[squarefoot]

The Hindenburg accident happened while the ship was about to land; people on the ground were already holding the ropes hanging from its nose. Had the explosion happen at a higher altitude nobody wold have survived.

Using hydrogen, especially today, is a disaster waiting to happen, since any idiot with a medium quadcopter drone carrying a small explosive charge could easily outrun and shot down an airship then post the FPV video on social networks.

[gambiting]

>>Using hydrogen, especially today, is a disaster waiting to happen, since any idiot with a medium quadcopter drone carrying a small explosive charge could easily outrun and shot down an airship then post the FPV video on social networks.

Literally the exact same thing could happen with a regular plane(just send a drone into a plane as it takes off), and yet somehow it doesn't happen. I guess people aren't psychotic murderers, or at least there isn't enough of them to worry about it.

[arcticfox]

I think it would be far more difficult to take down a plane than an airship given the enormous difference in velocities. Even at takeoff, a drone-sized IED would probably only be fatal to a small part of the plane's occupants, while it could probably 100% destroy a hydrogen airship in flight.

That said, I don't see any reason we'd need to put humans on these, so that probably lowers the risk massively.

[exDM69]

> quadcopter drone ... could easily outrun

Even the old Hindenburg did 135 km/h (85 mph), which is quite a lot faster than most drones.

[pvaldes]

With predictable trajectories this does not would make a unsolvable obstacle. A drone can shoot a fireweapon so it would need just to place itself within fire range.

[brnt]

I think since Hindenburg fabrics has developed tremendously, and collision, perhaps even explosion safe fabrics for zeppelin hulls could be possible.

[n0rbwah]

Hope they still get covered with a thick layer of thermite.

[zabzonk]

You mean "thermite, the well-known incendiary compound"? https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Thermite

[n0rbwah]

There's a myth that the hindenburg was coated with different layers of metallic paint that triggered a thermite reaction when the hydrogen caught fire.