Airship Technology

This comprehensive guide to modern airship design and operation, written by world experts, is the only up-to-date book on airship technology intended as a technical guide to those interested in studying, designing, building, flying, and operating airship. In addition to basic airship principles, the book covers conventional and unconventional design in a panoramic and in-depth manner focusing on four themes: (1) basic principles such as aerostatics, aerodynamics, propulsion, materials and structures, stability and control, mooring and ground handling, and piloting and meteorology; (2) different airship types including conventional (manned and unmanned), hot air, solar powered, and hybrid; (3) airship applications including surveillance, tourism, heavy lift, and disaster and humanitarian relief; and (4) airship roles and economic considerations. This second edition introduces nine new chapters and includes significant revisions and updates to five of the original chapters.

This book provides a unique and indispensable guide to modern airship design and operation. Airships today incorporate advanced technology including composite materials, complex electronic systems, and fly by light controls. They demand the latest theories in aerodynamics, stability and control and require the use of advanced design tools such as numerical finite element structural analysis and computer aided design. This comprehensive and fully-illustrated account brings together airship specialists from both universities and industry. After a general introduction, the essentials of aerostatics, aerodynamics, stability and control, propulsion, materials and structures are covered. The following chapters consider weight estimates and control, ground handling and mooring, systems, performance and piloting. The final chapters examine suggestions for improving airship performance, survey unconventional designs, synthesise various design elements, and look at airship roles and economic considerations vital for the success of the airship in the market place. Detailed references are also included.

A unique and indispensable guide to modern airship design and operation, for researchers and professionals working in mechanical and aerospace engineering.

The R101 was the largest object ever to take to the air. It was meant to dazzle the world with cutting-edge technology and awesome size. Better than a plane, more luxurious than an ocean liner, the R101 would connect the furthest reaches of the British Empire, tying together far-flung dominions at a time when imperial bonds were fraying. It was, however, not to be. The spectacular crash of the British airship R101 in 1930 changed the world of aviation forever. Most have heard of the fiery crash of the Hindenburg, a German ship that went down in New Jersey seven years later. But the story of R101 and its forty-eight victims has largely been forgotten. His Majesty’s Airship recounts the epic narrative of the ill-fated airship and her eccentric champion, Christopher Thomson. S. C. Gwynne brings to life a lost world of aviators driven by ambition, and killed by hubris.

This book outlines important airship design and practicability considerations and suggests a design approach that will result in successful development programs and lead to airships that are in synch with 21st century aviation practices and advanced military commercial operating utility needs. The need for economical heavy lift transportation as well as specialized intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) platforms is an opportune time to look again at lighter-than-air vehicle technology. An airship revival has proven difficult due to failed or canceled airship programs proving corrosive to the perceived viability of the technology. If the present revival of interest in airships is to avoid a new generation of failures, or an inability to achieve promised results, it is essential to introduce an era of more prudent airship design, clear vision, and better management. --

Six decades later, there is still a mystique surrounding these technological leviathans, one that Zeppelin! addresses with insight and wit.