Slowly the time for the Star Over London comes to an end. The Zeppelin NT that is flying for Stella Artois over London will end it's flights by the 21st August 2008. And since ultimately the Zeppelin needs to get to the US the question is when is that going to happen and what is going to happen in between. Today we have the answer and it is an exciting one. Aerwin Technologies (English translation of the original dutch site here) in cooperation with Zeppelin Europe Tours have organized the the first multi day airship cruise of the new age. The Zeppelin NT will take 10 exclusive passengers on a trip starting from the British cradle of Airships in Cardington on August 26th traveling via London, Dover, Calais, Brussels, Antwerp, Rotterdam arriving in Valkenburg near The Hague on August 29th. The tour is almost completely booked. Just yesterday another 2 seats were made available so in case you want to catch a ride check one of these websites:
The Zeppelin Cruise page of Zeppelintours, John Christopher's non stop shop for flights with the Zeppelin. You can book directly through them.
If you can't quite afford the 6500€(incl tax, hotels, meals, transfers) for the cruise the Cruise the next stop of the Zeppelin might be more for you. The Zeppelin will fly from Rotterdam until September 8th 2008 and offer round trips similar to those offered in London. Similar to London there is a number of different options available to fit every pocket. Starting with flight of 35 minutes for € 270,- going to 60 minutes flights for € 450,- and topping of with a 90 minutes flight for € 675,-. To find out more about the flights check Aerwins Homepage(in dutch) or have a look at the Zeppelintours Website for contact information and some pictures of last years flights. The flights over Rotterdam are a continuation of flights that were done last year in the Netherlands, some might remember our post and the unique branding of the Zeppelin with the highway number "N470" all this is of course the lead up to the great day when the Zeppelin NT is finally shipped to the US we reported earlier this year about this. I personally believe that the Zeppelin will be shipped from Rotterdam but this is just speculation on my side. It's good to see the Zeppelin NT #4 continuing the success story of it's older brothers and we wish Airship Ventures only the best for their operation in the US starting this fall.
The ancient lines and geoglyphs in Nazca, Peru have fascinated mankind for a long time. Just recently they were featured in "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull". In order to make sure the world has a permanent record and to survey the endangered lines a new Project is underway to this with a low flying, low impact Airship. John Christopher from Airship Initiatives most well known for his Zeppelin Tours is announcing a new Project this week: The Airship Nasca Project working with Professor Nick Saunders and the University of Bristol Archaeology Department who himself is involved in on-going research at Nazca with Professor Clive Ruddles of Leicester University. The survey mission is planned to take place in 2010. To read more about the project. Go to the Airship Nazca Website and read the press release that Airship Initiatives has put out. Below are also some more pictures of the project and the concept.
The Airship Nazca Project PRESS RELEASE: Issued 25 July 2008 – for immediate release Announcing the Airship Nazca project Airship Nazca is an exiting new project using an airship as an aerial platform for a photographic and remote-sensing survey of the endangered lines and geoglyphs in Peru, which were featured recently in the film 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'. The Lines and Geoglyphs of Nazca and Pampas de Jumana are one of the greatest cultural wonders of our planet. Situated in south-western Peru, 500 square km of arid plains are covered with lines straight as an arrow, fantastic geometric shapes and over seventy drawings of animals, insects and even human figures. These geoglyphs are huge, for example the famous Monkey with its spiralling tail is over 91.5 m across, while the Hummingbird - the symbol for this project and which in Andean mythology represents a special messenger of the gods - has a wingspan of 61 m. Best seen from the air, their purpose and how they were made has intrigued archaeologists and mathematicians ever since their re-discovery. But now they are under threat and may face irredeemable damage as the result of tourism pressure and the impact of climate change. In 2010 Airship Nazca will undertake the most detailed survey of the site ever conducted. “It will raise the profile of Nazca and other sites at risk, emphasising the need to protect the drawings while providing a blueprint of every square centimetre,” commented John Christopher of Airship Initiatives, the project coordinator. Heritage under threat Nazca is one of the most fragile archaeological sites in the world. The plains consist of a powdery gypsum-laden soil covered by a layer of rocks and stones; glacial debris that has been fragmented into small pieces. These stones have a high iron content and through oxidization they have darkened to give the site its distinctive reddish-brown tone. The lines and geoglyphs were created by clearing the stones and piling them to either side, thus exposing and contrasting the stones with the lighter-coloured