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A few days back we talked about a Company called Altitude-Attitude and their remote controlled camera blimp. Besides using them for filming events they can also be used to reach places where the normal human eye wouldn't get to so easily for example to inspect an old buildings structure. Everywhere were you would need a scaffold to inspect something or where places are hard to reach a blimp can help giving you eyes in the sky and you suddenly see more that you did before. check out this video of the Altitude Attitude blimp flying in a church.
Blimps can be used indoor as well as outdoor. The Swiss company MiniZepp has a number of outdoor RC-Blimps capable of flying effortlessly to 150 m high. Check out this video of a flight with an HD Camera mounted underneath the blimp.
But lighter-than-air systems don't only have to be used with traditional cameras MiniZepp demonstrated the usage of an infrared camera for aerial thermography on a tethered balloon, completely silent without noise or pollution, quickly setup and ready to use.
The market for small airships being used for aerial imaging and advertising is growing but this is not the only market. AirshipSurveillance has been very successful in the security and defense market. So let's look forward to the future right now it seems very bright for any kind of airships.
One last thing, is a quick follow-up. I have updated the post "Believe in Tomorrow Children's Foundation - Blimp Video" some might have noticed that the first video didn't work, this happened because the video was taken down for re-editing and is now back up. So if you missed it before check it out now.
A few hours ago we updated you on the progress of the Zeppelin NT and that Airshipventures will fly it in the US. We just got a press release form Zeppelin giving us more information and also answering the question if the Zeppelin will be shipped or flown to the US. The answer is it will be shipped. Since the press release is available only in German, you can read it attached at the end of the post I will try to translate as much as possible for our non German speaking readers. So this is my personal translation of the press release this is not an official translation
Fourth Zeppelin NT will fly in the USA
Friedrichshafen, California USA, 9. May 2008. The fourth Zeppelin NT will fly in the USA. ZLT Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik GmbH & Co KG and Airship Ventures have signed the contract fo rthe Zeppelin NT 07. Basis is the successful closing of the Series A Preferred Stock financing by Airship Ventures in San Francisco. The Airship is planned to be shipped to the USA in September 2008
A total of 6 investors have signed a total of 8 Mio. US$. The Zeppelin airships are returning to the USA after 70 years. A Zeppelin from Lake Constance above the Golden Gate Bridge - a dream comes true. "We are very happy about the signing of the contract", says Thomas Brandt, CEO of ZLT Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik GmbH & Co KG. Michael Schieschke, COO of ZLT notes "After Europe and Asia, North America will be the third continent on which the Zeppelin NT will fly."
The Zeppelin NT will be transported to the USA on a dock ship in September. The largest semi rigid airship in the world and part of it's crew will spend around 16 days at see. Until the Zeppelin NT is shipped it will fly in Europe. Negotiations with partners and customers are in the final stages. The exact locations can not be announced yet. The negotiations comprise the Benelux (Low) countries as well as Great Britain. In the meantime Airship Ventures is ramping up their operations in the USA. The Zeppelin NT will offer exclusive passenger flight in San Francisco and will be used for advertising and scientific missions.
The Zeppelin NT airship is used commercially since August 2001, since then it flew more than 13.500 hours, carried more than 75.000 passengers and flew numerous special missions.
Zeppelin Contact Michael Schieschke COO +49-7541-5900-539
Airship Ventures Contact: Alexandra Hall CEO pr at airshipventures dot com +1-408-317-4310
If you want to check out how it will look when the Zeppelin NT is shipped check out the pictures of the Zeppelin NT getting shipped to Africa and Japan. You can also check out the website of Dockwise where they talk about the project of getting the Zeppelin to Japan. Hotair.nl also has a gallery with many pictures of the Zeppelin NT being shipped to Africa for the Africa shipping Dockwise was also used so we can only assume that they will be used again to transport the Zeppelin to the US. Here is a link to the Press release of Dockwise when they shipped the Zeppelin NT to Africa. It is attached after the Zeppelin press release at the bottom of the post.
