Oolite Bulletins

Killer Wolf wrote:

now THAT'S an airship.

Or is it?

I admit that I'm a layman if it comes to airships. But it very much seems to me that—unless all the guns and cannons and whatnots are made of cardboard—this construction has not the slightest chance of ever getting airborne under the atmospheric conditions of this planet (perhaps someplace where the atmospheric density is more in the regions of, don't know, lead? ).

I do love the way the heaviest bit of the Leviathan is on the top!
Even assuming it could lift off with the not-too-convincing amount of helium provided, I've got the feeling the crew might well have a 'slightly' upside-down trip!

you guys really know how to take the magic outta something!

Ahruman wrote:

ClymAngus wrote:

Oaw man! I've got a nest of people on the brassgoogles forum (steampunk) who have gone into this in fine detail. It comes down to; does plankton cling to a sub hull? No. Same principle less animate.

I could imagine static electricity becoming relevant in the case of a zeppelin flying though a cloud of small glass balls. Anywho, I’ve heard and read a number of people who’ve done actual research saying volcanic ash is not believed to be a problem for piston engines, so we probably only need to revert to 1940s technology.

True, true, That said as an ignition source that was never categorically proven. Anyway the deft application of a light weight capacitor should sort that one or a bloody long wire.

Killer Wolf wrote:

you guys really know how to take the magic outta something!

Ah, magic! Didn't think of that...

Sorry KW, it was more of a dig at the guys who made the drawing in the first place.

Were it to fly, it would definitely be a really impressive sight!

Killer Wolf wrote:

you guys really know how to take the magic outta something!

A little bit of liftwood and you're right back in the game!

Killer Wolf wrote:

you guys really know how to take the magic outta something!

Sorry, buddy, wasn't my intention!

May I perhaps cheer you up by inserting some real magic? Meet the CargoLifter! It is a (proposed) huge airship which potentially can be used to lift enormous bulks of cargo (like a massive turbine or something of the like; things way to massive even for a special cargo plane) from the manufacturer and deliver them directly to where the customer needs them anywhere in the world. No need for the hugely expensive and mindbogglingly slow transport by road anymore (you know, the type where a massive transport crawls on streets and highways which have to be blocked by the police, and large crews of haulers have to cut trees, de-install traffic signs, and sometimes even to demolish and rebuild parts of buildings).

The whole project was stunning and truly inspirational, and the airship would be massive, not too far from your fictional example. And the best thing: it would actually work! Here's a link to a promotional video, just to give you an idea.

And here are the stats of the CargoLifter:

Dimensions: length 260 m, diameter 65 m, total height 82 m (853 feet, 213 feet, 269 feet)
Volume: 550,000 cubic meters, helium-filled
Tare weight: 260 t
Cargo volume: 3,200 cubic meters (50 m x 8 m x 8 m)
Max cargo: 160 t
Crew: 10-12 people

Unfortunately the CargoLifter hasn't gone anywhere yet. The company went bancrupt in 2002 due to mismanagement and political meddling.

For the volume-of-gas-to-amount-of-cargo-carried-ratio also compare the Graf Zeppelin or the Hindenburg. And those were filled with hydrogen which is much lighter then helium.

But the Leviathan could not possibly work. It would need a hell of a lot more helium to carry a hell of a lot less weight.

Kaks wrote:

Killer Wolf wrote:

you guys really know how to take the magic outta something!

Ah, magic! Didn't think of that...

Sorry KW, it was more of a dig at the guys who made the drawing in the first place.

Were it to fly, it would definitely be a really impressive sight!

The more the Marrier...

http://www.isotx.com/uploads/Ome_Vince/ ... 00x745.jpg

ClymAngus wrote:

Ahruman wrote:

ClymAngus wrote:

Oaw man! I've got a nest of people on the brassgoogles forum (steampunk) who have gone into this in fine detail. It comes down to; does plankton cling to a sub hull? No. Same principle less animate.

I could imagine static electricity becoming relevant in the case of a zeppelin flying though a cloud of small glass balls. :-)

True, true, That said as an ignition source that was never categorically proven.

What I meant was that rubbing millions of glass beads against an airship might cause the dust and the airship to develop opposite electric charges, thus increasing the tendency to stick together.

Of course, this effect could be amplified by building the airship out of cats.

Frame wrote:

Kaks wrote:

Killer Wolf wrote:

you guys really know how to take the magic outta something!

Ah, magic! Didn't think of that...

Sorry KW, it was more of a dig at the guys who made the drawing in the first place.

Were it to fly, it would definitely be a really impressive sight!

The more the Marrier...

http://www.isotx.com/uploads/Ome_Vince/ ... 00x745.jpg

The bottom line is the same.

Ahruman wrote:

ClymAngus wrote:

Ahruman wrote:

I could imagine static electricity becoming relevant in the case of a zeppelin flying though a cloud of small glass balls.

True, true, That said as an ignition source that was never categorically proven.

What I meant was that rubbing millions of glass beads against an airship might cause the dust and the airship to develop opposite electric charges, thus increasing the tendency to stick together.

Of course, this effect could be amplified by building the airship out of cats.

Which, depending on the gas the airship is filled with, would of course be extremely hazardous!

Commander McLane wrote:

Which, depending on the gas the airship is filled with, would of course be extremely hazardous!

Thus bringing us right back to ClymAngus’s allusion. :-)

neat!

i remember the cargo lifting plans for airships, and the plot to bring backa fk-off big Zeppelin. it seemed at the time that it was the perfect solution to many of the probs and to hear the project cancelled due to beaureacratic fk-up is sad, and (sadder to say) a little unsurprising.

airships have some great potential. i've seen some plans for catamaran airships which looked cool, and thishttp://www.myinterestingfiles.com/2009/ ... hotel.html which looked gorgeous.

course, they need to make a version w/ some big guns fitted

Ahruman wrote:

Of course, this effect could be amplified by building the airship out of cats.

If you built it out of cats, you could butter the back of the cats and use that to help the ship stay afloat, thus saving on gas.

Rationale:
Cats never fall on their back, but any buttered item (bread, scone, etc) will always fall butter side down (adjunct to Murphy's Law), so it you butter the back of a cat, it floats due to the paradox that you have created.

I can envision fleets of buttered cat airships emitting broad purrs as they travel along the sky.