Californians float a plan: Return of the zeppelin

[Magnum, NY]

Californians float a plan: Return of the zeppelin

By TERENCE CHEA, Associated Press Writer – Sat Oct 25, 10:10 pm ET

SAN FRANCISCO – Zeppelins, the giant floating airships used to carry passengers and drop bombs until the 1930s, haven't been seen in American skies for more than 70 years.

Now a California company is bringing the iconic aircraft back to the United States, with plans to offer aerial tours of the San Francisco Bay area in a newly built zeppelin. It's one of just three in the world — the others are in Germany and Japan.

Airship Ventures Inc.'s zeppelin arrived in the Bay Area on Saturday, passing over the Golden Gate Bridge en route to its new home at Moffett Field, a former naval air station in Mountain View, about 40 miles south of San Francisco.

Fifteen feet longer than a Boeing 747, the 246-foot Zeppelin NT (New Technology) was built in Hamburg, Germany, and transported by container ship to Beaumont, Texas, before a cross-country flight to California.

While they may look like blimps, zeppelins have rigid internal frames that are covered with a canvas hull.

Starting Friday, Airship Ventures will begin offering rides that provide a bird's-eye view of Napa and Sonoma wine country, the Big Sur coastline, San Francisco and other parts of the Bay Area. The cabin holds 12 passengers and two crew members, and tickets start at $495 per person for an one-hour ride.

"It's a way to see the world in a way that you haven't experienced it before," said Brian Hall, a software entrepreneur who started the company last year with his wife, Alexandra. "In a zeppelin, you're flying low and slow. You're going at a leisurely pace. You're seeing things that you wouldn't see from the road."

Invented by Ferdinand von Zeppelin of Germany in the late 19th century, zeppelins were used for commercial passenger transport and military operations until the start of World War II.

The zeppelin's golden age ended in 1937 when the LZ-129 Hindenburg — the largest airship ever built — caught fire and burst into flames in front of thousands of spectators in Lakehurst, N.J., killing 35 of 97 people on board.

A German company, Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik, began building a new zeppelin about decade ago and has been offering passenger rides since 2001.

While the Hindenburg was fueled by flammable hydrogen, the modern version is kept aloft by nonflammable helium. More than 80,000 passengers have ridden without a safety problem, Hall said.

The Halls came up with the business plan for Airship Ventures about two years ago after Brian, 43, took his first zeppelin ride in Cologne, Germany.

The German company agreed to build another zeppelin so that Airship Ventures could start offering rides from its base at Moffett Field, which has three of the country's 13 remaining airship hangars.

Airship Ventures has ordered two more zeppelins, which take about 18 months to build, and plan to offer tours on the East Coast, most likely from New York and Florida, starting in 2010.

Despite the slumping economy, the company hopes to sell about 15,000 tickets a year in the Bay Area, aiming to attract passengers for special occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries and even marriage proposals.

"In a time when you might feel troubled, it's something you can do that's quite uplifting," Hall said.

Magnum

[deepsepia]

Originally Posted by Magnum, NY

"In a time when you might feel troubled, it's something you can do that's quite uplifting," Hall said.

Wow, Depression nostalgia.

[Nemowork]

I Anybody got a good deal on fire insurance?

[Magnum, NY]

Could you imagine flying in one of those across the oceans all those years ago? No friggin' way! Tell ya the truth it's not a bad idea, you do see blimps in the sky here and there, could be an interesting venture. Wouldn't get me up in one of'em.

I dig it over them hot air balloons... unless the balloon is shaped like Snoopy or Ronald Mcdonald some other shit.

Magnum

[treesmoke]

Those can only hold dozens of people and fly slow. There are some newer ones that i heard are seriously being considered that might make it to Europe in a day. That hold 100's or thousands of people and are like small flying cruise ships.

And they use helium now so they are allot more safer. I would say safer then flying airplanes.

[Magnum, NY]

Wonder if personal parachutes could be part of the whole deal?

Magnum

[treesmoke]

Put it like this, a hole in the balloon you fall slowly. Jet fails you are stuck in the air. Helium can't catch fire. You can land almost any where that is flat.

Loose a wing on an 747 you are dead. Fuel catches fire. Wheels don't always come down.

Trust me you are safer in a balloon. I just wouldn't ay $500 to fly over something i can see on Google Maps allot more better.

[Nemowork]

Floating round the cold lonely Atlantic or plummeting to your death, what a choice

I can see how they could use Zepellins in California though, weathers good for long range visibility, touring out over the ocean or maybe taking people up whale watching?

[Oofty Goofty]

[treesmoke]

Originally Posted by Nemowork

Floating round the cold lonely Atlantic or plummeting to your death, what a choice

I can see how they could use Zepellins in California though, weathers good for long range visibility, touring out over the ocean or maybe taking people up whale watching?

LOL, yeah that would be a great movie. A group of people being stuck in the air and no one knows where they are at.

[Meursault]

I think that there may be a considerable market for the new zeps. Not only tourist attraction things like this, but also for airborne transportation of heavy goods that aren't in enough of a rush to require plane transport but that are urgent enough that trains or trucks would be too slow. Plus it seems they are pretty fuel-efficient.

[Nemowork]

Im sure i remember a plan to use them for construction and lumber transport since they were more fuel efficient than helicopters?

Mind you that was back in the 80's and all the coke was giving business people some fairly bizarre ideas at the time

[Magnum, NY]

Advertising would be much better suited for a Zeppelin, those dollars would surely be a "get" for a greater blimp industry.

Magnum

[Meursault]

Originally Posted by Nemowork

Im sure i remember a plan to use them for construction and lumber transport since they were more fuel efficient than helicopters?

Mind you that was back in the 80's and all the coke was giving business people some fairly bizarre ideas at the time

There was a german company to the name of Cargolifter until about five years ago. They wanted to build monstrous zeps of over 1000 feet and forked in a truckload of money in an IPO during the internet craze. They burnt all that cash in a year or two, and all that's left of them is a gynormous hagar near the polish border where there's a shitty indoors resort nowadays.

[Meursault]

Here's the corresponding wiki article: the hangar looks like something out of a Bond movie. If they hadn't put that silly spa thing in there, I bet 007 would have made an appearance sooner or later.