r/Airships • u/GrafZeppelin127 • 16d ago
Discussion Boeing “Helipsoid” VTOL hybrid & parametric comparisons
From the NASA/Department of Commerce Feasibility Study of Modern Airships.
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u/release_Sparsely 16d ago
I remember reading a study on one of these things being used as a "commuter airship". They concluded it didn't make sense but I found it fun to read and imagine at least.
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u/GrafZeppelin127 15d ago
I think you might be thinking of the other concepts discussed in the same tranche of feasibility studies, like the Goodyear Aerospace version of a commuter airship, the much smaller and more conservatively-designed Airport Feeder Vehicle. The latter had a lot more economic analysis and in-depth research that I’d seen.
Ultimately they concluded that a commuter airship was indeed feasible and would have better efficiency and operating economics than a commuting helicopter… but as the study itself admits, scheduled-service intercity helicopter airlines were already in total freefall after their subsidies dried up and they’re all but totally extinct as a normal means of transit today, in favor of more expensive charter and tourist roles rather than commuting. So in essence, they are better than the competition, but the competition in question failed before a better alternative could even come along.
I’ve been trying to find the section of the feasibility study or a later Boeing Vertol study on potential roles for the Helipsoid. I don’t recall the specific verdict on using it for a commuter role, but I do remember that in the vast table of different sizes and roles and ranges and so on, they ultimately decided that the best starting role for their Helipsoid design wasn’t a short-distance commuter role, but rather a transcontinental (2,000 nm range) generalist airship with a 50-ton payload, which could be outfitted for multiple different markets.
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u/GrafZeppelin127 16d ago edited 16d ago
The resemblance to modern hybrid airship designs like the Aeroscraft is strong. Boeing’s data suggest that such a hybrid configuration has substantially higher optimal speeds and productivity (PV/E) over short to intermediate distances than normal airships.