The Platinum Ticket by David Beynon

The Platinum Ticket by David Beynon
Shortlisted for The Terry Pratchett Anywhere But Here, Anywhen But Now First Novel Prize

Tuesday 20 April 2010

I'm putting all my money in airships.

There's been a lot of talk about air travel and volcanoes this week.  Apparently our jets have a problem with volcanic ash building up in the engines.  Apparently something called "catastrophic engine failure" may occur.  Now, I'm no aeronautical engineer but I assume catastrophic engine failure is a bad thing.

With tens of thousands stranded in Europe and predictions saying Icelandic volcanoes and their resulting ash could be a jet plane nightmare for years to come, I got to thinking...

Zeppelins - blimps - airships.  Why not?  Sure they're slow, but slow is infinitely better than stationary.

Think about it.  Massive, helium supported, solar powered platforms.  Propeller driven by enclosed electrical engines.  Able to cross the Atlantic in three to five days.

Why the hell not?

Just something to ponder on a Tuesday morning.

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