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by thombat 2490 days ago
A standard 6m shipping container has a maximum gross weight of 30,480kg. The current Zepplin NT craft have a payload of 1,900kg and are 75m long. So it seems that quite a substantial airship might be required, e.g. a modern version of the 240m long "Hindenburg" would be able to deliver a shipping container, given that [1] quotes it as having about 20,000kg of payload capacity (including crew, passengers, food) but allowing for further weight savings with modern aero engines, etc.

[1] https://medium.com/@Jernfrost/calculating-lifting-capacity-o...
1 comments
eigenloss 2489 days ago
They state the dimensions in the OP: a mile and a half long at altitude, 10 times larger than the Hindenburg, payload of 20,000 tons. No, not 20,000 pounds - tons.
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thombat 2486 days ago
That's the "replace a freighter" model - I was commenting on the parent's "replace a road truck", which seems like a poorer return: since any Zeppelin is going to be inconveniently large may as well go for broke.
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eigenloss 2486 days ago
Yep, it only makes sense economically (and physically) if it is big enough to carry a few dozen shipping containers.
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