Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by bombcar 1530 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.
1 comments
aspenmayer 1530 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 1530 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