Why airships are set to make a return to our skies

Airship are hardly an innovation: their golden age was in the second and third decade of the last century, but footage of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LZ_129_Hindenburg" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Hindenburg</a> going down in flames in just 32 seconds and the thirty-five deaths resulting from the accident on May 6, 1937 has been enough to make anyone think twice before reimagining this technology for anything other than floating advertising hoardings. However, <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/airship" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">technology has come a long way</a>, and now, the possibility of designing and building airships that can be used to provide aid in disasters or functioning as a clean logistical alternative to transporting goods — faster and cheaper than container ships, for example — is <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/06/28/1074332/lighter-than-air-vehicles-lta" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">bringing initiatives in this direction back into view</a>. LTA Research has <a href="https://www.sfgate.com/travel/article/Sergey-Brin-Google-airship-blimp-zeppelin-LTA-16030652.php" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">spent the last two years</a> building <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2023/11/08/the-worlds-largest-aircraft-breaks-cover-in-silicon-valley/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">a huge airship that is already licensed to fly</a>, and is currently carrying out final test flights. The goal is to <a href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220621-the-giant-hangar-poised-for-an-aviation-revolution" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">revolutionize aviation</a>. Other companies, such as <a href="https://www.flying-whales.com/en/home/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Flying Whales</a>, <a href="https://www.buoyantaircraft.ca/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">BASI</a>, <a href="https://www.sceye.com/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Sceye</a>, <a href="https://www.hybridairvehicles.com/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Hybrid Air Vehicles</a> or <a href="https://www.straightlineaviation.com/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Straightline Aviation</a> are exploring the field from multiple points of view and with very different approaches. <a href="https://medium.com/enrique-dans/why-airships-are-set-to-make-a-return-to-our-skies-04a12c78e900">Read More</a>