Thursday, October 30, 2008

Press release issued by ZLT on the arrival of the Zeppelin #4 in San Francisco

© ZLT
Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik has issued a press release about the Zeppelin NT #4 arriving in San Francisco. As aslways you get the English auto translation of the German press release and below the original German version.
Zeppelin NT over the Golden Gate Bridge

Friedrichshafen / San Francisco, 29 October 2008 - The Airship Ventures to Zeppelin NT has been sold on Saturday, 25 October 2008, his home base Moffet Field after a total of four weeks traveling safely reached. This allows the passenger service on the Californian metropolis begin.

When bright blue sky overflew the Zeppelin NT from Lake to welcome the new home the Golden Gate Bridge, before he died on Saturday at fourteen clock time in Moffett Field / NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View landed. Thus ended the airship under forfeiture of his four-week schedule transforming journey from Germany to California.

"We are very pleased with the safe arrival of our airship in the U.S.," said Thomas Brandt, director of ZLT, "Well, we wish Airship Ventures a good start and" many Happy Landings. " We support wherever we can. "Part of the Zeppelin from Friedrichshafen teams for several months operation in the San Francisco post. On next Friday, Airship Ventures is the passenger service on California record.

In Friedrichshafen, the Zeppelin NT yet to 8 November at the request of the climate on the road. FZJ investigated with the help of Topplattform on the airship the processes of self-air. From 10 November starts then the regular passenger service from Friedrichshafen.


ZLT Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik GmbH & Co. KG


ZLT Zeppelin airship GmbH & Co KG, has its headquarters in Friedrichshafen, develops, manufactures and markets the Zeppelin NT, a modern airships for a variety of uses. Zeppelin NT airships are meanwhile in Germany and Japan operated.
Deutsche Zeppelin Reederei, a 100% subsidiary of ZLT, the Zeppelin NT operating since 2001 for commercial sightseeing flights, advertising and scientific and industrial operations in Europe.

For Immediate Release released.

Press contact:
Kathrin Runge
+49 7541 5900 547
presse@zeppelin-nt.de
www.zeppelin-nt.de



PRESSEINFORMATION Zeppelin NT überfliegt Golden Gate Bridge Friedrichshafen/ San Francisco, 29. Oktober 2008 – Der an Airship Ventures verkaufte Zeppelin NT hat am Samstag, den 25. Oktober 2008, seinen Heimatstandort Moffet Field nach insgesamt vier Wochen Reise sicher erreicht. Damit kann der Passagierbetrieb über der kalifornischen Metropole beginnen. Bei strahlend blauem Himmel überflog der Zeppelin NT vom Bodensee zur Begrüßung der neuen Heimat die Golden Gate Bridge, bevor er am Samstag um vierzehn Uhr Ortszeit in Moffett Field/ NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View landete. Damit beendete das Luftschiff unter Einbehaltung des Zeitplanes seine vierwöchige Überführungsreise von Deutschland nach Kalifornien. „Wir freuen uns sehr über die sichere Ankunft unseres Luftschiffs in den USA“, so Thomas Brandt, Geschäftsführer der ZLT, „Nun wünschen wir Airship Ventures einen guten Start und „many happy Landings“. Wir unterstützen wo wir können.“ Ein Teil des Zeppelin Teams aus Friedrichshafen wird für mehrere Monate den Betrieb in den San Fransisco begleiten. Am kommenden Freitag wird Airship Ventures den Passagierbetrieb über Kalifornien aufnehmen. In Friedrichshafen ist der Zeppelin NT noch bis zum 8. November im Auftrag der Klimaforschung unterwegs. Das Forschungszentrum Jülich untersucht mit Hilfe der Topplattform auf dem Luftschiff die Prozesse der Selbstreinigung der Luft. Ab dem 10. November beginnt dann wieder der reguläre Passagierbetrieb ab Friedrichhafen. 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, eine 100% Tochtergesellschaft der ZLT, betreibt den Zeppelin NT seit 2001 für kommerzielle Rundflüge, Werbung sowie wissenschaftliche und industrielle Einsätze in Europa. Zur sofortigen Veröffentlichung freigegeben. Pressekontakt: Kathrin Runge +49 7541 5900 547 presse@zeppelin-nt.de www.zeppelin-nt.de

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Airship Ventures Promovideo on Youtube

Just found this promotion video featuring the Airship Ventures Zeppelin on YouTube. Enjoy!


