h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Enjoyable article on one of my favourite subjects!

Couple of bits and pieces about airships:

The R100 and R101 were built by competing groups - one private and the other government run. The privately built R100 was completed OK, and flew to Montreal using diesel engines. The R101 project suffered many delays, partly due to the desire to develop a new type of engine. Because of the loss of face when the R100 successfully flew, the R101 team, in a classic case of pressonitis, decided to fly to India against all advice - the weather forecast was extremely bad; there were also concerns about the general airworthiness of the airship. The rest is history.

At the height of airship popularity in the last century, the British Admiralty built one, complete with anchors and mahogany wardroom. They used submarine engineers to design the airship, presumably feeling that pressure problems are identical in airships! Needless to say, the airship never got off the ground - it was extremely heavy.

There is a plan to have a number of high altitude solar powered airships to use as communications links, similar in operation but cheaper than satellites.

A Canadian firm [Unsuitable link removed by Moderator]does some small airships a couple of metres long, with full 3d controls. I have one and they are fun! Ideal for birthdays -stick your message on the sides, rebalance, and away you go!

Oh! I thought you had found some bits and pieces of airships... like in some kind of derigible graveyard... there's a haunting thought...

I remember hearing on a radio programme some time back that "blimp" comes from there being two types of airship:
a, rigid (the dirigibles)
b, limp
Have you heard of this?

I was told as a youth that I saw the R100 - pity I cannot remember if - I was too young. I wonder how many are living to claim having seen it?

Re the blimp thing - I've heard that as well, and am reasonably sure its true. The Colonel Blimp character who appeared in British newspapers cartoons came later (he was a gasbag!)

It is true that the blimps or 'lightships' maintain form solely based upon the helium used to achieve lift. The canopy can be depressed with just your hand. the Oxford American Dictionary doesn't present any etymology for the term.
If a blimp spring a leak, it takes a few days to notice. I wasn't really paying too much attention to the pilot and the tech details, when i talked my was onto the horizon blimp last summer. I was too busy hanging out the window and taking photos.
Also, the Hindenburg was the 2nd Dirigible to go down over New Jersey. Another (the name of which escapes me) went down in bad weather a year or two previous.
Additionally, the police cars of Lakehurst, NJ feature a blimp logo, as does the Lakehurst motel, which I think is in rather bad taste.

Oxford English Dictonary seems to go with the 'limp' though then hedges its bets by saying origin uncertain - though I'd head that the b was short for baloon