It’s not like the world is running out of Helium or anything and maybe it would be better used in scientific and medical applications than a big fuckoff airship.
The world's largest aircraft breaks cover in Silicon Valley
Submitted 1 year ago by FlyingSquid@lemmy.world to technology@lemmy.world
https://techcrunch.com/2023/11/08/the-worlds-largest-aircraft-breaks-cover-in-silicon-valley/
Comments
SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 year ago
vanontom@lemmy.world 1 year ago
This is the future of air travel! An airship revolution! Just need a few million dollars from
daddy“investors”. Silicon Valley is full of these absurd schemes and games for bored billionaires.redcalcium@lemmy.institute 1 year ago
Don’t worry, we’ll make more helium later when cold fusion finally happen.
Modern_medicine_isnt@lemmy.world 1 year ago
For everyone saying it has no market… some googling finds it is intended for slow cargo delivery to places that have no existing infrastructure. Also this is a prototype, so the bigger ones will have a much larger capacity. They also say it is for disaster relief, similarly to places with no infra, or where that infrastructure has been destroyed like in an earthquake or what not.
NaibofTabr@infosec.pub 1 year ago
slow cargo delivery to places that have no existing infrastructure.
And how much cargo demand is there in places that have no infrastructure?
Yeah no, there’s still no market. Anyplace that has the need for cargo delivery builds the infrastructure.
Also this is a prototype, so the bigger ones will have a much larger capacity.
Accepted, but “much larger” in this context is going to be like 2x, maybe 3x payload. Not 10x.
They also say it is for disaster relief, similarly to places with no infra, or where that infrastructure has been destroyed like in an earthquake or what not.
Ah yes, just what the world has been waiting for… slow disaster relief.
There’s no disaster relief role that this could fill that isn’t already being done better by helicopters.
Modern_medicine_isnt@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Right now, plenty of places with no infrastructure usually just don’t get developed. So this would open the door to some places. And who do you think would want to go to such places. The very rich. So you can charge a whole lot to get them the cargo they want. That is how things with small market can make ridiculous amounts of money.
And disaster relief is for PR. But with all the connections he has, I am sure he will be able to get governments or even private backers to pony up money to send the blimp into a disaster area because it is hugely visisble and makes those people look like they are helping.
Luisp@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 year ago
It’s made of indestructible materials, not even god can sink it!
TheLurker@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Wow another revolutionary invention coming out of silicon valley.
What a brilliant visionary Sergey Brin is.
autotldr@lemmings.world [bot] 1 year ago
This is the best summary I could come up with:
As dawn breaks over Silicon Valley, the world is getting its first look at Pathfinder 1, a prototype electric airship that its maker LTA Research hopes will kickstart a new era in climate-friendly air travel, and accelerate the humanitarian work of its funder, Google co-founder Sergey Brin.
The airship — its snow-white steampunk profile visible from the busy 101 highway — has taken drone technology such as fly-by-wire controls, electric motors and lidar sensing, and supersized them to something longer than three Boeing 737s, potentially able to carry tons of cargo over many hundreds of miles.
This morning, the airship floated silently from its WW2-era hangar at NASA’s Moffett Field at walking pace, steered by ropes held by dozens of the company’s engineers, technicians and ground crew.
The first lesson its engineers hope to learn is how Pathfinder 1’s approximately one million cubic feet of helium and weather resistant polymer skin will respond to the warming effect of Californian sunshine.
At the start of September, the FAA issued a special airworthiness certificate for the Pathfinder 1 allowing test flights in and around Moffett Field and the nearby Palo Alto airport, and over the southern part of the San Francisco Bay.
That will involve a long, slow slog to validate the new technologies and to demonstrate, to the FAA and paying customers, that a new generation of super-large airships can match the generally excellent safety and reliability record of today’s commercial jets.
The original article contains 1,145 words, the summary contains 241 words. Saved 79%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
Maalus@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Airship, tons of cargo? They famously suck at carrying anything of weight. The hindenburg could carry like 10 tons, and a regular zeppelin around 2 tons.
Ashyr@sh.itjust.works 1 year ago
Helium isn’t exactly an abundant resource either, is it? I’m all for a future with a sky dotted with airships, but how could you possibly scale this up?
BassTurd@lemmy.world 1 year ago
The article says it can carry about 4 tons of cargo on top of the requirements to run the thing, but that’s for Pathfinder 1. I’m trying to think of an actual real world use case for these. Outside of tours that carry around 50 adult passengers with no belongings, I don’t see the practicality of it.
cheese_greater@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I prefer the PeterBlimp
Snowpix@lemmy.ca 1 year ago
Quick! To the HindenPeter!
cheese_greater@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Did I err in calling it PeterBlimp?
NaibofTabr@infosec.pub 1 year ago
Who the hell wants a 2-day ride to London?
Archer apparently got the math on that right too, in 2010. New York to London is about 3500 miles, which would take about 47 hours at the top speed of 75 mph.
I can’t believe they actually got enough money to build this thing. It’s like a vaporware project that somehow made it.
tiredofsametab@kbin.social 1 year ago
I'd love to take a slow (presumably more environmentally friendly) flight like that. Time is the only issue.
0x0@programming.dev 1 year ago
Maybe cargo, not people.
NaibofTabr@infosec.pub 1 year ago
Not a chance. If you’re paying for air freight it’s because you need something delivered now. If you don’t need it fast, then train/truck shipping is more cost effective.
By comparison, the Airbus A350-900 has a payload capacity of 53 tons, and the newer A350F version can carry 111 tons.
Even if they manage to triple the payload capacity, the A350F can carry 10x the weight.
RobotToaster@mander.xyz 1 year ago
I’d love to take a ride on a dirigible.
Eezyville@sh.itjust.works 1 year ago
I can see this being used in international shipping if the get the cost down. Why put your product on a big ship when you can use an air ship? Also for landlocked countries.
Aceticon@lemmy.world 1 year ago
It’s even more entertaining: it’s airspeed not ground speed, so the trip duration depends on the direction and force of the wind at the heigh it travels in (and that’s a lot worse for airships that aircraft because the formar have a much larger area facing the wind than the latter).
So that trip at top speed would likelly be shorter than that on the way to London, but longer than that on the way back (as the predominant winds - except during the El Niño - are from the west).