[Update 081112] Unfortunately the video has been removed from YouTube, if you happen to know another source let me know and I will put it back up, until then sorry for the inconvenience.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Airship on sale !

Ron K miller posted this in our forum I just wanted to bring it to the front page to bring it to eveyones attention:
Greetings fellow airship enthusiasts. I have a 1987 Thunder & Colt AS-56 Pressurized Thermal Airship for sale in pristine condition for $55,000. G-BNKF (British Registration) It has 44 hours total time - and that is not a misprint! It has been stored in Tucson, which is of course a dry, desert climate. Standard Airworthiness Certificate. Pilot only. Training is included in Tucson this winter, however I will only train the person that is purchasing. This ship would make a great entry level platform for anyone wanting to learn to fly an airship, or can be used for commercial advertising. Please send me an E-mail at RonKMiller (AT) cs.com if you are interested and we can discuss details off line.
You can check out the post in the Forum by following this link. Contact him if you are interested and let me know how the story continues. If you want some more information about the Airship have a look at the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) entry for the registration G-BNKF

Lot's of Zeppelin NT Pictures

Telstar Logistics has a very nice article about the new Zeppelin in the US, read it here, they write about the history, the technology and their experience on board the airship. Check out the article called Flight Report: Aloft in a Zeppelin Airship. They also have a very nice large gallery (91) of pictures on flick. Here is the link to the Slideshow.
I also found a new Pool on flickr featuring a few more Zeppelin Pictures. It's the "Modern Zeppelin" Pool, check it out on Flickr

Airshipventures Buzzing all over the Web

Well it doesn't happen every day that a Zeppelin arrives in the US and of course all the Media went crazy about this great new Zeppelin NT which has graced European and japanese skies for quite a while now.
Here are just some of the reports from today also some video from Cnet. But of course don't forget the 3 Sites by Airship Ventures:
All three pages are loaded with content to discover.

News:


Do you know of any good articles videos or blogposts about Airship Ventures, add them in the comments of this Blogpost.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Airship Convention Roundup in the works and status update

Just a quick update for all who are waiting on updates on the International Airship Convention and the Airship Ventures Zeppelin (which has arrived at Moffet Field. Flights in San Francisco will come soon).
The Convention Round Up will take me some time. I will try to get some posts out this week. There is much more than just blog posts in the works, all requiring a lot of time. And since I'm doing this currently alone in my spare time it take a lot longer than I would want. So this is my call out to all you dear readers, if you are wondering how you can help Airshipworld to grow, here are two options.
  1. Contribute by becoming part of the team write articles or pre filter one of my numerous sources, if you think you have a skill to contribute please let me know. I could also need some help with Drupal, Wordpress and Ruby on Rails development, so if you would like to do something in that direction let me know
  2. The other option to support us is by Sponsoring the Blog. We have limited bandwidth costs that are covered by the current advertising on the page, but you could have your company advertise on the Blog. Send me an email and let me know what kind of advertising you would like to do? Anything that I earn through Airshipworld goes right back into the project. For example to pay for the trips to Airship events or to pay for hardware that is used to produce the Blog and the content you see or for promotional material like flyers and business cards.
If you have any other ideas thoughts or even whishes let me know, the content here is for you, the reader, so it should be exactly what you want and if we miss something tell us, so that we don't miss it again.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Pressrelease by ZLT about the Zeppelin arriving in the US

© ZLT
Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik just issued a press release about the Zeppelin arriving in the US. Currently only in German but the trusted Google Translate Service will make it possible for everyone speaking English to at least get the gist of it. Also there was a very nice high resolution picture of the NT attached to the release that I am happy to share. Just click on the Image for a larger resolution version. Below the auto translated Text of the press release and after that the original German press release.
Zeppelin NT arrives in U.S.

