
Airlander 10: New pictures of world's longest aircraft - jjp
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-35836218
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xikrib
The hull looks remarkably like an ass

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mchahn
And the second picture includes plug for the ass. (gross)

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coldcode
While its an amazing aircraft I wonder if we have enough Helium for all the
ones they want to build.

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dangrossman
We do. Natural gas fields produce several billion scf of helium per year as a
byproduct. The US National Helium Reserve (which serves 40% of domestic demand
for helium right now) could fill up thousands of these blimps on its own, too.

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jacquesm
How do airships like these fair in rough weather? (They mention coast guard
duty in the article.)

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themartorana
_" The airship, which cost £25m to build, can stay in the same spot for three
weeks and can even fly with bullet holes in it._

 _" The US Army ran out of money to develop it as a surveillance machine, so
the British aerospace company behind it bought the rights back."_

Sure doesn't seem like a lot of money to the US Army. Or did they spend an
untold amount on equipping it with surveillance technology?

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kbart
I'm sure that while it passes all contractors and sub-contractors chain, the
price rises significantly.

