OCCASION This publication has been made available to the public on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation. DISCLAIMER This document has been produced without formal United Nations editing. The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this document do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries, or its economic system or degree of development. Designations such as “developed”, “industrialized” and “developing” are intended for statistical convenience and do not necessarily express a judgment about the stage reached by a particular country or area in the development process. Mention of firm names or commercial products does not constitute an endorsement by UNIDO. FAIR USE POLICY Any part of this publication may be quoted and referenced for educational and research purposes without additional permission from UNIDO. However, those who make use of quoting and referencing this publication are requested to follow the Fair Use Policy of giving due credit to UNIDO. CONTACT Please contact [email protected] for further information concerning UNIDO publications. For more information about UNIDO, please visit us at www.unido.org UNITED NATIONS INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION Vienna International Centre, P.O. Box 300, 1400 Vienna, Austria Tel: (+43-1) 26026-0 · www.unido.org · [email protected] KUli CURRENT AND POSSIBLE FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS IN LIGHTER-THAN-AIR (LTA) SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGY I M3 Prepared by Antony J. Do]man for the United Nations Industrial Development Orcrnni zation (UNIDO) TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. • INTRODUCTION 8 2. TYPES OF LTA CRAFT 11 2.1 Definitions 11 2.2 Some Principles of Aerostatic Flight 17 3. A SHORT HISTORY OF LTA FLIGHT 23 3.1 The First Manned Flights 23 3.2 The First Airships 25 3.3 The First World War 28 3.4 The Inter-War Years 31 3-5 The Second World War 39 3.6 The Post War Period «1 3.7 The Performance of the Airship 43 Notes and References 47 4. CURRENT LTA DEVELOPMENTS 48 4.1 ' United States 48 4.2 Canada 57 4.3 United Kingdom 61 4.4 France 84 4.5 West Germany 85 4.6 Soviet Union 87 4.7 Japan 88 4.8 Latin America 91 4.9 Technology Development 92 Configurations 95 Dynamics and Control 07 Structures and Materials 98 Certification 101 Helium Supply 101 “II Page 4.10 Concluding Note 1G3 Motes and References 106 r; LTA APPLICATIONS AND OI’KHATT- )N:-' 113 5.1 Tntroauen icr. 113 5.2 The Attributes of t! •• Airship 111 5.3 Airship Applications 115 5.4 Airship Operations 1 Operational Procedures 124 5.5 Airshi. Operations and Applications in ■ ;ov.-loping Countri c-s 130 Notes and References 140 6. THE MARITIME PATROL AIRSHi.l' 142 6.1 Introduction 142 6.2 The Search ir.d Surveillut.ee Attributes of Airships 143 6.3 The Airship as a Maritime Patrol Vehicle 145 The Maritime Patrol Airship Study 146 C . 4 Other Developments 165 Notes and References 172 7 THE HEAVY LIFT AIRSHIP 174 7.1 Introduction 174 ~r A The PiaseckJ Holi-Stat. 179 7. 3 The Cyclo-Crano 184 / . * Tno Ccodyoar HLA 1 80 7.7 Trie Heli.truck LOO Note? nre Ref er»-nc, 304 AEROSTAT SYSTEMS .>08 3.1 1 :i( rodacf i on 206 • ') Tut he rod V ’l.oot t .’Of - 4 Page Technical PoserL^:ion 203 Performance Capabilities and Potential Applications 216 Cost of the Systems 226 S.3 Remotely Piloted Aerostats 227 Unmanned Mini RPVs 227 High Altitude Platforms 229 ilotes and References 234 9. CONCLUSIONS; FINANCING LTA DEVELOPMENT 236 Notes and References 2^-4 Annex 1: List of Participants and Observers, UNIDO Expert Group Meeting on the Implications of Technological Advances in Lightor-than-Air Systems Technology for Developinn Countries, Vienna, 19-22 October 1931. GLOSSARY OF TERMS BIBLIOGRAPHY 1 List of Tat.Its . 1 : CI assit icut ion «•: I.TA Plat forms ".2: Lifting Capacity of Di itèrent élises t 4.1: Vain Characteristics of Air float Transport Airship Studies 4.2: Main Characteristics Skyship Product Range 4.3: Main Characteristics of Some Current LTA Vehicles 5.1: Potential LTA Applications 5.2: Helium Freight Rates 6.1: U.S. Coast Guard Programmes 6.2: Main Characteristics of 3 Maritime Patrol Airships 6.3; Compari; on of Standard Rate Co ts, 0.4: Comparison of i'P-X, ZP3G and MPA 6.5: Distinctive- Feat', iron of i’t'-X, ZPc', and Mi’A 7 .1 : Industrie:; Eva» uateJ vi Ut Ilir. 