The Rise and Fall of Lighter-Than-Air Aviation

What is an airship and what is its significance in aviation?

Airships are lighter-than-air aircraft that operate from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air which helps them stay afloat. Early on, the airship remained mostly a military aircraft (Millbrooke, 2006). After the war, companies such as Zeppelin began constructing airships specifically for the purpose of carrying passengers, since the use of airships was already proving successful. In my opinion, this was the rise in the use of the airship. With the popularity of the airship growing came the rapid construction of them. For example, "The R.38 was under construction at the Short Brothers' plant...it held more than two and a half million cubic feet of hydrogen gas... " (Millbrooke, 2006). Though these airships were able to stay afloat most of the time, they were often limited to what maneuvers they could perform and had to be very cautious of the manor in which they were performed because of their delicate frames. "On one high-speed test flight of the R.38, the crew made a sharp turn...the frame snapped, gas burned, and the R.38 fell into the Humber River. Fourty-four airmen died..." (Millbrooke, 2006). This proved that while airships were capable of flight, they had to be controlled very gently otherwise things could end in disaster.

As time went on, the technology behind the airship became more developed and practical. The Hindenburg was constructed and was a passenger airship that had made successful flights. "...on May 6, 1937...Hindenburg airship crashed and burned in Lakehurst, New Jersey..." (Taylor, 2013). Not only did this disaster change aviation history, but it inevitably led to the fall of airships. While the use of airships for transportation went more and more downhill, many realized the other impracticality of airships: their cost. The cost for the construction and maintenance of airships was only bound to go up as times changed. More recently, "... Airships require a large amount of helium, which can cost up to $100,000 for one trip..." (Cutolo, 2020). While the airship had a rise, it also had a significant fall and this can be seen throughout history. As of this year, "there are about 25 blimps still in existence and only about half of them are still in use for advertising purposes..." (Cutolo, 2020).

References

Cutolo, M. (2020, February 12). Here's Why You Don't See Blimps Anymore. Retrieved from https://www.rd.com/culture/why-you-dont-see-blimps-anymore/

Millbrooke, A. (2006). Aviation history (2nd ed.). Englewood, CO: Jeppesen. Taylor, A. (2013, May 6). How The Hindenburg Disaster Changed Aviation History [PHOTOS]. Retrieved from https://www.businessinsider.com/how-the-hindenburg-changed-aviation-history-photos-2013-5