PRESSEMITTEILUNG Vierter Zeppelin NT geht in die USA Friedrichshafen, Kalifornien USA, 9. Mai 2008 – Der vierte Zeppelin NT geht in die USA. ZLT Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik GmbH & Co KG und Airship Ventures haben den Vertrag für den Zeppelin NT 07 unterzeichnet. Grundlage ist die erfolgreiche Zeichnung des Eigenkapitals von Airship Ventures in San Francisco. Das Luftschiff soll planmäßig in September 2008 in die USA verschifft werden. Insgesamt 6 Investoren haben bei Airship Ventures insgesamt 8 Mio US$ gezeichnet. Nach 70 Jahren kehren die Zeppelin Luftschiffe in die USA zurück. Ein Zeppelin NT vom Bodensee über der Golden Gate Bridge - ein Traum, der wahr wird. „Wir freuen uns sehr über die Vertragsunterzeichnung“, so Thomas Brandt, Geschäftsführer der ZLT Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik GmbH & Co KG, und Michael Schieschke, COO der ZLT, bemerkt “Nach Europa und Asien folgt nun mit Nord Amerika der dritte Kontinent auf dem der Zeppelin NT seine Kreise ziehen wird.“ Im September wird der Zeppelin NT mit einem Dockschiff in die USA transportiert. Ungefähr 15 Tage verbringt das weltweit größte halbstarre Luftschiff und ein Teil seiner Mannschaft auf See. Bis zur Verschiffung wird der Zeppelin NT in Europa betrieben. Die Verhandlungen mit Partnern und Kunden laufen in der Endphase. Die genauen Einsatzorte können noch nicht bekanntgegeben werden. In Verhandlung sind Orte in den Benelux Ländern sowie in Groß Britannien. Gleichzeitig baut Airship Ventures seinen Betrieb in den USA auf. Der Zeppelin NT wird in San Francisco für exklusive Passagierrundflüge, Werbeeinsätze und wissenschaftliche Sondermissionen eingesetzt werden. Zeppelin NT Luftschiffe sind seit August 2001 im kommerziellen Betrieb und haben seither über 13.500 Flugstunden und mehr als 75.000 Passagiere befördert, sowie zahlreiche Spezialeinsätze durchgeführt. ZLT ZEPPELIN LUFTSCHIFFTECHNIK GMBH & CO KG ZLT Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik GmbH & Co KG, hat ihren Sitz in Friedrichshafen, entwickelt, baut und vermarktet den Zeppelin NT, ein modernes Luftschiff für eine Vielzahl von Einsatzmöglichkeiten. Zeppelin NT Luftschiffe werden derweil in Deutschland und Japan betrieben. Die Deutsche Zeppelin Reederei, ein 100% Tochtergesellschaft der ZLT, betreibet den Zeppelin NT seit 2001 für kommerzielle Rundflüge, Werbung sowie wissenschaftliche und industrielle Einsätze in Europa. AIRSHIP VENTURES, INC. Airship Ventures Inc., wurde 2007 in Los Gatos, Kalifornien, USA gegründet, um den Zeppelin NT in den USA für kommerzielle Passagierrundflüge, wissenschaftliche Einsätze sowie Werbe- und Medieneinsätze zu betreiben. Airship Ventures ist ein Warenzeichen der Airship Ventures, Inc. Zeppelin ist ein Warenzeichen der ZLT Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik GmbH & Co KG. Alle anderen Produkte und Namen können Warenzeichnen oder registrierte Warenzeichen ihrer jeweiligen Eigentümer sein. Zeppelin Kontakt: Michael Schieschke COO +49-7541-5900-539 Airship Ventures Kontakt: Alexandra Hall CEO pr@airshipventures.com +1-408-317-4310
This is the Dockwise press release that was issued when the Zeppelin NT was brought to Africa for DeBeers.
OVERSEAS TRANSPORT OF A ZEPPELIN BY DOCKWISE a transport which seemed to be inconceivable in the past! Breda, August 02, 2005 Dockwise Shipping, a leading specialist in heavy transport shipping located in Breda, the Netherlands, was awarded the contract by De Beers, a leading diamond-mining company, for the transportation of a Zeppelin NT airship from Amsterdam to South Africa. The dock ship Enterprise will load the zeppelin in Amsterdam with destination South Africa today at approx. 18.00 hours. With a weight of only 700 kilos the zeppelin is the lightest cargo for Dockwise. A great contrast to the heaviest and largest cargo transported last year, the 59,500 ton weighing production platform of BP the Thunderhorse. A challenging transport for Dockwise, not because of its weight, but because of the enormeous vulnerability of the zeppelin. A sea transport of a zeppelin, which was seemed to be inconceivable, has become reality! ‘As a transport shipping company we are proud to have a substantial role in the start of the South Africa project ‘Diamonds for Development in Africa’ of two renowned companies De Beers and Zeppelin. As Dockwise offered the transport solution for this extremely vulnerable airship, De Beers is now able to bring this unique technology in an innovative application to Africa soon. Furthermore, sea transportation will enhance business opportunities in new markets for Zeppelin’, according to André Goedée Chief Executive Officer of Dockwise. The heavy transport vessel Enterprise, with a length of 160 meter and a width of 29 meter, is expected to deliver the zeppelin, with a length of 75 meter and 19,5 diameter, in South Africa at the end of August. Dockwise Shipping is located in Breda, The Netherlands and operates a fleet of 15 semi-submersible heavy transport vessels of various capacities and designs. Dockwise employs about 800 people worldwide. With a global network of three offices: in Breda, the Netherlands (head office), in Houston, Texas, USA and in Shanghai, China, as well as 8 representing agents, Dockwise is able to service their clients to its best ability. As a leading provider in its specialist field of marine transport services, Dockwise has the experience and the resources to meet complex ocean transportation requirements. For more information please contact: Dockwise Shipping B.V. Breda, The Netherlands Mrs. Jeanny C.M. de Leeuw (Public Relations Officer) Telephone: +31 [0]76 - 5484100 E-mail: pr@dockwise.com
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This circled the web already quite a bit and yes we are late in the game on this news item but hey I'm still not getting payed for this :-). But I love this work and thats why I do it. So to todays topic, the Headline says it.
