The World’s Wonders: Don’t call it a Blimp

Airships nearly vanished from the skies after the hydrogen-filled Hindenburg exploded over New Jersey in 1937. Today, companies from China to Germany are designing fuel-efficient hybrid craft that combine the helium lift of blimps with design elements from other aircraft. The Dynalifter, created by Ohio Airships’ Bob Rist and Brian Martin, is the world’s first working prototype. Measuring 120 feet from nose to tail, it’s a test version of their much larger craft (above)that’s designed to haul three times as much cargo as a Boeing 747, fly for a fraction of the cost , and , at speeds of about 130 miles an hour, beat an ocean freighter to port.

Airships could transform the aviation industry, says Barry Prentice, former director of the University of Manitoba’s Transport Institute. “ Demand is there,” he says. Supply is sure to follow: Boeing, CargoLifter, and others have airship plans in the works. Meanwhile, Rist says that testing on the Dynalifter will continue for at least a year, and the company still needs financial backers to help them take off. But Rist is optimistic. “Our fellow Ohioans, the Wright brothers, started with far fewer resources.” ____ Carol Kaufman

世界奇迹：不要称它为一架飞艇

自从1937 年在新泽西上空装满氢气的兴登堡号爆炸以后，飞艇几乎从天空消失了。今天，从中国到德国的公司正在设计将软式小飞艇的氦升力与来自其他飞机的设计元素结合起来的省油的混合技艺。戴安娜号飞艇，由俄亥俄飞艇公司的鲍勃. 里斯特和布莱恩马丁创造，是世界上第一架该飞艇的原型,从头到尾长 120 英尺,是他们更大飞艇的实验型号,设计为装载三倍于波音747所装载的货物，而仅用其小部分的费用飞行。然而，它的速度大约为 130 英里/小时，远远超过一艘远洋货船。

飞艇能够转变航空工业，巴里. 普雷蒂斯， Manitoba 大学运输学院的前主任说:“需求在那里。”因此,供应会接踵而来：波音飞机，载货飞艇，还有其他人在他们的工场中有飞艇计划。同时，里斯特说在戴安娜号上的测试将继续至少一年，公司还需要财政赞助者帮助他们起步。但里斯特是乐观的。“我们的伙伴俄亥俄人比赖特兄弟开始时使用更少的资源。”

                                  ------卡罗儿·考夫曼