Lost promise of yesteryear: Anyone can fly a blimp!
When you look up gumption in the dictionary, you should find a reference to this July, 1931 Popular Science article entitled "Anyone Can Fly a Blimp." Ah, the sweet promises of yesteryear. We have been betrayed by the future comrades. I want to fly a blimp, dammit.
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On the top end of the rope was a parachute. Untrustworthy as it may have been, it was better to clutch the three- quarter-inch manila than to ride a burning hydrogen bag down. In these modern blimps, however, there is no fire hazard. Helium will not burn and for that property blimp owners pay $60 for each thousand cubic feet. It costs $4,500 to fill her with 76,000 cubic feet of helium, and nearly $100 a month to replace in the envelope the helium that seeps through the rubberized fabric.Here we were, comfortable in upholstered chairs, looking out from an inclosed five-passenger cabin, suspended beneath a gas-filled bag that, barring some nearly-impossible accident that would tear a great hole in the top, would bring us to earth under any circumstances. No parachutes here—no need for them.
WERE the blimp to become disabled, the motors to stop, Smithy would merely free-balloon her down again on some level spot, deflate the bag if necessary, and wait for help. These blimp pilots, you see, must become pilots of free balloons before they’re trusted with one of the six in the Goodyear fleet.
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In Vegas you can take a blimp ride over the city for $100. I suggest the fight at dusk, when you can see the city lights in all their glory.
You can also purchase an R/C blimp and control your own small piece of heaven. I've got a tiny model that I can fly around my living room, but you can get bigger models to fly in convention halls and gymnasiums. Of course, those will cost you thousands of dollars.
And it's still not the same as flying around in your own blimp. *sigh*
That's anyone *can* fly a blimp, not anyone *may* fly a blimp, so I feel like our foreblimpfathers made no specific promises as to the best possibilities of blimp piloting for all.
Slow and steady wins the race.
Not a good transport system for winter lettuce, though.
So eat locally, take a deep breath, relax, and let the blimps ship everything else!
Would the goggles and red cape still be mandatory?
Cory, soon you WILL be able to fly one too! Check out Alberto the Personal Blimp, which runs on hot air rather than helium, and just got FAA approval last July to carry passengers in Amherst, Massachusetts. It can be deflated and folded up when not in use. If the testing goes well, about four years from now you'll be able to buy your own personal blimp for about $100,000-$200,000:
http://intelligenttravel.typepad.com/it/2007/09/next-up-the-per.html
Apparently there was once commercial passenger service from Europe to South America by lighter than air craft. Pretty deluxe accommodations, too. A gourmet meal and live music while silently drifting over the ocean on the way to Rio de Janeiro. Now that's living.
If I win an outrageous amount on the lottery I'm going to invest in the airship. I'd love to see them flying again in all their Luxurious glory. Even if it's only a unique project like 'The Maltese Falcon'