An air transport mode using a powered, steerable lighter-than-air aircraft, an airship or dirigible, to carry passengers and cargo under its own power rather than drifting with an unpowered balloon. Frenchman Henri Giffard flew the first engine-powered airship in 1852, covering 27 kilometers under steam power, and German Zeppelins later carried the mode to its commercial peak in the interwar period, when the Graf Zeppelin flew regular Frankfurt to Brazil service in as little as 68 hours with private cabins and dining rooms rivaling an ocean liner. The mode never scaled past the 1930s, however, because it demanded large ground crews and enormous purpose-built hangars, and it declined sharply after the era's high-profile airship disasters. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Core ConcernCarrying passengers and cargo by powered, steerable lighter-than-air aircraft 1 Connections
Exemplified By
Pioneered By
Source Wikipedia: Alberto Santos-Dumont
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Airship
WikipediaIntroduction
An airship, dirigible balloon or dirigible is a type of aerostat (lighter-than-air) aircraft that can navigate through the air flying under its own power.
Overview
In early dirigibles, the lifting gas was hydrogen, due to its high lifting capacity and ready availability.
History
In 1670, the Jesuit Father Francesco Lana de Terzi, sometimes referred to as the "Father of Aeronautics", published a description of an "Aerial Ship" supported by four copper spheres from which the air was evacuated.
- In Category: Modes
- Part Of: Aviation
View the Source Wikipedia: Alberto Santos-Dumont
WikipediaPioneered By: Alberto Santos-Dumont, lead sectionQuote, Pioneered By: Alberto Santos-Dumont, lead section
He designed, built, and flew the first powered airships and won the Deutsch prize in 1901, when he flew around the Eiffel Tower in his airship No. 6.
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