[meteorite-list] It's a zepplin, not a blimp!

[Count Deiro]

Hallo  Matthias,

A dirigible has an internal, light weight, rigid, geometric, metal frame and may have several separate, sealed, spaces for helium as a lifting medium. A blimp ( Named after Englander Oberst Blimp) has usually one unsupported gas container. Literally a gas bag. 

Count (Graf) von Zeppelin designed the first of the practical, passenger carrying, airships in the late 1920's. Others had been built and used during World War One by the fatherland in night bombing raids to London.

The Macon, Los Angeles, and the Georgia and several others were operated by the US Navy in the 1930's. They all met their demise due to extreme weather (winds aloft) and pilot error. We all know what happened to the Hindenburg at Lakehurst. (Static electricity and hydrogen do not go well together.)

Blimps were used successfully by the US Navy for detecting untersebooten with some success. Even being deployed from ship while underway for convoy protection. Another popular use was to deploy and tether blimps fitted with dangling cables above to discourage Luftwaffe strafing attacks.

I have been checked out in the Goodyear sponsored blimp here in Las Vegas and have made several successful flights. I do not care to fly airships as they are hard to control in surface winds over 10K and near impossible aloft in turbulence. 

I do not believe that the very beautiful craft being planned to look for meteorites is going to provide any success, as the terrain and the resulting up and down drafts are going to force the pilot to maintain at least 1000' of clearance while  refraining from even attempting stationary positioning. The ship will go whatever way the air mass is moving, no matter what he does with the articulated propulsion units and tail thruster.

Thank you for the opportunity to expound on my favorite lifelong addiction...flight.

Count Deiro

Airline Transport Pilots License #1495690 
Ratings: Aircraft single and multi- engine land and sea. Rotorcraft-Helicopter. Airship - single and multi-engine.
Flight Instructor: Airplanes and Instruments. Ground Instructor: Advanced and Instruments. FAA Gold Seal Flight Instructor.
FAI Competition Soaring License #9865. 


-----Original Message-----
>From: Matthias Bärmann <majbaermann at web.de>
>Sent: May 4, 2012 12:21 PM
>To: GeoZay at aol.com, meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
>Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] It's a zepplin, not a blimp!
>
>
>Blimp? No way! The Zeppelin is an aristocratic airship - see "G r a f 
>Zeppelin"  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_von_Zeppelin
>
>Confirmation please, dear Count Deiro :-)
>
>Best regards,
>Matthias
>
>----- Original Message ----- 
>From: <GeoZay at aol.com>
>To: <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
>Sent: Friday, May 04, 2012 8:59 PM
>Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] It's a zepplin, not a blimp!
>
>
>>A blimp and zeppelin are the same to me...I  prefer blimp simply because
>> its easier to say and there's just one syllable to  mess with. :O)
>> GeoZay
>>
>>>>Big difference! Stop calling it a blimp  please!<<
>>
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