The Airship Prize

From inventorspot.com: “Russia was not the birthplace of the zeppelin, although it may mark the site of its renaissance in the modern age. It was July of 1900 in Germany, when Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, unveiled the world’s first zeppelin before a crowd of disbelieving locals from the town of Friedrichshafen. Although air ships had been flown for almost 50 years, this was the very first ridged airship. (This zeppelin was the very first to have a skeleton built around bags of lifting gas.)
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From New Scientist: ” METAL airships are one of the oldest notions in aeronautics. As early as 1670, Italian mathematician Francesco Lana published his Demonstration of the Feasibility of Constructing a Ship With Rudder and Sails, Which Will Sail Through the Air. Lana proposed evacuating the air from a set of copper spheres, which he reasoned would weigh less than the surrounding air and would ascend until the weight of the sphere reached equilibrium with the surrounding atmosphere. He calculated that four vacuum spheres, each with a diameter of 7.5 metres, could lift a boat carrying six passengers. (more…)

From NYTimes.com: “Imagine gliding in a floating hotel over the Serengeti, gazing down at herds of zebra or elephants; or floating over Paris as the sun sets and lights blink on across the city as you pass the Eiffel Tower. Such flights of fancy may one day be possible, if the dream of Jean-Marie Massaud, a French architect, comes true. As the cost of fuel soars and the pressure mounts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, several schemes for a new generation of airship are being considered by governments and private companies. “It’s a romantic project,” said Mr. Massaud, 45, sitting amid furniture designs in his Paris studio, “but then look at Jules Verne.””
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From NYTimes.com: “A new generation of dirigibles is being considered by governments and private companies as the price of fuel rises and concern for the environment grows. An airship operated by Deutsche Zeppelin- Reederei is shown preparing for a flight.” Follow the link below to the New York Times online presentation A New Age for Dirigibles