Writing Through Clouds

They certainly would be if this BBC reporter had his (or her) druthers! The reporter recently took a trip in a Zeppelin, and had this to say about the possibilities for future air travel by airship:

“The trip would certainly remind us that flight does not have to be foul, cramped, undignified and an easy way to get a DVT (Deep Vein Thrombosis),” the reporter writes. “Like every other economy sardine, I long for the alternative of actually enjoying a flight.”

Maybe someday we all can!

In my previous post, I dropped a hint about an unexpected e-mail that contained some exciting news about the destination of the newest Zeppelin.

Well, here are the details!

(Drumroll, please!)

If all goes well, Zeppelin NT07 #4′s home will be . . .

(more…)

Way back in November of last year, I wrote about the journey of the airship “Spirit of Dubai” from England to the United Arab Emirates. As the ship crossed Europe, the official website chronicled its progress using Google Earth and the Captain’s Log reported in almost daily. Then, in late January, as the ship reached Crete — silence. For months, there was no news.

What happened to it?

(more…)

The principal was short, but he stood straight as if he were at attention. He clasped his hands in front of his frock coat and vest. “Young men and women of the Reich, I have some very grave news,” the principal said, nodding his head for emphasis. “Today is a sad day for our country. Our Zeppelin Hindenburg, the largest aircraft in the world, crashed very early this morning as it was landing in America. Many people have died, and many more have been injured.”

As the words echoed through Erich’s mind, he became dizzy. But that’s impossible, he thought. I was just talking about it in history class! Erich saw a number of students glance in his direction. They wanted to see how the flyboy was reacting to the news. He avoided their hungry gazes but could still feel his face flush with the unwanted attention.

“We will now have a moment of silence for the fallen heroes of the Reich,” Direktor Kreidler said, gesturing for the students to stand.

Seventy years ago today, during the evening of May 6, 1937, the passenger airship Hindenburg caught fire and crashed while landing after a trip across the Atlantic from Germany. Thirteen of the 36 passengers, plus 22 crew members and one member of the landing party were killed in the disaster. Some of the people who witnessed the crash are still alive, and remember the events of that day vividly all these years later . . .

(more…)

Super-sleuthing special-effects experts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, hosts of the popular TV show MythBusters, recently took on a challenge of Zeppelin-like proportions — to identify what caused the Hindenburg disaster!

On May 6, 1937, the Hindenburg was coming in for a landing after its first transatlantic trip of the year when it suddenly burst into flame. 35 passengers and crewmen, and one sailor on the ground, were killed in the crash. The source of the fire has remained a hotly-debated mystery for 70 years. The most popular theory claims that the ship’s flammable hydrogen lifting gas started the fire. But a more recent theory claims that the fire actually started on the ship’s fabric skin.

So did Adam and Jamie bust the myth that the hydrogen caused the fire?

(more…)