Airships are back in fashion!

I don't know why, but last summer airships caught my attention. I already recognized on this post that I do not know much about this very peculiar type fo aircraft, but later on, airship sightings during the London Olympics led me to write a couple more posts about this topic (see them here 1 & 2).

So, no wonder today I read with interest this piece published on the BBC about a British firm, Hybrid Air Vehicles Limited, that is working on an airship project that might end up having multiple applications, both civilian and military (the project was originally commissioned by the US Army).

I can see a  market niche for airship commercial air travel. Do you?

The Olympics from the air: an airship comeback

A privileged view of the Olympic Park

A few days ago I mentioned in this blog how surprised I had been to see over the skies of London an aircraft that looks like from another era: an airship.

Well, I saw it again, and this time, of all places, it was hovering over the Olympic stadium before and during the closing ceremony. If you watched it on TV, some of the footage might have come from this airship!

By the way, if you would like to learn more about how aerial footage of the Olympic Games events has been delivered, do not miss this report on Flightglobal about the helicopters of the Olympics: "How the Olympics were filmed from above".

And if you are interested in airships, there is also this other blog entry for you: "Remembering the history of Airships"!

Balloons and searchlights in action over London...1940? not really...

An airship (or a barrage balloon?) over London while searchlights are in action...1940? 1916? No! This picture was taken in London tonight. Almost certainly some sort of marketing action connected to the Olympics. I found the image and the setting quite suggestive, particularly after having written about airships on this blog not long ago.

I know the quality of the image is not perfect, it was taken with a small basic camera from a long distance, Hyde Park, and at night. In the next picture even worse quality but you can see the approximate location of the blip, notice the London Eye on the right side of the picture.

Remembering the history of airships...and rethinking their future!

Today's post is a bit different from usual, but I think the detour is worth it, as I just came across this website Airships.net, that contains a wealth of information about this early form of air travel: the airship.

 Picture: Wikipedia

I must confess Zeppelins are one area of aviation that I know little about, but reading through this website has arisen my interest... This might not be the last post about this topic I write...not least, because, if these entrepreneurial plans end up becoming a reality, the airships might yet come back!