So about that Hindenburg...
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This was quite the fascinating read.
I knew most of this stuff already, but somehow I never put it all together. Now I'm kicking myself for not seeing it.
Globally ditching an entire class of aircraft, overnight, because of one crash, that more than half of the people on board survived? God, just that sentence alone gets the noggin joggin', and yet I never drew the oil oligarch connection.
God damn.
This deserves to be covered by someone with reach.
It's a bit odd they abandoned it back then. Today, I don't think it would be competitive with jet travel. You're on it for so long, it's got the labor of nights in a hotel and many meals. Maybe it would work for people to enjoy the journey like a cruise ship?
People are trying to bring it back in the form of hybrid airships. In fact one of the Google founders had a hanger where he was working on one. Lockheed Martin created the technology demonstrator everyone is else copying.
https://www.straightlineaviation.com/hybrid-technology
That is applied towards cargo, but there are other companies aiming to operating cruise ships. I think cruising is the most likely market, while cargo will be delivered by SpaceX's Starship.
I would do an air cruise. Seems dope. Small boat tho. 20k a head and I get to check out the machinery. Sold
I don't think that's actually accurate. I watched something about the US developing airships to use as a sort of aircraft carrier in the sky, they put several into service, basically bad weather would always crash them.
edit: ran across the video on it -
https://youtu.be/VNOusZLO7y4
I mean. Once you start wondering who the bad guys were in world war 2, why not recognize the great Nazi airship tragedy as also victimizing humanity?
Go full tin foil giga brain with me:
The same forces of global capital that would have serious issues with a nationalist seizure of finance breaking control of fiat currency and the fractional reserve model of banking, would have real issues with an emergent system of cheap rigid air transport fueled and floated with hydrogen obtained via electrolysis. You can commodify and control petroleum so much better than water, after all.
Oil is the the gold standard of the modern day. Perhaps the oil oligopolies realized that back then.
I remember reading this thread when it was originally posted, it's pretty good information.
Good shit!
I wonder if we can get the climate cultists onboard with bringing back airships. Given how efficient they are, it should be a no brainer for them.
environmentalists don't really care about the environment, if they did they would be the strongest proponents of nuclear power
they use environmentalism as a thin cover story to disguise their misanthropy and marxism
Solar and wind power are weak platitudes whose failures prop up the oil industry by proxy.
The ones leading the cult, sure. The cultists themselves are believers though. Seeing actual solutions to the greenhouse gas problem get rejected can be a redpill.
The cultists themselves are devoid of any critical thinking skills
I don't think they'd stop you. It has been proposed, but to my knowledge no more than prototypes have ever come of it. I think they didn't know about helium at the time of the Hindenburg, or at least didn't know how to get it. But I don't think they propose to use hydrogen today. Not sure how using helium affects the efficiency.
All I know about helium is CA has banned helium balloons at parties, claiming we are running out of it. The climate cultists would likely be more on board with Hydrogen.
Didn't know it crossed the Atlantic. God, that must have taken fucking forever.
It would take a couple days, but they were competing with steam ships which would take twice that.
Imagine the experience. Floating in silence 500 feet above the water in total luxury. I’m sure the time passed without notice. You were traveling 3x as fast as the 2nd option of the day. They probably felt like they were on the Concord.
But a lot more comfortable and classy, with room to move about.
Modern airplanes might be faster, but they sure resemble the way cattle are transported.
Sure, but if they brought it back the luxury liners would still be priced so most people can't afford them. You'd have the upper class on the airship, and the rest of us on the same old plane.
In economy class yes (I'm looking at you, Spirit Airlines, with your seats that are so close to each other that I couldn't even keep my knees in front of me).
On bigger planes it's not as bad.
First class is always the best, but it's always too expensive.
The Concord was faster, and luxurious, but only rich people could afford it. People didn't travel will nilly across continents back then, and poor people didn't travel at all.
It wasn't too bad apparently - less than 2 days going from the US to Europe, a bit over 2 days going the other way.
Is the article going to talk about how part of the cause for the fire was the US refusing to sell Helium, thus forcing them to use Hydrogen?
<reads article>
Oh, good, it does. Along with a whole bunch of other stuff. Very interesting.