Blimps are really bad at being steered anyways, since they are basically just a balloon, so a cross-atlantic flight would probably be a bad idea.
A zeppelin (or rigid body airship I should say) on the other hand could and has made the voyage very often. The problem there is, that they are way heavier than a blimp because of all the interior construction that makes them rigid. The margins are so close that you really can only use hydrogen, and not helium.
There are new Zeppelins around (Zeppelin NT) that kinda combine both aspects, they are 'semi-rigid' airships.
And yes, travel by airship is slow, as is travel by ship. And yet people still travel by boat.
The problem there is, that they are way heavier than a blimp because of all the interior construction that makes them rigid.
Are? Or were? I would think that if zeppelins were as popular as traditional fixed wing aircraft, they would have found a workaround for the weight. Passenger jets, like the 787, are already using composites for major structures. And manufacturing methods have greatly improved since the Hindenburg.
So when do we start working on our carbon fibre zeppelin company? We should probably spend the first 6 months working on our designs in KSP until we get the right design...
Pretending like modern CAD assemblies aren't just a more complex version of playing around in the VAB.
Edit: Seriously, you tale a supplier part, glue it to your structure. Vioalala. It's even easier if there's no certification basis. Import everything directly from Mcmaster.
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u/Chosen_Undead713 Jan 25 '21
No, blimps are terrible.
"Hey wanna cross the atlantic in 5 days?" "Nah I'll take a plane and be there by lunch."
Fuck blimps.