cross-section and the corresponding force exerted by the wind on a modern jet and a blimp. Jet engines can compensate for wind gusts that would make landing an airship in a tight spot hopeless. A fun example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPn3MBNt7Rc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPn3MBNt7Rc
    - Retric 4y ago
      Airline landings really aren’t very precise which is why runways are so wide. In terms of wind, airships with the right control systems can be designed to hold position in 50+MPH guts. That takes a lot of power and rapid response, but modern airships can do 110kph and presumably commercial adoption would need higher speeds.
      - ptero 4y ago
        > In terms of wind, airships with the right control systems can be designed to hold position in 50+MPH gusts. That takes a lot of power and rapid response I am not sure: countering the change in direction seems very hard. But I do wish luck to those who are working to push this technology along. > modern airships can do 110kph That is how fast the Zeppelins of 100 years ago traveled: cruising speed of 76 mph.
        Retric 4y ago
        The response speed is via reversible variable pitch propellers, which is a very cool technology. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variable-pitch_propeller_(aeronautics) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variable-pitch_propeller_(aero...
  - nsonha 4y ago
    Any flying machine has some maneuverability when flying PASS a populated area, even in emergencies. If you just dock above the area at all time, it will increase the risk immensely.
ptero 4y ago
Thank you, I will look it up. I wonder what the success rate was for those, I thought they sometimes went to backup locations. I read accounts of using airships in the exploration of the North in the early 20th century and I got the impression that they often dropped ropes in a clear spot away from the exact landing point and were led by a landing team to the final docking, which would be hard to do in the middle of a city today.