Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by yabones 1528 days ago
I would love if blimp travel would come back, so long as you get more personal space. A modern airship could make the transatlantic trip in about 24-36 hours, so it doesn't really matter for casual vacation travel. It would be quite relaxing, just floating across the ocean with a nice cup of tea and a good book in a small but cozy cabin.
3 comments
bombcar 1528 days ago
Once the "fastest possible" is broken zeppelin travel offers significant energy savings - it can ride the Gulf Stream and spend most of the actual energy positioning itself correctly there. They could even be designed as sails to catch more.
link
aspenmayer 1527 days ago
I thought the Gulf Stream only traveled west to east, but I’m sure there are other prevailing winds that blimps could take advantage of if they were designed to use them? I honestly have never thought about this before, so thanks for that food for thought.

How much faster could blimps travel in these air currents?

link
bombcar 1527 days ago
The currents average something like 70 mph so it adds that to the speed.

A zeppelin properly built could be jet powered and travel quite fast, but a sailing zeppelin could do 60-70 “for free” probably. If it could get high enough.

And the air has to get back somehow or the Gulf Stream would fill Europe with air and North America would run out.

link
max599 1527 days ago
>A modern airship could make the transatlantic trip in about 24-36 hours, so it doesn't really matter for casual vacation travel

How many vacation days do you guys get per year?!? Only retired people would find it acceptable to turn an entire day wasted on travel to Europe into a 3 days waste (times two if you plan on coming back).

Unlike cruise ship, they can't fill the airship with fun activities. That travel will be just as boring as a car or train ride.

link
seanmcdirmid 1527 days ago
I've done a long train trip from Shanghai to Urumuqi was that 2 and a half days (this is in the time before HSR). People definitely do it, this was during CNY as well.
link
kQq9oHeAz6wLLS 1527 days ago
... and now I'm gonna go read Kenneth Oppel's Airborn, which if you haven't read, you should
link