Here's one more suited to the timeline:
The Zeppelin NT ("Neue Technologie", German for new technology) is a class of helium-filled airships being manufactured since the 1990s by the German company Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik GmbH (ZLT) in Friedrichshafen.[1] The initial model is the NT07. The company considers itself the successor of the companies founded by Ferdinand von Zeppelin which constructed and operated the very successful Zeppelin airships in the first third of the 20th century. There are, however, a number of notable differences between the Zeppelin NT and the airships of those days, as well as between the Zeppelin NT and usual non-rigid airships known as blimps. The Zeppelin NT is classified as a semi-rigid airship.
Development
The modern development and construction was financed from an endowment, initially funded with money left over from the earlier Zeppelin company, that had been under the trusteeship of the Mayor of Friedrichshafen. A stipulation on the endowment limited use of its funds to the field of airships. Over the many years, the investment value of the endowment grew to a point where the time seemed right to use it for the design, development, and construction of a new Zeppelin.
The initial design study was prepared in 1989. The ZLT was founded as a spin-off of the Zeppelin company in September 1993. It began to construct a prototype in 1995. The prototype first took to the air in September 1997.
On July 2, 2000, the centennial of the first Zeppelin flight, the prototype SN 01 was christened D-LZFN Friedrichshafen. Subsequently, it traveled some 3,600 km in test flights.
In 2001 the company began manufacturing the Zeppelin NT in series and began to exploit the airships commercially. The second ship SN 02 was christened D-LZZR Bodensee on August 10, 2001 and started to give joyrides five days later.
Full wikipedia entry
I remember this at the time, as I am a bit of a dirigible enthusiast.
It's range is some 900 km, and its load is just shy of 2 tons, but I just got an idea...
- Fly Germany to the Canary islands, Spain or North Africa.
- Refuel.
- Fly SW until you pick up the Trade Winds. As did Columbus.
- Drift west with the wind (unpowered) until you reach the Caribbean. As did Columbus.
- Turn on your engines and fly NW the rest of the way home to the Continental US.
Can make for an interesting campaign, with a few... points of possible friction:
- Acquiring a working Zeppelin NT (assumes that development was advanced enough to have a working prototype) from whoever has one (probably still the developer); probably not entirely peacefully. And, of course, having an LTA pilot. Some knowledge of Zeppelin repair may be useful, too.
- Acquiring a depot of fuel in North Africa or the Canary Islands. That would mean either sending an advance team (who would have to hold the tempting target of lots of gathered fuel) or finding it on the fly (pun intended).
- Wind, of course, while an inexpensive power source is not a controlled or guaranteed power source. It may weaken or cease - or may blow into a hurricane (don't try this between June and December).
- There may be the need for a refueling in the Caribbean before reaching the US. Um, using what in exchange?
And then you would have an actual airship to sell to the Airlords of the Ozarks and continue your adventures in the US...
Uncle Ted