AUG 03

A rigid structure also makes it much easier to have a vehicle that can land where it needs to, rather than needing to have a dedicated landing facility and a mooring mast, as current airships do. The rigid shell would also be better able to withstand the elements, so that the craft would not have to be stored in a hangar when it was not in flight.

There are many uses for a very large, mobile vehicle with the ability to move many tons of material without the need for refueling or support infrastructure. Humanitarian groups in Malaysia and Indonesia are talking with Turtle Airships about the concept vehicle. Imagine a emergency services vehicle that could be dispatched to quickly travel to a disaster site with tons of supplies on board, and then would be able to stay on site for days afterward without resupply. This could combine the best aspects of helicopters and cargo airplanes with a vessel that could remain on the scene without needing to be refueled for days afterwards.

Airships are one of our passions at EcoGeek. As we've said before, "They're elegant, efficient, and exciting and require very little infrastructure." This scheme may exist only as engineering dreams for the moment, but we see some potential in the concept and hope to see it develop further in the coming decade.

Links: Turtle Airships blog Solar Flight

via: Cleantechnica and Wired Autopia

Comments (2)

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Solar Power Airships
written by Darrell Campbell, August 06, 2009

Thanks EcoGeek, for the great write-up!
(picture that accompanied this post though, is of a competitors airship design)

We are absolutely committed to creating true, viable solar powered air transport. In light of climate change concerns and the prices/scarcity of oil, we think that solar powered/biofueled airships are the future. The single thing holding this technology back, is a demonstration of it, which takes financing. Our plan is to do that, with a smaller sized airship; and then move on to create many larger airships. We're always pleased to discuss the airships or to answer questions.

Thanks again! (EcoGeek is one of our must-see-everyday-blogs) Darrell Campbell, CEO, TURTLE AIRSHIPS

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A Truly Better Idea!
written by Carol Shetler, August 20, 2009

Thanks for the article about the Turtle Airships. I will visit their website to get more details. Air travel became the norm in the 20th century for people who want to discover our world for themselves. We need a viable alternative to the skinny, fuel-guzzling, polluting airplane for the new century and beyond. I myself would feel far more comfortable in a Turtle Airship than in the aircraft that streak through the skies today: monstrously big on the outside, sardine-can sized on the inside.

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