Types of Airships

Airships were first introduced in 1783 by two brothers named Jacques Etienne and Joseph Michel Montgolfier. They invented the initial form of an airship that was actually a hot air balloon that was sent on the attitude of 6000 ft or 1800 m for its first flight. As time passed, improvements were made in these airships so that they can be effectively managed and controlled. In starting, controlling of an airship was considered as a difficult task but later on, many sophisticated airships were designed with power engines, which could be controlled easily. Basically there are three types of airships which are:

1. Rigid airships

2. Semi rigid

3. Non Rigid

The functioning of all these type of airships vary from each other, which are explained as below:

Rigid airships:

Frenchman Joseph Spiess was the first person who gave the proposal of these types of airships but his proposal failed to generate funding for its actual development. However, later on Joseph Spiess succeeded in making these airships using the wooden framework, which took its first flight in 1913. These airships were later on used in World War I by different countries including France, United States, and Germany.

Rigid airships are the types of airships, which are not forced by pressure for lifting gas within the envelope rather they are designed in such a way that the envelope retains its shape using the internal structure framework. These types of airships were first introduced in the 1900s and were successfully employed due to their unique features.

Semi rigid airships

Semi rigid airships were first used in the start of twentieth century. It was actually an extension to rigid airships and they were considered as more reliable for military purpose. Zeppelin NT is the most famous airship from last few years.

Unlike rigid airships, partial framework was used in the making of semi rigid airships, which contributed a lot in their success. These airships were developed in high quantity in the end of 19th century. PL26, PL27, Zodiac V10, and Raab Katzenstein 27 were the most famous airships used in the 19th century.

Non rigid airships

These kinds of airships differ in their functioning from rigid and semi-rigid airships. In these airships, no structural framework was used, rather buoyant gasses (mostly helium) served to maintain their shape. They are also referred to as “free flying aircraft.” In 1923, they were used for parasite fighter trials by the US army. TC-3 and Tc-7 were the most common non rigid airships used for this purpose.

Non rigid airships are also used for advertising purposes today. Normally, corporate giants order these airships with their company name, logo, and tag line to manufacturers (like Goodyear Company) which are then used for positioning in the minds of customers. Sky ship 600 is commonly used for advertisement purpose. P-791, G class blimps, K class blimps, M class blimps, and L class blimps are some examples of non rigid airships.