VINDICATION

“….we wanted to crash the thing; but we had to sneak around a bit to do so….due to the fact that the FAA would not sanction a deliberate mid-air collision. So in order to carry out the operation we left Tillamook and went out over the Pacific Ocean well outside of the 12 mile limit; although the secret did get out and we were shadowed by a television crew from the Portland NBC affiliate station and some reporters from both Aviation Week and Janes’…”

“….a fully loaded Cessna 172 under remote control; while the airship was cruising at just over 90mph at 3,000’; with the plane descending towards it from the starboard side at about 150mph, as though it were on approach to a runway.

We crashed the Cessna into the top of the airships’ hull just forward of the vertical stabilizer. A perfect hit! You could see panels buckle and an almost knifelike slash though the hull where the left wing of the airplane had sheared away upon hitting and cut through. Also, a large amount of the airplanes’ fuel was blown out in a terrific spray which caught on fire and was almost instantaneously put out from the lack of oxygen when the helium began venting through the airships’ side…..”

“…there is a fabulous shot on the cabin video right at the time of impact; of Thorson and Roberts (pilot and co-pilot) reacting to the impact; they’re seriously occupied for maybe a minute and half……the fire alarm going off and the overhead screens indicating the ships’ heavy condition because of a loss of lifting gas…then the alarms shutting down almost immediately because of both the fire suppression and the computer measuring out ballast drop to compensate for the lost of lift…..We had lost over 11,000 lbs of lifting capacity inside of one minute; but the automatic dropping of water ballast overcame that exactly as it was designed to do…..and these two guys are grinning like crazy! Because that’s’ it; the ship actually settled a total of 160 feet, stabilizes, and continues on at cruise speed….”

“….and Thorson chooses to continue flying farther…with several landings on the surface of the ocean to pick up some Turtle Airship personnel from the boats and a television crew. We flew a total of 10 more hours; with speeds up to 164 mph….It was phenomenal! Especially in light of the fact that half the Cessna is still hanging outside the hull; the geodetic frame and the strength of the carbon had combined to shrug off that much of the force of impact. It looked like a puny harpoon stuck in the side of Moby Dick.

When we finally returned to Tillamook we had maybe 20,000 spectators lining the roadsides, the dock, and out in the bay in everything that could possibly float. Setting down amidst all those boats was the most difficult part of the entire project. The FAA had representatives there; but what were they to do?

We took film crews later on Friday into the hull itself to photograph the extent of the damage. The Cessna was still embedded in the hull, panels blown out, and two of the sixteen gas cells completely deflated. Total time for repairing this damage was 14 hours; and inflation took another 20. Within one weekend, the ship was fully operational again.”

“…..at one point I was asked what we would be christening the new airship……..how about “VINDICATOR”?

NEW NAVY OF THE "AERIAL OCEAN"

Sail to Steam
Wood to Ironclads
Dreadnaughts to Carriers

Carriers to ?????

Consider the magic of Carbon. Building a ship or aircraft out of carbon results in more structural strength than the metals of the past. Building an aircraft or ship out of carbon gives it a natural "sink" that absorbs electromagnetic radiation; making the aircraft or ship more "stealthy" than before. Shaping a carbon constructed ship or aircraft can cause it to reflect radar away from the emitter; again, more stealthy than before. This is, after all, much of the premise behind the B-2 Bomber, or Sea Shadow ship.

Now, enlarge the vision. Hearken back to the giant dirigibles of the 1930's...constructed then out of aluminum and canvas. Substitute Carbon for those materials. As carbon is almost half the weight of aluminum, and several times stronger than steel of the same weight, it would be possible to re-create those giant airships of the past, in exact dimensions as before, but using the new carbon materials; end up with craft that weighed almost half; thereby increasing their payload by that much; and, making them stronger as well.

Consider a new type of Navy; one that can take full advantage of the "Aerial Ocean".; one comprised of flying ships. From small craft carrying a dozen crew members, or giant flying aircraft carriers carrying new UCAV aircraft.

