hard deadlines

Interesting story in today's Times about renewed interest in dirigibles, given green concerns and soaring fuel costs.

"Mr. Massaud, a designer of hotels in California and a stadium in Mexico, has not ironed out the technical details, nor has he found financiers or corporate backers for his project — to create a 690-foot zeppelin shaped like a whale, with a luxury hotel attached, that he has named Manned Cloud.

But not all projects are as fanciful as Mr. Massaud’s. For example, a French technology start-up, Aerospace Adour Technologies, is working with the French post office to study the feasibility of transporting parcels by dirigible. Also in France, Theolia, a company specializing in renewable energy, is financing a dirigible, and plans a test flight across the Atlantic.

In Germany, Deutsche Zeppelin-Reederei, the successor to the operator of the Hindenburg, has had success with a new generation of airship it uses to transport sightseers and scientific payloads."
— viaThe New York Times

Of course, the story concludes that airships could never compete since they are too slow and can't fly in marginal weather. This is the same line of argument which has relegated transatlantic ship crossings to a hyper-expensive boutique experience. Check out this chart, which shows that even an antique 1930's-era airship was more fuel efficient than a Prius. (h/t Future Pundit)

It's going to be interesting, as the world passes through Peak Oil, to see just how our notions of "slow" get revised. We're already seeing huge changes in business travel, as corporations sensitive to their carbon footprints dial back the miles. And with a generation raised on social networking, comfortable with virtual interaction, who needs to haul meatware halfway around the world for f2f meetings?

High speed rail and dirigibles with wifi at every seat could be very competitive.

BTW: the NYTimes reporter who filed this story does not have huge ears and yellow teeth. Guess he didn't piss off Fox News enough. Yet.