(Credit:
Aeros)
Something is in the air these days, quite literally, in the form of blimps. And we're not talking about MP3 speakers either.
Aeros, a company that produces modern-day dirigibles for military and civilian use, has developed a "private air yacht" that it hopes will revolutionize air travel. The "Aerocraft ML866" isn't necessarily built for speed but makes up for it with space and luxury appointments, including "a computerized office, videoconferencing capability, an advanced communications package, transformable interior, personal state room and a physical conference space," Gizmag says. The Aerocraft boasts an interior of more than 5,000 square feet and can carry up to 100 people.
But perhaps its most important feature is the ability to take off vertically like a helicopter, which means it can bypass the endless bottlenecks of conventional airport runways. Pricing wasn't immediately known, but it's probably a relatively affordable "public transportation" alternative to a $200,000 zeppelin of your own.
(Credit:
SCI FI Tech)
Ever since we were kids, Crave has always been fascinated with blimps. To this day we still idolize the dirigible, though the atrocious Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow did its best to ruin the image forever.
That's probably why we're partial to the "Zeppelin" from B&W Loudspeakers, the first of its kind for the iPod that's shaped like the airship of yesteryear. SCI FI Tech says the 2-foot-long system backs up its design with some impressive acoustic muscle--"five drivers including a 5-inch woofer, glass-fiber cones and those sweet tapered tubes for the tweeters."
The $600 price tag makes it more than a novelty item, but how often to you get a chance to have your very own blimp? But the real reason for this post, we admit, is that it affords us another excuse to mention "Oh, The Huge Manatee."
The U.S. government wants to build and deploy a huge stratospheric airship, three times the size of the Goodyear blimp, that is capable of spying on an entire city.
All-seeing government blimp
(Credit: DefenseTech.org)The idea is that the blimp, dubbed the "Integrated Sensor is Structure" (ISIS), would hover above the jet stream at 70,000 feet and use its giant, flexible radar antennae to acquire a "dynamic, detailed, real-time picture of all movement on or above the battlefield: friendly, neutral or enemy." And we thought surveillance satellites were sitting ducks.
One of the challenges has been to come up with a radar system that is large enough to track vast amounts of movement yet light enough to hang on a big bag of air.
Where there's a contract, there's a way. Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems (SAS) has landed an $8 million deal to develop a radar it says will be the length of a football field, "the largest X-band antenna ever built." Although it would contain "millions of electronic components," the antenna would be only about a centimeter thick.
SAS plans to bond the array directly to the hull of the blimp. Look for a great spin-off product here: Whatever it comes up with has to stay stuck at -112 degrees Fahrenheit in gale-force winds.
So, as regards utility, what are we talkin' here? Track Chinese naval maneuvers? Al-Qaeda mule trains? Red-light runners? Here's what the project's sponsor, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), has in mind: "We will apply this technology to track people emerging from buildings of interest and follow them as they move to new locations," DARPA's Paul Benda told Defensetech.org "Imagine the impact it will have if ISIS tracks the movement of individuals for months. Hidden webs of connections between people and facilities will be revealed." Better keep your nose clean, hippy.
The guys and gals over at Goodyear will be shaking when they read this. The next Super Bowl may feature a far more interesting blimp if Air Genie gets the right people's attention.
(Credit:
Air Genie)
Gear Factor picked up on this patent-pending dirigible called the Air Genie video airship.
The hybrid helium blimp has telescoping landing legs and a completely retractable cabin, so it appears as a perfect sphere when in flight. While it has television and radio broadcasting capabilities, it can also reflect its own surroundings to blend in.
(Credit:
Air Genie)
Not only can it be "invisible," but it can also be silent. The blimp has a "quiet operating, non-polluting power generation and propulsion system," according to the company.
Spooky.... And very cool.
It could be the 21st-century version of the Sunday drive: Blow up the hot-air blimp, take it for a spin, then fold it up and put it away.
Of course, that's assuming you've got $200,000 liquefying your Tiffany money clip.
(Credit:
Gizmag)
The Personal Blimp from Skyacht Aircraft made its maiden voyage in late October, and although the company calls it a blimp, it's essentially a steerable hot-air balloon. It utilizes hot air in place of helium and is propelled by electric motors.
Though the cost may seem high for a leisure activity, consider that the average helium airship goes for well over $2 million. Plus, Skyacht is saving owners money in other ways--the blimp deflates and can be stored until next use. Translation: none of those irritating hangar rental fees.
Unfortunately, these won't be for sale until 2008 at least, and plan on having your pilot's license ready, though which class, exactly, is TBD by the FAA.
Also, I'm asking because I don't know: How many hours of flight time are required to drive something that resembles a Nerf football?
(Kudos to Gizmag for pointing to it.)
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