[BITList] Fwd: Airship

[John Feltham]

Begin forwarded message:

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> Huge Airships Coming Back?
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> Even though the Aeroscraft dwarfs the largest commercial airliners,  
> it requires less net space on the ground than any plane because it  
> doesn't need a runway The airship takes off and lands like a  
> helicopter -- straight up and down. This is not a blimp. It's a sort  
> of flying Queen Mary 2 that could change the way you think about air  
> travel.
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> It's the Aeroscraft and, when it's completed, it will ferry pampered  
> passengers across continents and oceans as they stroll leisurely  
> about the one-acre cabin, or relax in their staterooms.
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> Unlike its dirigible ancestors, the Aeroscraft is not lighter than  
> air. Its 14-million cubic feet of helium hoist only two-thirds of  
> the craft's weight.
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> The rigid and surprisingly aerodynamic body, driven by huge rear-  
> ward propellers, generates enough additional lift to keep the  
> behemoth and its 400-ton payload aloft while cruising During takeoff  
> and landing, six turbo-fan jet engines push the ship up or ease its  
> descent. This two-football-fields-long airship is the brainchild of  
> Igor Pasternak, whose privately funded California firm, Worldwide  
> Aeros Corporation, is in the early stages of developing a prototype  
> and expects to have one completed by 2010.
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> Pasternak says several cruise ship companies have expressed interest  
> in the project, and for good reason -- the craft would have a range  
> of several thousand miles, and, with an estimated top speed of 174  
> mph, could traverse the continental United States in about 18 hours.  
> During the flight, passengers would view national landmarks just  
> 8,000 feet below, or, if they weren't captivated by the view, the  
> cavernous interior would easily accommodate such amenities as luxury  
> staterooms, restaurants -- even a casino. To minimize noise, the aft- 
> mounted propellers will be electric, powered by a renewable source  
> such as hydrogen fuel cells.
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> A sophisticated buoyancy -- management system will serve the same  
> purpose as trim on an airplane, allowing for precise adjustments in  
> flight dynamics to compensate for outside conditions and passenger  
> movement. The automated system will draw outside air into  
> compartments throughout the ship and compress it to manage onboard  
> weight.
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> (On a pressurized plane, windows like these would explode outward.  
> The Aeroscraft would not fly high enough to need pressurization.)
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> The company envisions a cargo-carrying version that could deliver a  
> store's worth of merchandise from a centralized distribution center  
> straight to a Walmart parking lot, or, because the helium-filled  
> craft will float, a year's worth of supplies to an offshore oil rig.
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> 'You can land on the snow, you can land on the water,' Pasternak  
> says. ' It's a new vision of what can be done in the air. '
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> Aeroscraft: Purpose - Long-range travel for passengers who are more  
> concerned with the journey than the destination.
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> Dimensions (feet): 165 H x 244 W x 647 L

ooroo

Bad typists of the word, untie.




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