Ships that can fly overland; without worrying about "draft" or shorelines, or ice. Ships that simply float in the air; that can hover, or land and take off straight up and down like a helicopter.
Ships that can land in the water, or land on any unprepareed empty field.

Ships without range limits, or re-fueling needs. As airships are by their nature, very large, they can carry large arrays of solar cells. Coupling these with other forms of power generation such as fuel cells or similar technologies; it is possible to create ships that fly without need of any fuel

Airships can carry immense payloads; these can be configured in almost any form of defensive or offensive manner wanted.

An "Aerial Ocean" Navy, more versatile than the past.......no longer limited to the water.

NO BLIMPS!

This blog is meant to promote the use of AIRSHIPS for the military. These are not the blimps or zeppelin type of craft that most are familiar with.

"HOW DOES THE TURTLE AIRSHIP WORK?"

The Turtle airship is a true lighter-than-air craft.

Although the Turtle airship has a lifting body shape, it is not a hybrid airship. The airship can operate using only aerostatic lift supplied though negative bouyancy. Additional, supplemental aerodynamic force is derived from the shape of the airship The overall shape of the airship is a broad helipsoid.
The airship has an internal framing system of carbon fibre trusses and matrix. The entire outer surface of the airship hull is comprised of numerous rigid honeycomb sandwich panels of aluminum and carbon fibre. These panels are a uniform size and shape and are laid up in a geodesic construction, giving the airship a faceted appearance.

Instead ot the traditional gondola, the bottom of the Turtle airship has three separate elongated hulls in a trimaran configuration. A main, or central, hull extends the full length of the airship from bow to stern, with two shorter "outrigger' hulls. In larger models of the airships, the two outrigger hulls contain living quarters for passengers.
Engines and motors are embedded within the central hull and horizontal planes. Air inlets for the engines and motors are located underneath the airships' hull. Thrust from engines is directed through plenums to the stern of the airship, and through the top and bottom of the airship.

The top half of the airships' hull is covered with thin film photovoltaic materials.

Two lighter-than-air gasses are used to supply lift; these are contained within rigid walled compartments within the major portion of the airships' hull.

Manned airships provide sufficient room for comfortable crews quarters, with full kitchen and bath facilities. Waste is collected and incinerated board the airship.

The Turtle airship uses dual propulsion systems; electric and diesel
The top of the airships' hull is covered with thin film photovoltaic solar cells which supply electricity to batteries; these battries in turn are used to power electric motors and propellors. Thrust can be directed directly perpendicular to the line of flight, or straight up or down as needed. Amounts of thrust, and directions needed for thrust to be diverted are determined by computers tied to sensors located throughout the body of the airship which measure changes in forces caused by varying winds. This system provides a dynamic, constantly attenuated control and allows the Turtle airship to maintain absolute level and stable flight through unstable air currents. These same systems are used to effect for landing the airship or take off; thrust being diverted straight up or down as needed.
These systems give the Turtle airship unparalleled maneuverability; the airship can hover, move directly from side to side, or spin horizontaly on its' own axis. The primary propulsion is derived from biofueled jets. This makes the airships reach speeds of up to 200 mph.
Solar Power is used for long endurance flights as needed during sightseeing cruise flight.
from the propellers located within the horizontal planes is used together with the main thrust
The materials used in the Turtle airships' hull are durable enough to leave outside in all weather conditions; the Turtle airship does not need a hangar. The Turtle airship does not tie up to a mooring mast, and needs no ground crew to assist in take-off or landings.

NORMAL FLIGHT OPERATIONS:
The Turtle airship is a totaly VTOL craft; it does not bank in turns, and maintains a level attitude during all parts of flight, including take-off and landing.
Helium is not vented.
Water ballast can be regained or obtained during flight directly from ambient air by using water condensation units.
Flying on solar power alone, the airship has no range limitations.
In large airships, enough solar cells are available to produce excess electricity; this can be used to split water into its' oxygen and hydrogen components; these gasses can the be fed directly to burn as fuel if desired.