soil underneath. The reason why the lines and geoglyphs have survived for so long is because of the site's stable climate which has almost no rain. However as reported by UNESCO there is growing concern about the impact of climate change upon many world heritage sites and in Peru there are regional factors with deforestation and erosion blamed for mudslides and flash-floods in many areas. In 2000 unusually heavy rains triggered mudslides in the hills south of the drawings, causing damage to one of the minor lines and prompting one archaeologist to declare it "an important wake up call." The rise in international tourism has brought mixed blessings to many parts of the world. Of concern at Nazca is not the quantity of visitors, but the actions of a few. Because the surface is so fragile any marks made by the tyres of a vehicle, or even a footprint, will last as long as the lines themselves. Tourists are now kept off the main area and see the drawings from the 15 m viewing tower or from light aircraft. Location The Nazca lines and geoglyphs cover the arid plains situated between the Pacific Ocean and the coastal mountains in the south-west of Peru. Location coordinates: 14 degrees 41' 38.3” S, Long 75 degrees 06' 49.6” W Why use an airship? The airship is an ideal stable platform from which to conduct a low-level survey. It can be adapted to carry a range of equipment and instruments, flying low-and-slow or even maintaining station if required. The airship can also take best advantage of the light conditions to photograph the lines and drawings which are shallow and do not show up well on satellite imagery. It will also provide the opportunity to carry equipment and experiments devised by students and school children and some may even get the opportunity to fly in the airship as part of their studies. Crucially, given the fragile nature of the Nazca site, the airship is environmentally non-intrusive and the entire survey will be conducted without leaving a single footprint on the surface. Recent advances in remote sensing technology, especially with Lidar which using pulses of light to produce accurate terrain modelling, should provide the most comprehensive survey of Nazca ever attempted. World Heritage Site The Lines and Geoglyphs of Nazca and Pampas de Jumana were inscribed on to the World Heritage List relatively recently, in 1994. The list, maintained by the World Heritage Programme administered by UNESCO, includes 878 sites which are considered as having outstanding importance. The Airship Nazca project team The Airship Nazca project has been devised by John Christopher of Airship Initiatives, a UK-based company dedicated to putting airships to work. With extensive experience in lighterthan-air flight and operations, Airship Initiatives are involved in a range of airship projects and also act as independent consultants for clients all over the world. The Zeppelin Tours part of their operation organises airship pleasure flights in many countries including Germany, Japan, the UK and in the USA. Airship Initiatives is working with Professor Nick Saunders and the University of Bristol Archaeology Department on the archaeological aspects of the project, and the handling of the data and imagery obtained. Nick Saunders is recognised internationally as an expert on the Nazca lines and geoglyphs and, together with Professor Clive Ruddles of Leicester University, is involved in on-going research at Nazca. For more information or pictures contact: John Christopher, Airship Initiatives Email jc@airshipinitiatives.com Tel +44 (0)870 479 8373 www.airshipnazca.com
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John Christopher reports that the Yorkshire Post has two articles about Zeppelin and airships that are worth a read. The first one, written by himself gives a general overview about the history of airships, current developments and gives an outlook into the future. You can read it here: No longer pie-in-the-sky, the airship rises again
If you want to fly with a Zeppelin today you should contact John and his Company Zeppelintours which we have featured previously.
The second article focuses on a (HAP)High Altitude Platform that is being developed by a Company called StratXX. To learn more about what a high altitude platform is and detail about the StratXX project read the article: Sky-Fi: Data with altitude
If you know of a new article that you found on the net, or if you have written a publication that you would like us to link to, send it to us at airshipworld at gmail.com. Also I want to ask all subscribers of the Blog to spread the word, if every reader refers us to just one other airship enthusiast, we could double our readership and extend our reach. But what do I say don't just refer us to people who already like airships, engage your friends and colleagues, show them the Blog and tell them why airships are so great, the two articles we featured today as well as the Massaud Airship should already be enough to get hooked but our Archives are big and have even more great content. And if you haven't subscribed yet, please do subscribe to the Blog, it's free and just takes minutes. You can subscribe to the RSS Feed or via Email which ever you prefer. Also leave your comments on the Blog tell us your two cents to what we write, criticize us tell us what you like and what you want to see in the future. We read each and every comment.