'i i ./• p..t ial 7.2: Economic Benefits frtsi Use ef hi.A 7.3: World Market i.n ¡ILAs 7.4: Summary of Main Chirac tei i : ‘ ic.; 4 G'-ody.1». Airships 7.5: Summary -.f Market Findings Alhorra Mr-h rn Airship tudy 7.6: Main Cli.i! acteri sti.es He lit tuck Models v.l: (¡APP Main Chaîne:eri sties 1 List of Figures Figure 2.1 Internal Arran gemot:t of Conventional Non-Rigid Airship 2.2 Main Types of LYA Craft * 3 .1 Geneology of Airship Development. 4.1 Airfloat Transport LTA Systems 4.2 Skyship 500 4 . 3 Sunship General Configuration 4 . 4 Thunder Balloons AS-80 Hot Air Airship 4.5 KaWasaki Helistat 4.6 Productivity of Different hull Forms 5.1 Main Limitations of Ai rships 6.1 Speed/Payload Relationship Co.; t Guard Pi? tforms 6.2 endurance/Speed Rol >tlonsnip Coast Guard Platforms 6 . 3 General Configuration GF-3C 6.4 ZP3G Car for Maritime Patrol 6.5 General Configuration Bell MPA 6.6 Bell MPA rle.itation System 6 . 7 Gondola Sky hip 6C6 6 . 3 General Configuration Gkyv.hjp ;П0А, f-.'J Genera I Impressi en Sky,»l.ip ‘ ,<>( 6.10 Gr.’/nhir. r’i Gr.i'Pda it.'f Maг i г i Patrol . 1 i-пег к G !)t ora! i; t (ЧаМ'ЧК. Pel ¡-Slat 7 . 2 !:• 1 i -S t a- C'>i,! i<[u! ii i о :,noW i: g u.»t* o: ."(..Гр l 1 t J.l ;ИГ..Т.1 1 7.3 : vénérai -Impress ion Conx.e rrar.1. i?t 1 Heli-Stat ] 7.4 : Cycle— Cnrte in Г oççtng Ot a* :. -.5: 1 7.5 .- General Impression Cycio-Cruisî - | 7.6 : Cyclo-Cruisor Passenger Kodui- ^ 1 7.7 : Most Suitable Configuration G-rdyear PI, Hybrid 1 7.8 : General Arrangement Goodyear HL.A 1 7.9 : Comparison Operating Coses of HLA and S-64 I 7.10: Comparison of Tari fis 1 7.11: Comparison of Configuration Goodyear Airships I _ 7.12: General Configuration Helitruck I ™ 7.13: Payload/Range Capability of Helitruck Models I 7.14: Helitruck Cargo Hold 1 а л : Interna! Arrangement of Tethojed Aerostat I il. 2 : Aerostat General Configuration 1 8.3 : Main Hull Requirements of Tethered Aerostat I a.4 : Cnveloni- Construct icn I S . 5 : Men fine System 1 8.6 : Comparison of Performance of ni fforent I Aerostat Systems I 3.7 : Relative Si::'::, of A«-c. 'at :;y a ••«•••. I 8.Я ; Comparison - f Tet !.r : rd iVv .•••;: it s and Coitven- I • i icnal TV Broadcast 1 я .9 : Comparison of Tethered Да rot- and f’onven- м t i.onal Hroadcast 8.10: Cotr.pari son of HARP Concept •: ; .U : НЛРР Opera tin j Coats fl - 1. INTRODUCTION Interact in airships is today greater that; at any time since the Second World War and there are those Who believe that they are poised to make a comeback. Since the mid 1070s, governments in sevfiil countries, notably the U.5., France and Japan, have put mono/ into studies of their feasibility and have even supported technology development programmes. The past, few years have seen the emergence of a nascent airship industry and the first orders for neW airships in more than three.' decades have recently been placed. To many this reneWed interest is something of a puzzle. The Word ’airship’ remains coloured by past perceptions and by the spec­ tacular disasters that brought the development of large rigid airships to a close in the 19t0s. Airships, many still believe, nave mere d u n c e of ooaur.g to grief than anything else that moves. There are others Who feel that a I run s ps be long more to the pages of comic books than to the v.orld of seri n! iviatior.. And still others Who associate the airship wt'h the rr.t.iant ic era of luxury travel and the days When giant craft glided gently through the air to the sound of an orchestra and the expensive tinkle of porcelain, crystal and silver. Til so days are gom. for cover, replaced by Jumbo class travel Wi th its plastic trays. Sue!, perceptions have not only hampered the objective assessment of the airship’* pant performance; t'.u-y also stand in the Way of a real appraisal of the airship’s future potential. This potential has been documented in numerous hook:- < rid studies Which have ap­ peared in recent yi’iir: . i-lome of these u indicated that the air­ ship's potential appears particularly great developing countries. By and large, h-’Wever, thi-re appe urr. lit; !«• tWarenecs in the Tit i.rd World o: *h>- possit le appJ icat:.. is airships and thus the sun a. r that a •«••'hl.-b Whi ti may 1-.