WATER OPERATIONS:
The airship settles directly onto any suitably sized calm water surface.
Upon landing on the surface of the water, the airship takes on water ballast After taking on ballast, the airship lies in the water as stable as a marine vessel. The airship is then moved and steered and docks at a pier just as a marine vessel
To take off, water ballast is jettisoned, and thrust is directed downwards; the primary engines force air under the airship hull to break surface tension and ease take-off.

LAND OPERATIONS:
The Turtle airship can hover over a landing area for extended periods; or, decend very gradually . This vertical, slow approach is much safer than other airplanes, helicopters, or hybrid airships. The Turtle airship lands directly onto the ground; without ground crew assistance; and, without any need of special mooring masts or other prepared facilities.
Upon landing, the Turtle airship can be held to the surface by the directed thrust, or anchored as desired from outside the craft. preprogrammed toinclude perform multiple landings and take offs as desired, without ground crew attendance.
Reduntant computers and sensors systems monitor and control all aspects of flight, measuring thrust, bouyancy, ambient and internal temperatures, gas volumes, ballasting, electric power and fuel reserves, altitude above ground level, and payload weights. Radar and computers select optimum flight paths through all weather conditions.
Turtle airship mooring systems that are automaticly engaged upon landing either in water or on ground, are locked until directed by a pilot.

No mooring masts or other recovery and/or docking facilities are needed by a Turtle airship. No hangers are needed.
Contact:

turtleairships@hotmail.com

Weather and Maneuverabilty

WEATHER: past blimps and zeppelins have all been constructed out of flimsy materials such

as doped canvas, and rubberized or plastic coated synthetic fabrics. All are susceptible to tearing, and all degrade in ultraviolet light. This has resulted in craft that had little structural strength to begin with, and lessened the more they were flown.

Even though these could fly in virtually any kind of weather, they are not. The difficulty is not the wind, rain, snow, fog or what have you; the difficulty is the ground handling. Because these past airships are so flimsy and cumbersome, landing or taking off while being hauled about by a ground crew, or docking at a mooring mast, or moving in and out of a protecting hangar, becomes a nightmare as the airships are tossed about in varying air currents.

Historic losses of large airships were generally due to flight in extremes of weather; ie: thunderstorms. In the early years of lighter-than-air aviation, there were no modern weather prediction methods such as radar or satellites; and airships were flown in hazardous conditions, often by sight alone. Upon encountering severe weather, an airship (then) could not move quickly enough to avoid it if need be, nor aware in most cases that weather conditions were to severe for the structural integrity of the airship.

HOW TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM:

(1) Construct airships of aluminum and carbon fiber. These materials are light enough to replace historic materials, yet they can be made extremely strong and weatherproof. They do not degrade in ultraviolet light.
(2) Cease docking airships at mooring masts and using ground crews for assistance in landing or take off. Instead, design airships to land directly onto the surface, land or water. This necessitates a change from the "rounded belly" shape of all past airships. It is an easy and common sense solution.
(3) Cease placing airships inside of hangars. Building airships out of sturdy weatherproof materials enables this change; just as a lightweight geodesic dome is used as a primary building.

MANEUVERABILITY: Past blimps and zeppelin type airships only have rudders/elevators at the stern of the craft; whilst engine thrust has been placed far in front of those to the center of the airships' hulls. This makes them extremely cumbersome to steer, much like a sailboat. The only steerage available is at speed; when the airship slows down to land or take off, it cannot readily be steered or controled. This is one reason why ALL past airships have needed to be literaly "man handled" into position by large ground crews.

Flight characteristics of past airships have been adversely effected by this rudder/power arrangement as well. Because of the long lag time between rudder or elevator commands and actions of the airships; they tend to "porpoise" in flight, or swerve off course repeatedly.

Because all past airships have been constructed of flimsy materials, they have been unable to use heavier, more powerful engines that might be employed to reduce the buffeting or force of winds in poor weather conditions.

