![]() ![]() "Primarily the military was interested in this technology because they believed - at least until the end of World War I - that airships were the ideal machines to win wars," says Willi Hallmann, author of a forthcoming book on the history of German airships.ĭuring that conflict, the German Army used zeppelins, which could fly higher than the planes of the time, for long-range bombing raids. The powers-that-be hope their investments in moving massive, unwieldy products by air will prove profitable.Įxactly 100 years ago, a retired Army officer - Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin - flew the first airship over Lake Constance. Nonetheless, companies like Siemens, MAN, Mitsui, and ABB have all shown faith in CargoLifter with substantial investment. Given the troubled history and tainted reputation of the zeppelin, its rebirth comes as somewhat of a surprise.ĭespite the technical challenges that have dogged the dirigible over the past century, engineers at CargoLifter are remarkably confident of its modern feasibility.īut when the company began selling shares last week, low share prices reflected consumers' wariness of the venture. at border crossings in Europe, whereas the airships cruise at an average 56 m.p.h. Freight delivery by truck can be as slow as 5 m.p.h. Currently, the largest cargo plane, the Russian Antonov, can carry 130 tons. Once the CargoLifter airship is operational, it is expected to convey bulky loads weighing up to 175 tons through the air. When the structure is completed this fall, it will cover the area of some eight football fields - just enough room for the assembly of two giant airships at the same time. The desolate airfield here has become a gigantic construction site, where workers toil around the clock, erecting the future airship hangar. They are hoping the mammoth zeppelins will prove an ecologically and economically responsible option to the logistical headache of industrial transportation in places like Europe. More than 60 years after the fiery explosion of the Hindenburg over New Jersey, a group of ambitious entrepreneurs has launched an aeronautic project of gigantic dimensions. ![]() ![]() The German love affair with airships is being revived on a former Soviet Air Force base southeast of Berlin. ![]()
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