Article

2003-10-22 Home Front

Anti-missile system to use blimp 25 times larger than Goodyearâs

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Posted by Mike Kozlowski 2003-10-22 1:19:47 PM|| || Front Page|| [11128 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 Sorry guys, but every time I read this, I keep looking for Doctor Evil.

The blimp will have a big "ORBITZ" logo on it.

Posted by Bomb-a-rama 2003-10-22 1:28:42 PM|| 2003-10-22 1:28:42 PM|| Front Page Top

#2 Who cares about the blimp.... I want to see the hangar.

Based at Moffett maybe?

Posted by Shipman 2003-10-22 1:34:03 PM|| 2003-10-22 1:34:03 PM|| Front Page Top

#3 I guess it'll be a helluvalot bigger 'n the wind tunnel! And that puppy holds a 1/4 scale of the Shuttle. Peanuts. 8-)

Posted by .com 2003-10-22 2:00:19 PM|| 2003-10-22 2:00:19 PM|| Front Page Top

#4 Didn't we discuss something similar to this here a month (or so) ago? It was in the Afghan loitering JDAM dispenser genre -- "paint it to look like clouds" -- Fred, let us know if you need help with the royalties...

I keep looking for Doctor Evil.

"Up in the sky, look at that huge..."
"Johnson! Isn't that a giant..."
"Woody!... usw... (only A.P. bit I can watch more than once...)

Posted by snellenr 2003-10-22 2:19:48 PM|| 2003-10-22 2:19:48 PM|| Front Page Top

#5 Shipman -
Well, to put it in perspective: the Akron class dirgibles that the USN flew in the 30s were not quite 800 feet long, and they operated out of Moffett Field quite nicely - at 500 feet, the BMD Blimp will have more than enough room to operate. The same would go for Lakehurst.
Sadly though, the granddaddy of them all - the Goodyear Airdock in Akron, OH - is at this time not capable of handling airships, even though the BMD blimp could end up being built in Akron by Lockmart:
http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/business/6895449.htm

It's possible that the BMD Blimp could be built down at the Goodyear facility at Wingfoot Lake, where their blimp fleet is presently based - the WF hangar can take two fully inflated blimps at 200 feet each, with room to spare. The Airdock (there's actually two there, the big one everybody knows and a much smaller one that dates to 1910)had its southern end closed off towards the end of WWII when Goodyear was getting ready to build F2G Corsairs there. The northern end still opens - and they do so from time to time to make sure it works, it's a local event when it does - and the Airdock itself is used for storage of some pretty incredible stuff. When I was invited in there in 1990, one of the things sitting in there was the fullsized shuttlecraft mockup from the original Star Trek series.

Mike

Posted by Mike Kozlowski 2003-10-22 2:28:22 PM|| 2003-10-22 2:28:22 PM|| Front Page Top

#6 What about the USAF 747 that is being developed (last I heard) by Boeing and Lockheed that is to use a laser to knock down missles?

Posted by Michael 2003-10-22 2:30:31 PM|| 2003-10-22 2:30:31 PM|| Front Page Top

#7 I sure hope this fares better than some of the other airship programs I've seen started, then dropped. We were going to build a fleet of 20 370-foot airships, each equipped with radar, IR imaging systems, and more, to patrol the US/Mexico border, but nothing ever happened. We were going to use the same airships off the coast of the US to stop drug smuggling, but nothing ever happened. We were going to use huge airships for ocean surveillance, but nothing ever happened.

Lot of good ideas, but the Heavier-than-Air boys rule the day, and put a lid on anything actually being done.

Posted by Old Patriot 2003-10-22 3:16:46 PM|| [http://users.codenet.net/mweather/default.htm] 2003-10-22 3:16:46 PM|| Front Page Top

#8 "Captain Scarlet, please report to Cloudbase immediately."

Posted by Curt Simon 2003-10-22 3:37:53 PM|| 2003-10-22 3:37:53 PM|| Front Page Top

#9 The DEA has been using unmanned blimps to monitor drug-runners from Roosevelt Roads for a number of years.

Posted by Super Hose 2003-10-22 4:39:28 PM|| 2003-10-22 4:39:28 PM|| Front Page Top

#10 Old Patriot,
I agree with your statement about heavier-than-air-crowd.Just because technology is old doesn't make it useless.One of US Army's problems is how to get armor to battlefield.If there were some heavy-lift dirigibles capable of carrying pallet w/4-6 M1s at a cruising speed of about 100mph(4-5
times faster than surface ships)you could put a batt. of armor anywhere in world in 24 hrs.When not needed deflate and store.
I am suprised the greens haven't started campaign to bring back steam engine transport(aka Stanley Steamers).Acceleration sucks,but what kind of acceleration do diesel buses and garbage trucks have,or need.The idea of steam power sounds insane,but...

Posted by Stephen 2003-10-22 4:59:44 PM|| 2003-10-22 4:59:44 PM|| Front Page Top

#11 Based at Moffett maybe?

Last I heard, there was a plan afoot to dismantle Hangar One. And as I remember, the last time I passed by there I saw a couple of cranes all set up, probably for just that very purpose. (maybe I'll take a little trip out that way after work today just to see what's up)

Posted by Bomb-a-rama 2003-10-22 5:06:07 PM|| 2003-10-22 5:06:07 PM|| Front Page Top

#12 I would hope that the design includes compartmentalization. We don't need the Titanic of the air.

Posted by Super Hose 2003-10-22 6:42:11 PM|| 2003-10-22 6:42:11 PM|| Front Page Top

#13 Slightly OT---Stephen---The Stanley steamer was a fascinating automobile. It still only got 12mpg, but it represents constant improvements in the steam engine, boiler, preheat, etc. Here is a nice link. Someplace on my computer I have a diagram of the process, if I can find it.

Posted by Alaska Paul 2003-10-22 7:28:00 PM|| 2003-10-22 7:28:00 PM|| Front Page Top

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