[MRCA] [Milsurplus] Fw: USS Shenandoah at 100

[Gene Smar]

 Gordon (et al):
     If you want dirigibles, here are a couple of links that might be of interest.  Enjoy.
73 deGene Smar  AD3F

o  https://www.airspacemag.com/airspacemag/airships-rise-again-180978682/ 

o  https://piasecki.com/fnp-accomplishments/pa-97-multiple-helicopter-heavy-lift-system/2632/ 
This one is of personal interest to me.  When I worked at a local electric utility in PA (early 1980s), my research group was asked by a close-to-retirement VP to see if we could use dirigibles to transport ungodly heavy power transformers across our service territory.  (Quick backgrounder - one of our generating stations had lost a main step-up transformer in a fire, so our transportation department put their emergency restoration plan into motion by scheduling a rail car to transport a spare transformer 80 miles to the location of the fire.  However, Penn Central Railroad, which had placed the spare originally, had since gone bankrupt and the rails to the fire location had been torn up and scrapped.  This transformer had to be re-routed over other tracks from central PA through southern Canada and back, a distance of over 3,000 miles, to replace the failed unit 80 miles away.)  Our group approached Piasecki folks to discuss the feasibility of hoisting 50+ ton transformers with these things and flying across populated areas in PA, but we ultimately came to our senses and recommended against it.  

    On Friday, November 10, 2023 at 07:16:53 PM EST, Gordon Smith <gfsmith at cox.net> wrote:  
 
  Gene, Thank you very much for the link (sorry I'm a bit late to the reply party). I've always been a Dirigible admirer even though I know their history. I have always believed that they have a good niche application in today's aviation field. In related news, the first rigid airship since the Hindenburg just started test flights: https://www.ltaresearch.com/technology .
 
 73, Gordon KJ6IKT
 
 On 10/27/2023 9:59 AM, Gene Smar via Milsurplus wrote:
  
 
 FYI for all you aviation aficionados out there.  
  73 de Gene Smar AD3F 
 
 Sent from my Radio Shack TRS-80 model 100 laptop 
 
   ----- Forwarded Message ----- From: "National Air and Space Museum" <whatsup at smithsonianonline.org> To: "ersmar at verizon.net" <ersmar at verizon.net> Cc:  Sent: Thu, Oct 26, 2023 at 4:55 PM Subject: USS Shenandoah at 100   
 
 
 
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 One hundred years ago, the christening of the USS Shenandoah marked the official start of the Era of the Rigid Airship 
 In October 1923, the airship ZR-1 was officially christened the USS Shenandoah, a name that was thought to translate to “daughter of the stars.” The USS Shenandoah marked many firsts for the United States. It was the first rigid airship to be inflated with helium, a rare lifting gas that was safer than the more common hydrogen. It was also the first rigid airship to be constructed by the United States. 
 
 Many saw rigid airships as the future of aviation and dreamed of a time when an entire fleet would sail the skies. Although this dream did not become a reality, the USS Shenandoah did pave the way forward for future rigid airship pilots and crews, offering an invaluable platform for training.
 
 To mark this important moment in aviation history, we've launched an interactive web experience that looks at the history of the Shenandoah. The website features recently-digitized artifacts from the Museum's collection and an interactive map that uses a first-person account to trace the airship's 1924 North American crossing.   |
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 This experience is interactive and may not work with assistive technologies. While we work to make the interactive experience more accessible, you can find an accessible version of this experience here.
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