• Gadgets

    Re-Introducing the Airship

    By Posted on 6.5.2008 1 Comments

    Most of us fly for speed, but French industrial designer Jean-Marie Massaud believes that slow cruising in an airship could be the next step in air travel. Massaud has sketched airships since the age of five, he says, and has since collaborated with major brands like Yves Saint Laurent and Yamaha to design, respectively, perfume bottles and submarines. Now he’s partnering with Onera, France’s space agency, to create the world’s first luxury airship. The design of the Manned Cloud calls for a double-decker, 5.6-million-square-foot airship shaped like a whale. Boasting a top speed of 105 mph and outfitted with all the amenities of a cruise ship, it would ferry 55 passengers from Paris to Madagascar in four days, offering a turbulence-free, unpressurized flight at an altitude of a mere 9,800 feet.

    10.12.2008 at 07:45pm - Comment by jimmyjang

    When you can only have 15 passengers the economic feasibility in production becomes very unlikely! Also one ought to assess using using lift from the 80 mph rather than just optimizing aerodynamics to minimize the drag and controlling airflow over the hull. The idea is there yet I still think Virgin Galactic's production is much more sound. AerosCraft has the better plan check it out http://www.aerosml.com/ml866/

  • Gadgets

    Handheld Spy Chopper

    By Annemarie Conte and Esther Haynes Posted on 9.5.2008 5 Comments

    American soldiers have a bevy of hand-launched unmanned aerial vehicles to choose from these days, but nothing quite as nimble, lightweight and cheap as the Stevens Institute of Technology’s unmanned helicopter. The chopper would allow soldiers to check tall buildings for enemies by flying the camera-equipped, remote-controlled helicopter up staircases and into hidden corners before they go in. The four-pound prototype is made of a doughnut-shaped fiberglass shell 18 inches in diameter; inside, two counter-rotating 14-inch rotors create lift.

    10.12.2008 at 05:42pm - Comment by jimmyjang

    This technology already exists!! In fact there are engineering schools around the globe competing with UAV's. Unmanned Aerial Vehicle competition at Fort Benning, Ga, is the leading competition. Why remote controlled why not a small display and an Autonomous Flight navigating for it's self, Give it 4 years and it will be perfected!



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