Airships

Several companies are working to solve the buoyancy problem of airships, which has stopped them from being used for cargo transport. Recently, efforts have intensified to better control airship buoyancy for practical cargo use.

Table of Contents

About Airships

Airships are vertical-lift aircraft that use gas to float and steer in the air. Airships don’t fly – they float.
There are three main types of airships: non-rigid (or blimps), semi-rigid and rigid.
They are bullet-shaped craft filled with helium or hydrogen.
Airship has 3 main parts: a balloon-like hull, a gondola and a propulsion system.
Advantages:
- Airships can take off and land in various locations, without requiring runways or airports.
- Airships can carry large payloads in comparison to traditional aircraft.
- Airships require less fuel and can travel for longer distances than other aircraft.
Challenge with varying Buoyancy: Airships require the ability to vary their buoyancy to adjust for weight changes when picking up or dropping off loads.

Working Mechanism of Airships

Airships use gases which have density lower than atmospheric gases. (Helium balloons also use the same principle).
Early airships used hydrogen as the lifting gas as it was cheap, easy to produce and the lightest existing gas. But its use was discontinued as it was highly flammable.
Modern airships use helium, which is non-combustible.

Buoyancy

Buoyancy is the force that makes things float. It acts in the opposite direction to gravity.
When an object is placed in a fluid (like air or water), the fluid pushes up against the object, helping it to stay afloat.