Friedrichshafen / Beaumont, Texas, 14 October 2008 - The United States sold in the Zeppelin NT is after his Atlantic crossing from Hamburg in Beaumont, Texas arrived. The world's biggest airship was on a 162 meter long Dockschiff, the MV "Combi Dock I" in his new home shipped.

After its 15day voyage one of the world's three Zeppelin NT has arrived in the U.S. In the port of Beaumont was the blimp already discharged. After assembly and flight testing of the Zeppelin NT will be his new home, the historic Moffett Field in Mountain View, California fly. There are three of the twelve existing airship hangar.

During his trip, the Zeppelin NT Texas, New Mexico and Arizona to fly over before he reached California and the Rocky Mountains on the Banning Pass crosses. Shortly before his goal, the Zeppelin NT on the coast of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge to fly.

Toward the end of this month is the new owner Airship ventures with Zeppelin sightseeing flights out of Moffett Field start. There are passenger flights to San Francisco, Silicon Valley, the Sonoma / Napa wine region and the coast of Monterey / Big Sur offered. Also, the airship with various technological and scientific specialty operations planned.

More information about the Zeppelin NT in the U.S. or the possibilities of a flight booking please www.airshipventures.com or call 001 650-969-8100.



PRESSEINFORMATION Zeppelin NT in USA eingetroffen Friedrichshafen/ Beaumont, Texas, 14. Oktober 2008 – Der in die USA verkaufte Zeppelin NT ist nach seiner Atlantiküberquerung von Hamburg aus in Beaumont, Texas eingetroffen. Das weltweit größte Luftschiff wurde auf einem 162 Meter langem Dockschiff, die MV „Combi Dock I“ in seine neue Heimat verschifft. Nach 15tägiger Seereise ist einer von weltweit drei Zeppelin NT in den USA angekommen. Im Hafen von Beaumont wurde das Luftschiff bereits entladen. Nach Montage und Flugtest wird der Zeppelin NT zu seinem neuen Heimatstandort, dem historischen Moffett Field in Mountain View, Kalifornien fliegen. Dort befinden sich drei von insgesamt zwölf noch bestehenden Luftschiffhangars. Bei seiner Reise wird der Zeppelin NT Texas, New Mexiko und Arizona überfliegen bevor er Kalifornien erreicht und die Rocky Mountains am Banning Pass kreuzt. Kurz vor seinem Ziel wird der Zeppelin NT über der Küste von San Francisco und der Golden Gate Bridge fliegen. Gegen Ende diesen Monats wird der neue Besitzer Airship Ventures mit den Zeppelin Rundflüge von Moffett Field aus starten. Es werden Passagierflüge über San Francisco, Silicon Valley, der Sonoma/Napa Weinregion und der Küste von Monterey/Big Sur angeboten. Auch sind mit dem Luftschiff verschiedene technologische und wissenschaftliche Spezialeinsätze geplant. Mehr Informationen zum Zeppelin NT in den USA oder den Möglichkeiten einer Flugbuchung erhalten Sie unter www.airshipventures.com oder telefonisch unter 001 650-969-8100. 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, eine 100% Tochtergesellschaft der ZLT, betreibt den Zeppelin NT seit 2001 für kommerzielle Rundflüge, Werbung sowie wissenschaftliche und industrielle Einsätze in Europa. Zur sofortigen Veröffentlichung freigegeben. Zeppelin media contact: Kathrin Runge +49 7541 5900-547 presse@zeppelin-nt.de www.zeppelin-nt.de Airship Ventures media contact: Beth Pursley 650-969-8100 x122 bpursley@airshipventures.com www.airshipventures.com

Airship Ventures Zeppelin getting ready to fly

We reported two days ago that the Zeppelin NT had reached the US. It is now unloaded from the dock ship and the empennage and engines are being mounted back on the ship. Check out the posts from the Airship Ventures Blog to see many pictures of the ship arriving, the Zeppelin being offloaded, and much more.

Saturday, October 11, 2008

7th International Airship Convention - Blog Readers Questions

I recieved a very nice comment in my last blog post about the convention. The reader asked the following 2 questions and I will try to answer them from my point of view, others who have been at the convention or have their own opinion about this topic are very welcome to chime in in the comments section of this post.