John Christopher from Zeppelintours was just recently in Friedrichshafen again and brings us some great pictures from the Zeppelin Hangar, showing the NT #004 and NT #003.
NT003 with artwork for Deutche Telekom, plus on the underside of the nose for the BKK Gildemeister Seiden Sticker insurance company.
Work being done on the frame of the new Zeppelin NT07 #004 destined to be delivered to the US.
In the foreground the almost completed girders of the Zeppelin NT #004 behind that you see the yellow bags where Helium is stored and the NT#003 having it's annual inspection. Airshipventures who are the future owners of the Zeppelin NT07 #004 also posted a nice picture of the Helium bags on their blog Up Ship!
The new Gondola of the NT 004 is also taking shape in another corner of the Zeppelin Hangar.
The internal rigid structure of the new Zeppelin is taking shape, it won't be long before the next one is flying.
One of the props of the Zeppelin NT 003 undergoing maintenance, thanks to it's rigid structure it's positioned far away from the gondola making the ride a lot more quiet than in traditional blimps that have their engines attached to the gondola.
If you want to get so close to the Zeppelin NT and shoot some of those pictures yourself book a trip with John Christopher through his site Zeppelintours. Additional Pictures from Friedrichshafen can also be found in the Blog posts of Airshipventures in Up Ship! for example:
Ever since the Zeppelin NT started with it's passenger service in Japan this winter, there has been quite some coverage. Today we would like to take you around the articles that have been written about the Zeppelin NT with the registration JA101Z. We have covered the Japanese airship already a fewtimes last year. in June, July and November 2007 but let's look at what we haven't covered yet.
The probably most interesting article was sent to us by John Christopher from Zeppelintours it's an article on the Japanese Zeppelin NT which was published in the Tokyo Journal for Winter 2007/2008. You can download the PDF here (3.4MB)
Another really nice article is an experience report called "Up, up and away" from the Japan Times which describes the experience the editor made on his Zeppelin flight. Showing the reader once more that riding a Zeppelin is a completely new experience different from anything else up in the sky. Another article that we found was"World's Biggest Airship to take-off soon in Tokyo" an article by Luxurylaunches.com outlining the operations from this winter. It was posted in late November just when the operations started. At a similar time "New airship era takes off in Tokyo"was released by the Guardian from UK on the start of the passenger operations of the Zeppelin in Japan. And last but not least there was an article by Reuters called "Tourists cruise Tokyo skies in Zeppelin airship" that is also worth reading.
The current flights over Tokyo just ended January 5th 2008 but if you want to fly on the Zeppelin NT in Japan maybe the spring flight schedule we received from John Christopher might interest you
It will be operating over the Osaka area for 19 days from March 20, 2008 to May 7th. There are three flight routes:
Naniwa Cruise: Osaka Area
Bay Area Cruise: Osaka and Kobe Bay Area
Mahoroba Cruise: Nara Area, Yoshino Cherry Blossoms and Asuka Area
Often described as Japan's second city, Osaka is approximately 250 miles to the southwest of Tokyo. It has its west side open to Osaka Bay, and is otherwise completely surrounded by over ten smaller cities, all of them in Osaka Prefecture, with the exception of the city of Amagasaki.
The cost of the Zeppelin flights varies depending on the course and the flight chosen. Flights are scheduled between 13:30-20:00, including the night flight.
Throughout the Holiday Season one usually gets a lot of Christmas cards, these are just four cards that I got this Xmas, anyone else got some nice Airship related Xmas cards?
The first one is from our friends at Airshipventures Brian and Alexandra Hall they are working hard on getting the first Zeppelin NT to the American continent. For news around their venture also check out their well written Blog "Up Ship!"
The second card comes from Zeppelintours by John Christopher from Airshipinitiatives. Your one stop shop for your Zeppelin tourism needs world wide.