HOW TO SOLVE THESE PROBLEMS:

(1) By constructing airships of strong materials, they can be made larger and carry much more powerful engines; even jet engines. This will enable them to avoid, or reduce the effects of varying winds and poor weather conditions.
(2) Building rigid airships with interior framing allows engines to be placed away from the center bottom location as in the past. This can permit thrust to be directed to ANY direction; thereby making the airship much more stable and able to counter variable air currents.
(3) Constructing airships out of very strong materials, and proper design of framing members, allows the airships to carry multiple engines, some dedicated to primary propulsion, some dedicated to maneuver.
(4) Use of directed thrust, and placing elevators forward on the airship as well as at the stern allows for more control in flight.

Q: How would they fly safely in any weather?
A: Turtle airships use multiple engines, all of which can direct thrust to any direction. Sensors placed throughout the airship measure forces brought about by varying air currents many times each second; and computers then determine where to apply compensating thrust in order to maintain stability during flight. Of course, the Turtle airships' hull is strong enough to allow it to withstand poor weather conditions. First rule of airship flight....simply avoid bad weather. Airships can do so because they do not have to fly in a straight line from point A to point B in order to conserve fuel, as do airplanes.

(sigh..and here we GO...)

No blimps, no blimps, no blimps, NO blimps, NO BLIMPS, NO!

No mooring masts.
No slow, big fat bags of helium
No ground crews handling line lines to land or take off.
No giant hangars.
No Blimps, (or zeppelin-like similar craft)

Aw, hells bells people.....
NO BLOODY BLOOMIN BLIMPS!

PMA-262LTARFI Sources Sought Synopsis: Aug 29, 2008 The following information is provided to assist the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) in conducting market research to identify potential contractors to develop, test, integrate, produce, field and support Lighter Than Air (LTA) platforms/systems. Strike Weapons and Unmanned Aviation (U.S. Navy and Marine Corps Persistent Maritime Unmanned Aircraft Systems) Navy charter to explore LTA free flight technologies in support of Navy missions. LTA Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) (optionally manned) have the potential to provide persistent Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance and Communications (ISRC) support as well as logistical support (manned) for tactical level maneuver/decisions and unit level low altitude air defense/force protection for Naval ships (multi-ship classes) and Marine Corps land forces. may include multiple air vehicles, and support equipment with a 5,000 mi radius of action with transglobal range (2,000 mi radius of action) and outsized payloads measuring up to 500 tons. These systems will support Naval missions such as building the Recognized Maritime Picture, Maritime Security Operations, Maritime Interdiction Operations, and support of Naval units operating from sea/shore in the global war on terrorism. The systems will also support Marine Corps missions making improved integration with ground schemes of maneuver. NAVAIR LTA interests include but are not limited to the following: conventional airships, hybrid airships, free floating balloon systems, and other High Altitude LTA systems. Additionally NAVAIR is interested in supportive LTA technologies to include but not limited to: buoyancy control systems, advanced/alternative propulsion/power generation systems, lightweight high strength envelope materials, vectored flight control systems, weather prediction/avoidance systems, lifting gas generation systems, unconventional landing schemes, ground handling, ship interface concepts, and LTA modeling/scaling methodologies. The sensor version has aa. mission radius of 5000 nmb. 2500 lbs payload thresholdc. un-manned semi-autonomous with remote pilot take off and landingd. 16Kw power thresholde. 7 days loiter at mission radius at 20,000 ft MSL is desired threshold. The logistics version would be manned and support for "drive on – drive off" cargo movement, operating from unprepared surfaces or from water (lakes, rivers open sea).a. mission radius of 1000 nm optionally manned. up to 500 tons. The aircraft must be able to take off and land from water, snow, sand, and from un-prepared fields Naval Air Systems Command

WHY ARE AIRSHIPS LARGELY IMMUNE TO MISSILE ATTACK?

Missiles are a large threat to airplanes, whether from large ground to air defense or launched from enemy fighter aircraft, to simple shoulder fired man portable missiles.

Airships don't have the same vulnerability.

RADAR..... Modern stealth airplanes are constructed with large amounts of carbon materials, are coated with radar absorbant materials, are shaped to reflect radar away from the emitting source, and bury engines and turbine blades inside the airplane to reduce their radar cross section. The result is an airplane that is difficult to detect.