Airshiventures the San Francisco company that had optioned the brand new Zeppelin NT Number 4 just completed the last and most improtant round of financing to get the Zeppelin NT to the US. The issued a press release that explained that they completed the Preferred Stock financing getting another 8 million US Dollars in investment. This now allows them to get the Zeppelin NT across the pond to the US. If the Zeppelin will fly or be shipped like the Zeppelin NT that was transfered to Japan has not been published. Fact is shipping the Airship has been proven to work for Japan and is low risk compared to flying across the Atlantic. On their Blog they mention the next steps that will be taken. The Zeppelin NT #4 will be ready to fly very soon. The Zeppelin will probably make a trip to London also mentioned here and then start it's journey across the Atlantic. The new Zeppelin Pilots will get training on the new ship and the route the airship will take across the US once arrived at the east coast. The Zeppelin NT can now finally come to the US after the FAA just approved it's Airworthiness Criteria. Check out the full text here. It took almost 8 years to complete the approval the first letter from the German Luftfahrt-Bundesamt was sent to the FAA October 1, 2001.
Airshipventures is still building up it's team so head over to their website and check out the current Job Offerings if you want to join this new chapter in history of a Zeppelin in the US, something that we haven't seem for some 70 years. And of course check out the excellent Airshipventures Blog called Up Ship! for some great inside scoop and infos not mentioned in the press releases. Here is the full text of the Press Release.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AIRSHIP VENTURES COMPLETES $8 MILLION SERIES A FINANCING Zeppelin Airship to Begin US Operations This Fall. Moffett Field, California — May 7, 2008-- Airship Ventures, a privately held corporation formed to bring Zeppelin NT airship operations to the USA, today announced that it had closed its Series A Preferred Stock financing on Monday with investments from six individuals. Terms of the financing were not disclosed. Brian Hall, President of Airship Ventures, commented “Achieving this significant milestone allows us complete our acquisition of the Zeppelin NT and to finalize preparations for commencing airship operations in the fall.” Airship Ventures, Inc, recently announced its move to Moffett Field in a partnership with NASA that will see the company using part of historic Hangar 2, built in 1942 to house Navy blimps. Alexandra Hall, CEO of Airship Ventures, said “We are thrilled to have found a group of people who share our vision of the future for airships in tourism, media and research.” Esther Dyson, the first outside investor in Airship Ventures, added “The best investments are ones where you can invest in something that probably wouldn’t happen otherwise. Without Alex and Brian’s passion and persistence, the Zeppelin would not be coming to the US. But I’m betting in a couple of years people won’t be able to imagine California without it.” ABOUT AIRSHIP VENTURES, INC. Airship Ventures Inc., founded 2007 in California, is a privately owned corporation formed with the objective of bringing Zeppelin NT airships to the USA for “flightseeing” tours, media and science mission operations. Initially based with one ship in California, the company intends to eventually have a number of airships throughout the USA. ABOUT THE ZEPPELIN NT AIRSHIP The Zeppelin NT07 airship, carrying up to 12 passengers, will be the largest airship flying in the US. At 246 feet in length, it is more than 50ft longer than the largest blimp. Using the inert gas helium for lift, and vectored thrust engines for flight, the Zeppelin NT has been flying with an unparalleled safety record since 1997, in Germany and Japan. ### Airship Ventures is a trademark of Airship Ventures, Inc. Zeppelin is a trademark of Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik GmbH. Airship Ventures Contact: Alexandra Hall, CEO pr at airshipventures dot com +1-650-969-8100 ext. 102
I want to thank Paul Boldt for finding the FAA Airworthiness Criteria.