The last two cards where sent to the Airship-list by Ken DeLacy and I have to thank him for pointing me to the website where he got them from. These last to cards are out of the Navy Department Library and are part of the Macon collection
Do you have any more airship related Xmas cards or collectibles? Let us know we will be happy to feature them. Or maybe you have other Holiday Cards and collectibles that we could feature ? How a bout new years, easter or thanksgiving ?
The Zeppelin, continues to be one of our top news sources, it seems that there is a never ending stream of news around and about the Zeppelin NT. Today we would like to present a little update that we had just received from Zeppelintours.
John and Ute Christopher of Airship Initiatives tell us that their Zeppelin Tours to Friedrichshafen are going very well. Perhaps the most interesting request so far was from a man in Japan who wanted to take his cat on the flight. (And no, Zeppelin wouldn't permit it.)
They have several accompanied group tours scheduled over the next few months (see below) and as you will see they now offer the option of a three-night stay in Friedrichshafen. There is more new information on the updated website www.zeppelintours.com including a full calendar and prices. Plus lots of new photos and so on.
Forthcoming tours: These include a 60 minute Zeppelin NT flight of course, and all the extras.
8-10 August - Gold Tour with 2 nights in Friedrichshafen 4-7 September - Platinum Tour with 3 nights in Friedrichshafen
In addition they can arrange flights/tours for individuals, and Zeppelin have confirmed that flights will continue at Friedrichshafen until mid-November.
"Hopefully by 2008 we will also be able to offer flights in Friedrichshafen, San Francisco and in Tokyo!" John says. "Of course the 'big plan' is to get a Zeppelin to London and we are continuing to work on this... I have had several airship flights over London in the past and it is a spectacular place to fly. For the moment you can take a virtual London flight on the website."
So take a look at the expanded and improved website, and if you want to discuss getting up in the Zepp then get in touch with John and Ute at customerservice@zeppelintours.com
If you have about 65.000$ on hand way don't you go to Ebay and buy yourself a Blicopter, but hurry only 1 day and 16 hours left. John Christopher of Zeppelintours, once again made a great find with this a couple of days ago.The Blicopter is a new Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, combining the technologies of a blimp and a helicopter. After reading what was written in the eBay auction, we looked into their Homepage Blicopter.com. It is manufactured by the HEI Group in Coral Springs, Florida, we contacted the guys and this is what J.Quintana of HEI wrote back:
The Blicopter tech can be installed on 30’ to 60’ long envelopes and can operate as Lighter-than-air or Heavy-than-air airship. We made many test on a 40’ and 30’ long, and perform more than 20 flight hours in the 30’ version over extreme flight conditions. On the 30’ long, the lifting capacity available is over 12kg. without batteries. For a regular flight of 1 hour batteries, the net capacity is around 1 Kg on LTA mode.
Using the rotary wing on the back (helicopter), is easy switch from LTA to HTA (or vice versa) in flight. On board computers makes the necessary adjustments on blade collective pitch and RPM (for efficiency purpose) to keep a constant safe altitude.
Helium loss, atmospheric pressure changes, altitude, temperature, and other factors change the lifting capacity dynamically. That is a big problem for conventional medium size blimps, (the problem will worst if the blimp use gas engines). The Blicopter compensate automatically, without user help, the lift capacity and flight altitude.
Wings are been used extensively on conventional blimps. Ailerons and rudders are the unique mechanisms to control the altitude and heading when wind crosses the airfoil surface. If no wind is present, is necessary move the blimp to get some airflow on these surfaces to produce the necessary forces to control the blimp. Wind produce tremendous lateral forces on blimp sides and the control surfaces need be enormous to get some useful control force. In many cases the proportion lift capacity vs surface area is not enough to produce a good maneuverable blimp in the mid size scale. Doing a downsize scale from a Goodyear size blimp doesn’t work well. Doing an upsize scale from a Blicopter mid size blimp doesn’t work well also.
The Blicopter doesn’t use this type of static heavy weight surfaces; in contrast, use a configurable rotary wing to produce the necessary aerodynamic force. Two implementations of this rotary wing has been tested on Blicopter, the classic blades rotating over a perpendicular axis (Helicopter) and the blades rotating in a parallel axis. We made extensive testing on the first option, and we are working on the second option. Our tests on cycloidal rotating blades (parallel configuration) show that is the best option if we solve some problems on efficiency and vibration.
