Further Studies in the Concept of Delta-Winged Hybrid Airships

Abstract

Recently, several concepts have arisen for hybrid airships. One of these concepts, a hybrid Zeppelin, combines a slender delta wing with a rigid airship. Before starting intensive (and expensive!) design work for such a vehicle, an approximate calculation should show that performances are at least comparable with those of existing airplanes and fully buoyant airships. Therefore, the aerodynamic performance of the hybrid Zeppelin has been calculated, starting from the technical state of the art of the prewar LZ 129 and based on the slenderbody theory. The results show that the optimum hybrid Zeppelin lifts roughly one half of its takeoff weight by aerodynamic lift at a cruise speed in the range 125 km/h u 225 km/h. If fueled with liquid hydrogen or Blaugas, payload and fuel consumption figures are much superior to those of existing aircraft.