Quote:
Originally Posted by mmartin798
The Graf Zeppelins*, arguably very successful pre-Hindenburg, only carried about 16 tons of cargo. A freighter only 20% the length of a Graf Zepplin can carry 10 times the cargo at about half the speed.
Plus having watched blimps landing at the airport near my home a number of times, they can't just land anywhere like a helicopter. This further limits their usefulness for cargo carrying.
*Lookup LZ 127 for details
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Very familiar with the old Zepps, less familiar with new blimp developments. The only blimp developments I AM familiar with are designed to operate unmanned, at a relatively high altitude, with a light load. My best information agrees with you that they have relatively poor carrying capacity and maneuverability, especially in a wind.