A Personal Airship design/build Forum

[Skyboater]

is at smallblimps.lefora.com
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We are trying to design/build rigid SkyBoats that cost between 10 and 20 thousand dollars.
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We are sponsoring airship prizes for airship designers who can design. Can you enter?
See our competitions topic.
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WE award achievement cerificates for building models of over 1 meter and buoyant models over 3 meters longest dimension.
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We are considering building a co-operative time-shared Skyboat that actually flies with one person aboard.
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The core idea is to design an affordable airship that anyone can easily build. This means creative, not old, ways of lighter and stronger frame construction.

Think HIGH:D

[drydenjw002]

Sign me up.
I am in the process of designing and building a personal unit.
John

[Skyboater]

Hi John,
The url for the smallblimps forum is http://smallblimps.lefora.com/
We are pretty much biased toward the UltraLight concept and would welcome any like minds to join. It'd be fun to support your design/build progress!
UltraLights cannot weigh more than 254 pounds. They don't need a stinking expensive airworthiness certificate and the flyer does not need a pilot's license. :p

It is not the easiest task to design an airframe for less than 254 but you don't waste any money buying stuff that ain't really lightweight. It limits what you can carry, thankfully. Simpler is better anyway!

We are buying a trophy for the FirstFlight of a manned electric Ultralight dirigible. Along the way towards that end, we'll be awarding nice certificates to those who accomplish the stages necessary to get to FF, i.e. large model, floating model, Prototype.

[rick c faust]

I was thinking of useing an ultralight trike plane and add vector engines to the wing tips like the zeppelin design in use now. The big trick is to have it in a trailer to haul around unpack and away you go. Then the envolpe $$$$ buy from Dover, or make one up that cotton or silk with maylor like the goatbeaters skin, much less expensive. Balloets???? Check the white dwarf out, no ballonts. Any way love to see you ideas i'm in line for a small airship. Help pay for it fly addvertisement up and down the beaches here in fla. :yeow: rickster (Dream on McDuff)

[JoeVanCleave]

There are probably a number of technical reasons why this wouldn't work (or not inexpensively), but my idea is to use H2 instead of helium (mainly for cost reasons, but also gives extra lift), and a super-pressure envelop that doesn't need ballonets, as it is strong enough (laminated polyester film??) to withstand overpressure up to max pressure height.

This eliminates the complexity of onboard pressure-regulation in the envelop. And an envelop that can't change volume due to solar heating (or cooling) won't experience changes in lift. This eliminates the need for a gas valve, since the envelop is engineered to be super-pressure resistant, and the ship can't gain lift due to solar heating. Eliminating the valve mechanism also provides for additional safety with using H2. The envelop is essentially a sealed unit.

Droppable ballast can be used to compensate for the decrease in lift caused by the external atmosphere's temperature/density variations throughout the day.

Then use a lightweight semirigid keel underneath, from which to suspend the loads (tail empennage, passenger cabin/seats & engines).

With the efficiency of modern electric motors and lithium ion batteries, perhaps electric powered for short-duration rides? Although this might break the bank from the OP's suggested budgetary limits. But much more reliable than 2-stroke gas engines.

~Joe

[drydenjw002]

HI JOE
Using lithium ion batteries is a wast of time and money.
Use fuel cells. Using water as your fuel, you will have unlimited travel distance.

Then use a lightweight semirigid keel underneath, from which to suspend the loads (tail empennage, passenger cabin/seats & engines).

The fuel cell could be atthe end of the keel.
John

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PILOT......|...................................... ......|
..............|............. OPEN CABIN.............|....FC COMPARTMENT
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[Skyboater]

I'm putting together a 1/5 scale UltraLight Personal Dirigible, UPD. See it at http://skyboat.wikispaces.com/CONSTRUCTION

It is a construction/study model for an actual Manned Flight Unit I want to build with the airshippers at: smallblimps.lefora.com

We are a collaborative effort of four core members who are making models of units they will submit to the full group to physically build at a central location near Orlando, FL, perhaps.

I have a few ideas for making the UPD break down and fit in a trailer so that expensive airport storage is avoided mostly. It'll cost under ten grand, I expect. It's a lifting body airship with supplemental lift provided by aerodynamic lift.

See you Up! there,
Allen

:cool:

[saultenian]

Just don't report that your kid is floating above your neighborhood, while he is in the attic, like those maniacs a few months back!