Hobbies And Interests
Hydrogen and the Zeppelins
Various "L-Zeds" were developed and flew regularly beginning in 1915. The larger variants carried 0.88 million cubic feet of hydrogen, contained in 200 flexible bladders and referred to as "gas bags." Because hydrogen is a highly flammable gas, rigorous safety and operational rules had to be applied whenever gas was being introduced into the envelope .
The LZ129 and the End of Hydrogen
After World War I the Zeppelin Company continued to build bigger and bigger airships. The company's crown jewel came in the form of the LZ129, also referred to as the Hindenburg . The aircraft carried 50 to 72 passengers, along with a crew of 50. The LZ129 had been making regular, and highly touted, Trans-Atlantic runs between Frankfurt and Lakehurst, New Jersey beginning in the early '30'. The route was a very useful political tool for the Nazi party, but also highly lucrative for the company. At the beginning of the 1937 travel season, however, the Hindenburg caught fire as it was about to land at Lakehurs, with considerable loss of life. Subsequently, the service was terminated and never restarted. This effectively ended commercial airship travel forever and also ended any further development with hydrogen as a lighter-than-air gas for airships.
After Hydrogen
At the same time that the LZ129 was beginning to make regular commercial Trans-Atlantic and South American runs, the United States Navy began to deploy a fleet of semi-rigid airships referred to as blimps. These aircraft carried helium, rather than hydrogen as the gas of choice. There were good reasons for this choice. First, helium is a fire suppressant, rather than being flammable. Second, Blimps had no internal substructure, carrying nothing more than what were referred to as ballonets. These smaller bags were used to manage internal pressure inside the bigger bag, and this meant that the entire aircraft was much lighter than a rigid airship. Third, helium, produced more lift per cubic foot than hydrogen. Finally, the internal pressure of the blimp's envelope was so low, that if it became damaged for some reason, only a slow (very slow) leak would be triggered, thereby allowing the aircraft to continue to operate safely for hours.
The Years Afterward
The Navy lost interest in blimps after WWII, and the only airships that flew between 1942 and the mid-1970s were the two Goodyear blimps. Even those aircraft were almost put out to pasture several times, but the aircraft were such good marketing tools that Goodyear continued to operate them. Subsequently, helium-filled airships began to make a comeback as flying billboards in the '70s, and since then various companies have begun to build new blimps, in addition to new rigids, including those being built by a reorganized Zeppelin Company.
Future Airships
Even though helium is still the gas of choice, today's blimps are considerably different than the original designs. The new variants are much more nimble in the air, and landings and takeoffs are nearly self-sufficient. Whereas landing a blimp used to require 10 to 20 ground handlers, these new aircraft are able to put themselves on the ground by themselves. Even the future of airships as passenger carrier aircraft has been rediscovered since Airship Ventures started regular tour services along the California coast last month.