A flying cruise ship

Aug. 22, 2007

Most Americans who remember the dirigible think only of the spectacular crash of the Hindenberg at Lakehurst, New Jersey in 1937. Some know that the U.S. Navy acquired a couple of other dirigibles which both came to tragic ends.
What you might not realize, however, is that in spite of the spectacular blaze that incinerated the Hindenberg as its hydrogen burned, only 36 of the 97 persons aboard were killed. The film of the disaster made such an impression that dirigible travel ended. Yet, the sinking of the Titanic with a loss of 1,500 lives did not end the era of the ocean liner. And a disaster in the Canary Islands when two jumbo jets collided on the runway did not end jet travel, either. Should the new gigantic jet airbus -- still not in regular service -- crash with 600 people aboard, that might end the Airbus, but not air transportation.
People forget that the Graf Zeppelin flew around the world, over the North Pole, and made more than 70 non-stop flights from Germany to Argentina before being retired without an accident. The Graf Zeppelin’s historic flight over the North Pole was an incredible adventure.
Now, the dirigible may get a second chance. A Russian émigré, Igor Pasternak, who fled the anti-Semitism of the old Soviet Union with half a dozen of his workers and their families, has designed a gigantic blimp-like aircraft. It’s not technically a dirigible, for although most of its weight is supported by helium it is not lighter than air. It’s more like a flying cruise ship.

TRACK RECORD
Pasternak’s Aeroscraft is not just a pipe dream. He’s obtained FAA certification based on his company’s track record of building advertising blimps. His small company with only 40 employees is located in Tarzana, California has sold 40 blimps. When they build one of them they truck it in a U-haul to San Bernardino to be assembled.
Unfortunately, the cost of renting an advertising blimp like the familiar Goodyear is about $18,000 a day, too much for most budgets. What Pasternak needs is a craft with a big load capacity that can carry lots of passengers. The Pentagon has considered such a craft for supplying troops, but its low service altitude and speed make it too vulnerable to ground fire, something the Germans soon discovered in World War I when they used military dirigibles to bomb England. Pasternak proposes something more spectacular.
The planned 600-foot-long “Moby Air” flying cruise ship would carry a payload of 400 tons and be powered by electric motors. The vast skin could also have solar cells for power. The range is projected to be 10,000 miles, so passengers could cross the continent or the oceans at a leisurely 178 miles an hour. Unlike today’s airlines, which fly at about 35,000 feet and must be pressurized, the Aeroscraft would have a service altitude of 8,000 feet. At only a mile and a half altitude, passengers would get terrific views.
The rising cost of jet fuel and the issue of global warming may eventually curtail those high flying jets, making Pasternak’s blimp a viable transportation alternative. It doesn’t need an airport runway, but could land in a WalMart parking lot, on water, or snow, and deliver heavy cargo to an ocean oil rig or an Antarctic base.

NEW MATERIALS
Since the days of the Hindenberg much new technology has been introduced, such as fuel cells, solar power, and plastics. The skin of the Aeroscraft’s helium bags is made of heat-welded composite materials, layers of UV and smog resistant nylon and polyurethane films, including two helium protection barriers. The stuff is many times stronger than FAA requirements. Instead of the Graf Zepplin’s huge, ship-like wheels for steering, the Aeroscraft will have a simple joystick to control a sophisticated trim system.
The FAA certifiers were pretty skeptical when they first saw Pasternak, whose English is still so poor that he must travel with a translator. His knowledge was acquired at L’viv Polytechnical University, and later while developing cargo-carrying blimps to deliver materials to remote Siberian oil fields. He soon persuaded the FAA with his expertise.
Building the $40 million flying cruise ship is obviously beyond the means of Aeros Worldwide, a miniscule company. It takes people of vision to produce genuine innovation. Maybe Pasternak’s flying cruise ship will be in your future.
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