You have probably seen those big camera cranes that are used in movie and TV productions to provide aerial shots. Some are up to 100ft high but what if you want to go 150 ft? Well you either need a bigger crane or you need to fly. Traditional means of flying are planes and helicopters. If you want to shoot at one location a plane is not the right option since it can not hover, a helicopter can. Using a helicopter though has the big disadvantage of a lot of noise, vibrations and the enormous wind the rotor generates downwards, so low altitude and low vibration video shoots aren't possible by using any kind of traditional aircraft. But an airship can solve exactly this problem. It is almost silent, with little to no vibrations, can hover over one spot without costing energy since it is lighter than air and doesn't generate downward wind that might disturb the scene that should be shot. So video airships are a great alternative for aerial filming and photography. The Metlife Blimp for example is filming the PGA Golf tour and provides fantastic footage. Check out this clip from the PGA Tour to get an impression. But such a big Airship can only be used outside and might actually be to big if you just want to shoot a small scene, especially at low altitude. Which leaves room for small remote controlled blimps and airships that are equipped with a camera. One company that offers these services is Altitude-Attitude, a Belgian company focusing on aerial photo and video production. They have already done quite a few projects with their camera equipped blimp. Besides having more freedom of movement in the three dimensional space a small airship also doesn't need to be set up extensively like a crane. It can arrive on site, maybe has to be filled with helium and can start flying. By using a wireless video transmitter the airship can even deliver live aerial video. Check out these YouTube Videos to see the blimp in action or go to the Altitude-Attitude Website and check out their galleries.
What do you think about remote controlled video airships. Should they be used more often? We believe there is a market for those airships, allowing directors new creative and innovative ways of filming from perspectives that are simply not possible with a crane. Leave a comment on the blog share your thoughts in the Forum or on the Mailinglist. Subscribe to the blog and spread the word, tell your friends about airships and Airshipworld, let's create something great.
Early last year we talked about the The Magenn Air Rotor System a wind turbine that floats high in the sky where winds are much stronger. Check out our blog post from last year to see how the Magenn Air Rotor works. Ever since that post it has been relatively quiet up until now. Magenn was able to develop a prototype with the help of TCOM and tested it in the Elizabeth City hangar of TCOM. The test where done inside of the hangar but open air test are to be done soon. Check out these Articles with more information about the recent tests which also contain a few pictures of the prototype.
The Zeppelin NT is a great airship and currently the most advanced on the market. New concepts are in development like the Aeroscraft or the SkyCat but do they solve all the problems and are they the real next generation of Airships. Is the hybrid airship, which gets part of it's buoyancy through static lift and the rest through dynamic lift the solution, the be all end all? Should the next generation airship still have most of it's lift through static lift? One hull or two hulls ?
I have just found the blog Witigonen that has a nice article called Zeppelins, and Why they Kick Ass followed by a second article in the same Blog with the name Zeppelins today and potential alternatives both talk about the advantages of modern airships but also take a critical look at their efficiency compared to planes. The first article links to another interesting Blog post called Led Zeppelin from WebDiarios de Motocicleta the post analyzes the cost of a Zeppelin Ride from Boston to San Francisco. I haven't done the math in the post but the author made one mistake in that he based his calculation on the assumption that the Zeppelin NT can only carry 6 passengers instead of the 12 he can actually carry. The post links to a very interesting Technical Paper which goes into detail of the Zeppelin NT, it's speed, fuel consumption and payload. The paper was created by the Forschungszentrum Jülich which used the Zeppelin NT for atmospheric research. The most interesting part from a technical point of view starts with Appendix B on page 25. You can download the paper here. Having this technical information about the Zeppelin NT the question would be how does it really compare to planes. For example what is the fuel consumption of a 12 seater airplane? Per hour and how fast is it. And of course how does it compare to the most advanced new jets like the Airbus 380 and the Boeing Dreamliner? Can a Zeppelin scale linearly or exponentially.
Also looking at the endurance of Hindenburg and Graf Zeppelin there is a lot to do, the Zeppelin NT has a range of 900 km (500 nautical miles) and can fly for up to 24 hours. The Graf Zeppelin could cruise for over 100 hours and had a range of over 10.000 kilometers. So what would we need in order to construct a similar ship today? How can we advance the Zeppelin NT so that is is able to do a round the world flight? These are the current challenges of the airship industry. What do you think about it? Tell us your opinion in our forums or in the comments to this article.
