2007-12-13 06:14:42 · 4 answers · asked by troy4sure 1 in Travel ➔ Australia ➔ Other - Australia
They are comfortable and much faster than ships on the sea but they do not handle well in strong winds. The engines are just not powerful enough to counteract very high winds. Using airships for cruising rather than routine scheduled public transport would be good as you can avoid major storm systems. That being said, airships were used for many years very successfully between Europe and the USA. It was the Hindenberg crash followed by World War II and the rise of the passenger aeroplane that saw their demise.
The hydrogen was not the cause of the loss of the Hindenberg or the R101 but once it ignited, it didn't help. The R101 was badly designed and was lost in a storm. The Hindenberg caught fire when its highly inflammable paint was ignited by lightning. The hydrogen then burnt.
It would be impractical to run airships using helium rather than hydrogen because of the cost of helium. They use it in blimps but these are smaller than airships.
2007-12-13 08:30:26 · answer #1 · answered by tentofield 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Same reasons always given for this question . . . . In addition, they are NOT energy efficient for the distance traveled, they are NOT low polluters for the distance and time traveled, They would have to be HUGE to carry "hundreds of people". They are NOT faster than the average passenger train, they are unbelievably SLOW, are not very maneuverable, You need even more helium to lift the same amount of load that a huge amount of flammable hydrogen could lift, you need a HUGE hangar to put them in AND not very people can fly one (or are interested in an airship rating). They are probably a bit faster than a cruise ship, but the ship can offer a lot more amenities at less cost per mile.
2016-04-09 01:01:54 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Zeppelin has the greatest range of any flying machine of the day and it could carry passengers for hire. It's greatest drawback was that it used the highly flammable gas hydrogen to make it lighter than air and it was at the mercy of the elements during storms. Several weather related crashes occurred as the result of storms. The most notable was the spontaneous fire and crash of the Hindenburg during a thunderstorm in Lakehurst, New Jersey in 1937 resulting in the loss of life of 36 people.
2007-12-13 06:34:25 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Pro: a la carte dining
Con: they burn well.
2007-12-13 11:20:05 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