• jj4211@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    Well, that’s a big one. Hydrogen is a much more available element to pump up an airship, and with hydrogen effectively off the table, then helium which if used at scale would be a problem, and it’s already a bit of a problem as it is.

    Aside from that, it forever shaped public perception, so airships have an uphill battle.

    But it’s still a thing, the butt-looking Airlander wants to bring back the airship. Their ‘10’ model however has half the cargo payload of a 737. Their more hypothetical ‘50’ would compete with an A300 on Cargo, which is respectable. However the top speed is 85mph, so 6 times slower than a typical cargo aircraft. However it may be able to tout versatility closer to a tractor trailer, they do still need a landing area, but not so much a runway. Tractor trailers are often used for long haul despite not being able to go 85mph, and definitely not ‘as the crow flies’.