Propeller Gaurd

[jimc]

the blimp is nice but i am more impressed with the hangar you got there. nice!

[dklassen]

Yep, it was a kit and pretty much an indoor ship although I did fly it outside a couple times with of course almost zero wind. Ah, the hanger. Unfortunately not mine but a kindly gentleman offered me his hanger for free when I was testing.

[pyronaught]

I'm going to have to buy one of those outdoor fabric pole tent garage things to use as a hanger once I get my blimp inflated. Helium is too expensive to just dump when you're done flying. It's probably going to take around $100 in helium to fill my blimp, so all measures to make that fill last as long as possible are being taken. I'm using a metalized PET envelope for the gas bladder, which has superior helium retention compared with the polyurethane film your blimp (and most others) are made from, with a 1.3oz ripstop nylon outer cover to protect against abrasion and punctures. I'm using an internal air bag to depressurize the blimp between uses, which also reduces helium loss and protects against over pressurization from temperature changes. In an over-pressure situation, air is vented and not helium. Now if I could just figure out how to cram a 16 ft long blimp into an 8 ft long trailer without venting helium I'd be set. I don't think the internal air bag is going to be big enough to allow that to happen though.

[insta]

This is a man who takes his airships seriously

[pyronaught]

It's more like an obsession. Remember that guy in the movie Close Encounters who kept building the models of Devils Tower without knowing why? It's exactly like that.

[rpollack]