Blimps – what are they and what can they be used for?

Air travel has been one of man’s greatest achievements of all times. Aircrafts now flood the skies, transporting people and cargo from one point to another, across oceans and continents in order to reach their destination quickly and safely.

There are some things that need to be taken under consideration in order to make an airplane fly. First speed is very important, because if a plane stands still it cannot fly. Along with speed comes air-friction, which generates lift and thus the plane flies. Helicopters generate lift by fast moving propellers, which eliminate the need for a speedy movement of the entire machine.

But another concept has been put into action that can lift a machine in the air. This is called an airship, otherwise known as a zeppelin. These things embraced the concept of lighter-than-air in order to lift the whole ensemble off the ground.

An airship is different than an airplane or a helicopter because they do not use lift in order to get off the ground. Instead they fill a large cavity with lifting gas, such as helium or hot air and this makes the ship lighter than air so it will be lifted off the ground.

The first controlled powered flight in history was succeeded with an airship. They were used extensively before the Second World War, but their popularity declined after the airplanes’ capabilities exceeded the ones of airships. Their decline was also rushed because of a series of catastrophic accidents like the Hindenburg in 1937 and the USS Akron in 1933.

Airships can be separated in three main categories: non-rigid, semi-rigid or rigid. The rigid airships are no longer manufactured as they were at the beginning of the century because they were the ones that suffered accidents like the ones mentioned afore. A semi-rigid airship is smaller than a rigid airship and has only a fixed keel as internal support.

The last category of airships is non-rigid also called blimps. They have no internal rigid structure and no keel to help maintain the shape of the airbag. They rely on the pressure of lifting gas and the strength of the airbag to maintain the shape.

Blimps are also very similar to moored balloons. Their shape is the main characteristic that makes them similar, but moored balloons have no propulsion, whereas blimps are free flying aircrafts able to determine the direction in which they are heading.

The uses for blimps are various. Passenger transportation is mainly done for sightseeing nowadays, but other uses include advertising, because of the large available space where an ad can be placed, surveillance and research, because it makes little noise and it allows a lot of flight time for observation.

There are lots of aspects that need to be presented about blimps and airships. If you want to know more information about how these things were developed and their history, be sure to visit the website airshipdubai.com and all your questions will be answered.

About the Author

If you are interested in taking a tour around a beautiful city in a relaxing environment, an airship is a great choice. For businesses that want to make a name for themselves, blimps are great for placing an ad.