December 29, 2006 4:00 AM PST
Skyacht foresees personal blimps being used for a variety of tasks, from diamond prospecting to research into forest canopies and from ecotourism to filmmaking. The appeal of the design isn't just its low noise output; the airship would also be more affordable and more maneuverable at low speeds, and it would require a smaller ground crew (it folds "much like an umbrella") than do blimps and zeppelins, the company says.
"No other aircraft can accomplish the seemingly straightforward task of picking off the top-most leaf from a particular tree," Skyacht says.
Photo by Skyacht Aircraft