Another important advantage on Blicopter technology is the telemetry system. Its possible operates the blimp by instruments on ground. Complete autonomous flight has been tested but not release to public before complete 200 hours of test flights. A semi-autonomous flight has been release in our 30’ to 50’ versions.
The Blicopter has an Ethernet wired network with IP protocol on board to make upgrades and install additional features easily. The console on ground can be easily duplicable to provide redundancy on pilot and control system. The console runs on a Windows XP /Vista configuration with an Ethernet and USB port.
Many additional features are included on this design. We will inform you about more features after solve the patent process.
Sounds quite interesting to me and even though they have just about 20 hours of flight testing, we will keep an eye on the project. The Blicopter website says that they are gonna update it on July 10th 2007, so we will check back to see what is new. What do you think about this project leave your comments or send us an email. And check back for updates on Blicopter soon.
Yes you are reading right we got the first picture of the Zeppelin NT 004. Well, it's not really the NT004 yet but it's pieces of what is to become the NT 004. John Christopher of Zeppelintours was so nice to share this image with me.
In yesterdays entry about the Zeppelin Nose, I had assumed that it is not the Zepp 004 and that the nose that can be seen is the one of the Skyship 600. Turns out, I was right! John send me an email explaining it a bit more in detail this is part of what he wrote
The latest pictures in you show are definitely not the new Zeppelin 004. [...] It is, as you suggest, the nose of the SK600 - you can see the nose batons quite clearly.
When we were in Friedrichshafen just a few weeks ago the new Zepp 004 consisted of several piles of new girders and the girder-jigs in position on the hangar floor. Don't expect to see that baby poking its nose out of the door for many months to come. Probably not until early 2008.[...]
The photo of the unpainted Zeppelin is not 004 either, obviously. I see it was posted in April 2006, so probably 003 between advertising paint jobs. Note the absence of nose batons which are not needed on the Zepps.
If you want to get a close up look at the building of the Zeppelin 004 and fly in a real Zeppelin join one of John Christophers Zeppelintours they have just added several new tour dates to Friedrichshafen this summer - see their website tours calendar at www.zeppelintours.com. The website also has some new photos and information.
John Christopher from Airshipinitiatives once more did a trip to Friedrichshafen to Zeppelin with his Zeppelintours this time he brought some exciting news home with him. But before we get to the news we have to make a little detour to Dubai, better to the Spirit of Dubai this was a Skyship 600 that got modified with a new bigger envelope. The Spirit of Dubai was planned to do a "Landmark Journey" from London to Paris via Rome to Kairo and then finally to Dubai to be there for the opening of the Palm the huge artificial island in Dubai. Unfortunately the Airship got into problems with the egyptian authorities and had to stop it's route in Crete around January this year. Since then it had gotten quiet about the airship and the Spirit of Dubai. Until today, and now we come full circle back to John's Zeppelintours he took some pictures and found the missing Spirit of Dubai. The Skyship 600 (reg N605SK) is now in Friedrichshafen at Zeppelin getting a new design, the pictures show the Skyship with it's engines taken off. In the third picture you can see the current Zeppelin NT (reg. D-LZZF) with the Mainau design and in the foreground the first parts of the NT 004, the next and fourth Zeppelin NT.
Thanks again to John Christopher for providing the pictures, they are under full copyright by Zeppelintours and on their Website at Zeppelintours.com there are going to be more soon. Last but not least I want to point to one more thing. Most of us know the official Zeppelin Webcam looking out on the airfield, which unfortunately is out of order right now. But to compensate for this loss we digged out another webcam, from INSIDE the hangar. Since it is night in Germany as the time of writing you don't see much, but as the sun comes around the globe tomorrow you will be able to see the Zeppelin NT.
We do not know how officially unofficial this Camera is or how long it will stay online after we mentioned it here but for those indered here is the address for you to bookmark http://www.immenstaad.info/cam/webpic.jpg
That's it for tonight read you again tomorrow then with something about Ohio.
© ZET
