I've been away for some time; The feeling in my Gut tells me Airships are probably never gonna be a thing, but alas the Dream never dies and it's probably better to keep the dream alive then let it wither away. I had a thought which I felt must be expressed here, as to the nature of Airship crashes and why we may be going about this all wrong.
I was thinking about the nature of boats, and how an Airship is more or less a seafaring sky ship. The behavior between the two is unmistakable. They feel the same in almost every way. So why if we can master boats can we not master Airships too. Why do they Keep Crashing!
In my younger years I was a sea fairing lad. Much of my fascination with airships comes from my love of boats. I was in Sea Scouts and we actually did a good amount of sailing in a small ship that had good handling characteristic similar to maybe a smaller hybrid airship.
I think I realize now the missing ingredient, ships sail into a port, Airships are stuck in an endless sea of air and must "Dock" in what would normally be the middle of the ocean for a ship. Having been their myself, I can attest this would be a nauseating task. It can be done, but it requires constant readjusting of mooring lines in order to not cause damage to the ship or dock, and should Never be attempted in anything more then 30knts winds (Well it's the swells that matter, but if the winds are high the swell almost always is as well).
This got me thinking, what do ships do when they cannot dock at port and the weather is a little too much to handle near the coast?
The Answer is, Anchors.
This same methodology could be adapted to airships I believe. I'm thinking probably something magnetic.
With some kind of heavy weight, hook or even maybe an actual boat anchor. Hybrid Airships could use the storm to their advantage, keeping altitude with the increase in relative airspeed, maintaining a fixed position over an airfield or something else. They might even be able to shut the engines down and keep control with control surfaces alone.
Maybe you would have a lift that rides up and down the anchors chain, like a gondola/elevator, that rotates about an axis fixed to the cable-chain, rather then attempt a landing.
And if the airship had to land, it could pull itself down to the ground where it could then be secured.
Actually now that I think about it, It's probably a terrible idea. Airships are not like boats, they are more like submarines.
Oh well...
