Comment on Anon wants to ride a zeppelin

• captainlezbian@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

  And the fact that they’re only so so. Like, airplanes are just better. Once we had the ability to make cargo planes it was over

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  • freebee@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

    Better in many regards but for sure not all. Airships could run a lot more quietly for example, that has some value. Until they explode ofcourse, that’s rather loud.

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• Annoyed_Crabby@monyet.cc ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

  It’s just a very ineffective mode of transport compared to aeroplane or helicopter, not because the technology isn’t there.

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  • bionicjoey@lemmy.ca ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

    Cruise ships are wildly impractical for getting from point A to B as well. There can be other reasons to do a thing besides efficiency

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    • Annoyed_Crabby@monyet.cc ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

      Counterpoint: Cruise ship is the best way to get from point A to point B for long distance sea travel. Though cruise ship nowadays aren’t all about going to point A to point B, it’s been replaced by aeroplane, but it’s well and alive because it’s the one proven tech that’s been used for centuries, if not millennia.

      Airship however relies on two of the lifting gas: helium and hydrogen. Helium is expensive, scarce, and non-renewable, while hydrogen is the sole reason why airship is not a popular air travel. All that to just lift about 100 people or 10 tonnes of payload for something this big. Sure, you can ride it but it will be expensive.

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      • bionicjoey@lemmy.ca ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

        Airships can have a casino and shopping. They just need to use lightweight materials for the fixtures. And if things cost a lot, the ticket price can be increased to match. Billionaires pay a lot of money just to say they’ve been to space, even if their capsule only just barely escaped earth’s atmosphere. I’m not claiming it’s practical or economical, but things being impractical and excessive hasn’t stopped people from making crazy bets on rich people shit before.

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    • echodot@feddit.uk ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

      Cruise ships are based on practical technology though. If the only use for cruise ships was leisure then it wouldn’t be economic to develop them. Airship technology never really got anywhere and it’s certainly never became commercially used, so putting in the money to develop it for recreation just doesn’t make sense.

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      • bionicjoey@lemmy.ca ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

        I see your point, but Cruise ships have significantly diverged technologically from any “practical” ships some time ago. Also, recreation for recreation’s sake is and always has been a driver of technological progress.

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• echodot@feddit.uk ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

  They would still have to contain hydrogen though. Making them rigid doesn’t decrease fire risk.

  They have bad PR for a reason. It’s not prejudice it’s practicality.

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  • bionicjoey@lemmy.ca ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

    They can be made with helium

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    • stom@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

      In theory, but not in reality. It’s just far too expensive.

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      • bionicjoey@lemmy.ca ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

        That hasn’t stopped billionaires from building spaceships or submarines. All I’m saying is that we would absolutely see some weird eccentric billionaires building and riding in zeppelins if it weren’t for the bad PR of the Hindenburg.

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