Question 1: Is there any talk or whispers about the impact this global recession or depression will have on the Airship industry?
Of course everybody is aware of the problems and the global recession that is currently happening. Finding investors in these times might become even more difficult than it already is, but the possibilities for airships to do surveillance more efficient than helicopters or the option to transport cargo by airship without the need for road infrastructures might actually be a competitive advantage and might lead to opening of markets for airships because the price difference compared to traditional solutions might tip in favor for airships. Of course this is just speculation but the general tone at the conference to me was very optimistic. There is a new Research Framework Programme by the European Comission called FP7 that might bring new funding opportunities to the Airship Industry. I will be talking about this in the followup posts to the conference.

Question 2: Any room in this convention for the individual airship enthusiast. The home builder?
There is a lot of room for the individual, if you are building an airship a conference is a perfect place to talk about what you did and what your design considerations were. In fact there were a lot of students who presented their work and models, individuals who are just starting their own company, smaller companies that are just developing a small new airship, researchers who use airships for scientific exploration, historians, vision papers given by members from organizations like the Airship Association, ISO Polar, even the United Nations World Food Program presented a paper. And of course larger companies presenting their new developments like RosAeroSystems and others. The full coverage of all sessions will follow in the comming weeks.

So now I open up the comments for you the readers what do you think, please leave your thoughts in the comments.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Lunch break

The first half of the day is over I have taken many pictures and connected with more great people. Haven't really had time to sit down and work on something but there are some great announcements made. Ros Aerosystems is developing a new Airship with a few tons of lifting capacity. I have one picture that I will be posting later. Announcements will be made later this day by Ros Aerosystems too. So lot's of great stuff to cover.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Airship Convention - Welcome Cocktail and Zeppelin Hangar Visit

Bernd Sträter & Dick Chadburn
The 7th International Airship Convention has started tonight with a Welcome Cocktail where the attendees got to meet each other and have a little time to chat before tomorrows first day of sessions. Dr. Bernd Sträter and Dick Chadburn, chairman of the Airship Association welcomed the delegates with a few words and gave a short outline of the evening. The Cocktail hour was from 18:00 to 19:00. At 19:00 Thomas Brandt CEO of Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik GmbH invited all the delegates over to the Zeppelin Hangar to get an upclose and personal look at the Zeppelin NT in the Hangar. It gave everyone the opportunity to ask questions about the Zepppelin.
Zeppelin NT in the Hangar
Thomas Brandt as well as Brend Sträter and a few others happyly answered the many question the delegates had. Many were clearly impressed by the sheer size of the Zeppelin.
I met a lot of people who I only knew through Email before, it's a fantastic get together of the who-is-who in the airship industry. And I am looking forward to the next day. The convention is opened in about 8 hours by the Lord Mayor of Friedrichshafen. The first two Sessions are "HAA/HALE" (High Altitude Airships) in room Austria chaired by Prof. Partrick Hendrick / COST at 9:00 and parallel to this in room Switzerland a Session called "Future Projects" chaired by Philipe Stabenau. See you there.

7th International Airship Convention 2008 - Warmup

I just arrived in Friedrichshafen at Lake Constance to report as live and detailed as possible form the 7th International Airship Convention here at the Messe Friedrichshafen the new conference and exposition grounds right next to the Zeppelin Hangar. The official Conference starts tomorrow morning but tonight at 18:00 local time is the "Welcome Cocktail Party" and at 19:00 it is intended to visit the Zeppelin Hangar. Until then I am just getting settled in testing my Internet connection and my Cameras. If you are at the Convention, say hello to me, I will be taking lot's of pictures and am wearing a Press Badge. I will be checking my email regularly so drop me a line. Go to the website of the Airship Convention 2008 to get the Final Programme it is not to late to come, you can still register directly at the Expo the registration fees are very reasonable especially for students, who can go to the complete convention for 150 Euro. Check back often as I will be writing quite a bit in the next few days, thrusday I plan at least 3 times where I will post short updates.