Stephen Rees's blog

This is a blog. That is a contraction of Web Log – a record of the sites on the internet that I have been visiting. Today there are three stories all about ways we may fly in the future. They share some common features – regenerating old technologies, and using electricity to power aircraft. But they are all quite different. Except that in my life time each one of these ideas – in different forms – has popped up more than once. For example, when I went to and from Nottingham during my university days, the train took me past the hangars at Cardington. I would like to be able to say I saw airships flying but that wouldn’t be true. Though I have seen the Goodyear “blimps” now and again. That name is a travesty. It was originally applied to the tethered balloons used in London during WWII to try to force luftwaffe bombers to fly higher (and thus be more inaccurate). The Goodyear airships are true dirigibles (balloons you can steer) just like zeppelins.

The only real question I think is about the probability that these things will actually fly commercially.

The most likely, I think is the Hawaiian version of the flying boat. Unlike the effort here to refit existing floatplanes with electric motors, these aircraft are based on the aeronautics of the cormorant – to be seen every day across the Burrard inlet. By flying low and close to the water – but not actually touching it – a great deal of energy is saved. Quite how this can be turned into a commercial service around the Hawaiian islands remains to be seen. Presumably, this new type of aircraft will be able to rise quickly to get over the top of those who stick to their own preferred seaways.

I think that Sergey Brin may be the more likely to get approvals since the changes he proposes to make Zeppelins are designed to take advantage of our much better understanding of the physics of lighter than air flight, strength of materials science, and what the challenges were that lead to the rapid demise of airships both military and commercial.

I like the idea of cruising in an airship (see the works of Cory Doctorow for what he thinks might happen). The appeal of the giant flying cruise ship – not so much.

For one thing it relies on nuclear energy – always a bit of a problem in my mind – but more especially in this case since it has to be both “small” and fusion powered. As far as I know, there is not yet anything like a feasible fusion power plant.