Airships can be constructed entirely out of materials that do not reflect radar, not just portions of the airframe like airplanes. The size of the airship allows these same materials to be shaped into planes and reflecting surfaces that are many times more effective than can be employed in an airplanes' small wing or fuselage area. Thus, the airship has even greater ability to avoid reflecting radar back to emitter, despite the increased size of the airship.

Airships can carry, and fly successfully, with far greater weights than any airplane. This give the airship the ability to use far larger amounts of radar absorbant materials than an airplane can use. With the increased capacity to carry greater weights, airships can also use active radar supression technologies that airplanes simply cannot carry. The result is greater stealth capability.

Airplanes are limited in their shape by aerodynamic considerations....which is why the F-117 began as a very difficult shape to fly. Advanced computing has eliminated the need for the F-117s angular prism shapes. More subtle shaping, as in the F-22 is now possible. However, the airplane must still maintain the ability to create aerodynamic lift.

Airships have no need to produce aerodynamic lift. An airship can be shaped in any manner whatsoever, from cube to a model of Mickey Mouse. It is therefore easier to shape an airship so that it reflects radar at ANY angle, thus making the airship more stealthy than an airplane.

A properly designed and constructed airship is totally invisable to radar, in far greater frequency ranges than any airplane can be made......and is therefore immune to radar guided missile attack.

INFRA-RED: An infra-red missile is a threat to an airplane because it seeks out the hot exhaust of the engines and will explode to destroy the engine or damage the airplane.

Properly designed airships have no heat signature for infra-red missiles to lock on to. Engines can be buried inside the airship HUNDREDS of feet away from the outer surface of the airships' hull. The airship can use by-pass engines that mix colder ambient air with engine exhaust, without losing any flight ability.

Because airships fly at speeds that are lower than airplanes, or lower than the blades of a helicopter, there is much less heat generated as friction across airfoils that an infra-red seeker might be able to detect.

Unlike an airplane, an airship is held up in the air by its' helium, not by the thrust from engines. An airplane will crash when engines are destroyed, an airship will simply float in the air.

Properly designed airships are immune to infra-red missile attack.

"Shoot it Down!"

Nope. Can't do it.

If you think so, then you believe you can can shoot and kill a whale with a .22 It's just about the same.

There are accounts of "Goodyear blimps" landing after a day of flying; the guys get inside the envelope and see little stars shining through.......bullet holes. (yes, some idiots are always trying to plug a blimp)...why didn't the blimp come down? Because the pressure inside is to little to force the helium out, and because the blimp is to large.

During World War I, giant Zeppelins bombing London were strafed with machine guns down their entire 700' lengths from airplanes flying overhead. Until the introduction of tracer rounds which would set the hydrogen gas on fire......several stricken airships simply flew back over the English Channel and set down gradually onto the ground. They had to be destroyed afterwards by their crews.

Nope. Can't just simply "shoot it down".

Why not? Mostly because its just to damn big. Thousands of holes caused by ground fire might make it leak helium; but it has so much volume that it doesn't fall out of the sky. It flies on, miles from the intitial point of damage. If it is carrying sufficient ballast which can be jetisoned, it does that and keeps on operating despite the damage.

Second reason is that the helium is in multiple cells, (unlike a blimp, which is a single large balloon). Damage to a single cell, or even several, is unlikely to be enough to bring the airship down.,

A third reason is one that is never thought of......which is that the helium inside that is holding the airship up....only wants to go straight up. Holes in the sides of an airship caused by ground fire are completely not relevant. The helium will not travel DOWNWARDS toward a hole to leak out.

Missiles? Unlike an airplane, an airship does not rely upon engines to keep it in the air. It can lose engines completely; it will still fly. There are many reasons why airships are well protected against attacks by missiles; we'll discuss them at a later time.

For now, simply consider the size of the airship compared to the lethal radius of a missile warhead. It's like trying to blow up a football stadium with a hand grenade. Or, like trying to kill that whale with a .22

Nope. Can't be done. You cannot just "shoot down" a proper airship. And that is one reason why the Navy, Marines, Army, Air Force....all need AIRSHIPS!