Rather than these noisy jet-powered stunt planes shattering the peace, introduce airshow crowds to the underappreciated art of lighter than air flight. "Feel your adrenalin surge as the airships roll slowly in perfect sych. Thrill as the pilots hover in a tricky cross-wind. Gasp at their death-defying close formations..." The shows could be set to classical music for added cultural value.
-- Skinny Rob, Aug 16 2000

Another Daring Display Team http://www.722sqnatc.org.uk/barrows/
The Red Barrows need to be seen to be believed. [Aristotle, Aug 16 2000, last modified Oct 04 2004]

Production due to start on Airships http://www.ananova....tory/sm_273622.html
Get those acrobatics ready! [Aristotle, Aug 16 2000, last modified Oct 04 2004]

Bill Beaty's Science Stuff http://www.amasci.c...rg/ideas.html#blimp
Or build the dueling blimps like this... [StarChaser, Mar 21 2002, last modified Oct 04 2004]

Can airships fly upside down?
-- Mung, Feb 21 2001


It depends. Traditional blimps or zeppelins have a gondola on the bottom, which (because it's heavier than the rest of the craft) will always stay on the bottom.

There's no reason a specially designed airship couldn't rotate any which way it wants, however.
-- egnor, Feb 21 2001


I was thinking "synchronized water ballet," but whales'll do.

Perhaps airship demolition derby . . .
-- bristolz, Feb 22 2001


Would be wonderfully amusing, but not very destructive...<grin> Picture 200 foot airships going 'Bwoing!' every couple of minutes...
-- StarChaser, Feb 22 2001


They'd have to cage the propellers or they'd be going 'Bwoing! Rip!'

Maybe Boeing could sponsor the spectacles: The Boeing Bwoings
-- bristolz, Feb 23 2001


Snoopy 1 vs. Snoopy 2...
-- LoriZ, Jun 16 2001


Great idea, seeing them move slowly but gracefully makes it look more magical. Yes not very destructive but much more dramatic.
-- wood2coal, Jan 29 2002


Blimps don't always move slowly or gracefully. I've seen one flying so erratically, it was porpoiseing. No, I was not at a Pink Floyd concert at the time.
-- Guncrazy, Jan 29 2002


I`m afraid that idea isn`t so hot. Hot air blimps need fuel which pollutes the atmosphere. You should put your efforts more toward a wind up blimp motor which doesn`t take the energy and expense of fuel to operate.
-- jimbo6, Mar 20 2002


A wind-up blimp motor? There are two ways to make that work:

1. wind it up by hand with a bunch of reduction gears - should take a few years to wind it up for a typical flight

2. wind it up by power - requires fuel

not a good idea... solar power might work, but that's expensive
-- magnificat, Mar 21 2002


[jimbo6]: Blimps don't use hot air. Hot air balloons use hot air.
-- bristolz, Mar 21 2002


Oh good, another excuse to link to Bill Beaty's site...

Build them like the link shows, with electric motors inside, no propellors.
-- StarChaser, Mar 21 2002


Booooorrrring.

In thrust we trust.
-- dag, Mar 21 2002


Dust off that old copy of Strauss's "Blue Danube" waltz...

You could spice up the show by attaching light displays to the blimps, or if you really wanted to go all-out, the show could end with a cathartic display of all the participating blimps going out Hindenburg-style. There would be a few safety issues to consider, however.
-- gastronaut, Jul 18 2002


Of course, for safety issues one would have to introduce the full-body BlimpBelt (tm), so as to avoid people falling on the ceiling as the blimp slooooooowly overturns.......or maybe that could just be part of the fun? <grin>

That also raises another question; would the blimp take so long to overturn that the passengers would experience redout from excess blood in the brain, or does that only happen when blood is forced into the brain quickly?

This is, of course, assuming we DO have passengers.
-- Jem, Feb 19 2003


Great idea, Acrobadirigibles. [Acrobadigibles is better?, ok Acrodigibles!]

If these show performers do come into reality it will be most likely if they also have other useful functions and are only modified for acrobatics. On the fuel consumption pollution issue, anything we humans do that consumes / pollutes will of course have a longer life if pollution & renewable friendly. Any particular machine will likely be able to use most parts of the evolutionary tech spectrum. On LTA thought, buoyancy does reduce fuel consumption a lot but mostly in low speeds and hover while using more for higher speeds fighting wind forces. The acrobatics would open up a whole new choreography potential not very possible with dynamic lift means.
-- Aerhead, Mar 31 2003



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