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oldbrownhat

oldbrownhat

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...um.. airship.

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This European airline just ordered a fleet of airships

Air Nostrum, which operates flights under the Iberia Regional umbrella from its Valencia base, has ordered 10 Airlander 10 aircraft, with delivery scheduled for 2026...

Made by UK-based Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV), the hybrid airships could cut emissions by 90%, according to the company.

Held aloft by helium and powered electricity, they will seat 100 passengers, and typically fly 300-400 kilometres (186-249 miles), according to the manufacturer. Don't expect a lightning-fast flight, however -- the maximum speed will be 80 mph (129 kph)...

...The interiors are rather more glamorous than typical airplane cabins, with a 1-2-1 configuration, some seats facing each other with, and transparent walls giving views of the countryside below. For those who like to see where they're going, it will fly at a maximum of 20,000 feet....​

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Let's see, is there anything recently that fits this definition? Hmmm.....
 

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swsig said:
I think they borrowed "Air Nostrum" from the Latin phrase "mare nostrum", which means "our sea", a reference by the Romans and Italians to the Mediterranean Sea....
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Very good. You remembered your high-school Latin :)

Agreed about the whoopee cushion! And the rendering of the interior made me think of a lounge from the set of Star Trek.
 
Might make an interesting "green" option for a ride out to Spain's Balearic Islands, though the new "Seaglider" surface effects electric seaplane could do it much faster, and probably safer.



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swsig said:
I think they borrowed "Air Nostrum" from the Latin phrase "mare nostrum", which means "our sea", a reference by the Romans and Italians to the Mediterranean Sea.

It looks like the world's largest whoopee cushion.
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I understood the phrase but it is more fun to let my eyes take me where my mind wants to go.
 
The airships are great for tours, sight seeing or pleasure rides but their very slow speeds and limited range will get old after a while as a mode of just getting from one place to another. If they flew at 300 -400 mph that would be much more viable imo.

The supersonic jets will be plagued by the same problems the were 35 years ago. Super expensive, small uncomfortable cabins, noise issues and specialized mechanics to maintain them = BIG BUCKS to operate. I suspect that at first they will do well because people want to experience getting to Europe in 3 hours, but at WHAT PRICE!?

To me, the biggest hassle of flying is not the 6 hours on a plane to Europe, it's the hours of hassle at the airports, baggage checks and claims, getting there 2 hours prior for security checks, etc. That probably won't be any different on the supersonic planes. After a while, people who once paid 4-$5,000 to get to a destination fast will realize the time savings of 3 hours simply isn't worth the price. We'll see.......
 
chief38 said:
...To me, the biggest hassle of flying is not the 6 hours on a plane to Europe, it's the hours of hassle at the airports, baggage checks and claims, getting there 2 hours prior for security checks, etc. That probably won't be any different on the supersonic planes. After a while, people who once paid 4-$5,000 to get to a destination fast will realize the time savings of 3 hours simply isn't worth the price. We'll see.......
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Who was it who said, "If you've time to spare, go by air" ?

Looking at the spacious lounge of the airship in the article, I wondered about the cost of fares, too.
 
oldbrownhat said:
Who was it who said, "If you've time to spare, go by air" ?

Looking at the spacious lounge of the airship in the article, I wondered about the cost of fares, too.
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But the short range will be the real killer! With solar power advances it might be different in the future. If they can get the solar tech. to the point where during daylight hours the thing can sustain indefinite flight - then it would be viable. Add some light weight batteries for storage and it can fly in the dark as well. then they'll have something to crow about!
 
This thing sounds like a great way to travel short distances, as opposed to driving or taking ground mass transit. Its speed and range would make it a direct competitor to Amtrak for many interstate routes in the Eastern US -- Washington, D.C. to New York City, for instance.

And that view! I'd ride on it in a heartbeat just for that! :)
 
Well I'm sure if they can get space capsules and giant cargo ships to dock - an airship should be doable too. The main focus would be to get them going longer and faster. With today's tech. docking shouldn't be a major issue.
 
chief38 said:
Well I'm sure if they can get space capsules and giant cargo ships to dock - an airship should be doable too. The main focus would be to get them going longer and faster. With today's tech. docking shouldn't be a major issue.
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I was reading an article a while back in -- IIRC -- Air & Space Smithsonian, about pilotless airliners, operated remotely from the ground. The concept is well-established and safe, of course...our military has been flying drones for years...but the biggest problem, according to the article, was the lack of public acceptance: People don't want to get on an airliner that literally has no one at the controls.

Just about anything is possible...whether it's marketable is another question.
 
oldbrownhat said:
Very good. You remembered your high-school Latin :)
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It's amazing what can stick in one's mind. I never studied Latin. I remembered "Mare Nostrum" as the title of a 1950s episode of "Victory at Sea" about Mussolini's attempt to control the Mediterranean during WW II. Now, if I could only remember Mrs. swsig's birthday...;)
 
swsig said:
It's amazing what can stick in one's mind. I never studied Latin...
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The power of association:)

I did study Latin at school, and still have my textbook. Every once in a while I'll see the rather massive tome sitting on the shelf and wonder, "How the heck did I learn that?" All I remember is "amo, amas, amat, amamus, amatis, amant" and something about "the ablative of means" and an example, "The soldier mounts the wall with a ladder" or something like that. Very useful language for understanding English, but grammatically challenging. No wonder the bloke in Life of Brian got his graffiti wrong!

Until a year or two ago, Finland's Radio 1 (YLE1) featured a Latin world news broadcast, "Nuntii Latini." After years of church Latin, it was odd to hear it with a Finnish accent, but of course, "back in the day" (ie pre-450 AD), it would have been pronounced differently (and with varying degrees of accuracy) throughout the Roman world.
 
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