# I thought this was pretty cool



## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12110386

A practical blimp, at last!
The ad in the first is short, then the good stuff comes.


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## Albino_101 (Aug 14, 2008)

I suddenly sense another hindenburg fiasco coming on...


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## Revolution1221 (Apr 20, 2010)

lol at least its not a giant bilboard!


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## JimW/Oscar (Jul 4, 2010)

revolution1221 said:


> lol at least its not a giant bilboard!


yet!


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## direlime (Jul 17, 2008)

Thats pretty darn awesome!


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Cool, maybe the next 'cruise ship' will be airborne. Airplanes use so much fuel just to stay aloft, airships have got to be more efficient.


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## Cam (Nov 9, 2009)

Sounds pretty cool, but mostly a waste for the US Military to invest into. Hundreds of models of UAVs easily can beat this in recon, and I see not too much a use for one myself.

I mean, one soldier with an AEK could easily take one of these out. It would be like target practice.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

i agree military use is limited to out-of-missile range, which is smaller every day


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## Revolution1221 (Apr 20, 2010)

emc7 said:


> i agree military use is limited to out-of-missile range, which is smaller every day


well with the ammount of weight they say it can hold it wouldn't be to hard to armor it so its not so easy to pop. but then the problem is how slow it is cant really perform any evasive manuvers in something like that lol. way more practical for personal/commercial uses.


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## hXcChic22 (Dec 26, 2009)

Well hopefully these people won' be idiotic enough to paint the blimp with thermite materials (or thermite-potential paint, however you want to put it)


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## funlad3 (Oct 9, 2010)

However practical it may be, it's indisputably cool!


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Indeed, very cool!
Actually, it would have a great deal of value to the military. Most of the movements of troops and cargo takes place well away from the battlefield itself, and an eye in the sky that can stay put for extended periods is always handy. I guess the usefulness of that depends on just how high they can fly.


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## dan3345 (Jan 27, 2010)

I agree with TOS plus with todays recon tech if you could presumably get that up to high altitudes then it could become an awesome recon device. See things for miles. Although if they saw you (and they would) that thing would be toast. I hugely doubt it can outmaneuver any kind of airplane.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

If it had a good anti-missile system (like the patriots were supposed to be), you could shoot down anything coming from the ground.


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## funlad3 (Oct 9, 2010)

Yep. Practicallity = speed, cost, maneuverability, armor, guns, flight time, and awesome looks. This has the _potential_ to become all three. I'm just saying now, watch North Korea make one or something like it...


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