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advantages over traditional aerostats. Traditional aerostats need to utilize relatively low-lift helium gas to combat high winds, which means they need to have a lot of gas to cope and so are very large, unwieldy and expensive. Helikites exploit wind lift so they only need to be a fraction of the size of traditional aerostats in order to operate in high winds. Helikites fly many times higher altitude than traditional aerostats of the same size. Being smaller, with fewer construction seams, means
Helikites have minimal problems with gas leakage compared to traditional aerostats, so Helikites use far less helium.
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are popular as they are very reliable but still easy to handle and do not require large expensive winches. Helikites can be small enough to fit fully inflated in a car but they can also be made large if heavy payloads are required to be flown to high altitudes. Helikites are one of the most popular aerostat designs and are widely used by the scientific community, military, photographers, geographers, police, first responders. Helikites are used by telecoms companies to lift 4G and 5G base stations for areas without cellphone coverage.
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structural challenges of building a rigid vacuum chamber lighter than air are quite significant. Even so, it may be possible to improve the performance of more conventional aerostats by trading gas weight for structural weight, combining the lifting properties of the gas with vacuum and possibly heat for enhanced lift.
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and so are simpler in construction than traditional aerostats and
Helikites do not need constant electrical power to keep them airborne. Helikites are also extremely stable and so are good aerial platforms for cameras or scientific instruments. Tiny Helikites will fly in all weathers, so these sizes
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Helistat using the rotor systems from four obsolete helicopters and a surplus Navy blimp, in order to provide a capability to lift heavier loads than a single helicopter could provide. The aircraft suffered a fatal accident during a test flight. In 2008, Boeing and SkyHook
International resurrected
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is a combination of a helium balloon and a kite to form a single, aerodynamically sound tethered aircraft, that exploits both wind and helium for its lift. Helikites are semi-rigid. Helikites are considered the most stable, energy and cost-efficient aerostats available. This gives
Helikites various
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Although not currently practical, it may be possible to construct a rigid, lighter-than-air structure which, rather than being inflated with air, is at a vacuum relative to the surrounding air. This would allow the object to float above the ground without any heat or special lifting gas, but the
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is the lightest of all gases and a manned hydrogen balloon was flown soon after the
Montgolfier brothers. There is no need to burn fuel, so a gas balloon can stay aloft far longer than a hot-air balloon. Hydrogen soon became the most common lifting gas for both balloons and, later, airships. But
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comprises a mix of methane and other gases, and typically has about half the lifting power of hydrogen. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries municipal gas works became common and provided a cheap source of lifting gas. Some works were able to produce a special mix for ballooning
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Helikites range in size from 1 metre (gas volume 0.13 m) with a pure helium lift of 30g, up to 14 metres (gas volume 250m) able to lift 117 kg. Small
Helikites can fly up to altitudes of 1,000 ft, and medium-sized Helikites up to altitudes of 13,000 ft, while large Helikites can
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Although a free balloon travels at the speed of the wind, it is travelling with the wind so to a passenger the air feels calm and windless. To change its altitude above ground it must either adjust the amount of lift or discard ballast weight. Notable uses of free-flying balloons include
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and non-toxic, and it has almost as much (about 92%) lifting power as hydrogen. It was not discovered in quantity until early in the twentieth century, and for many years only the United States had enough to use in airships. Almost all gas balloons and airships now use helium.
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than the surrounding air. A hot air balloon is open at the bottom to allow hot air to enter, while the gas balloon is closed to stop the (cold) lifting gas from escaping. Common lifting gases have included hydrogen, coal gas and helium.
501:, was a hot air balloon. Most early balloons however were gas balloons. Interest in the sport of hot air ballooning reawoke in the second half of the twentieth century and even some hot-air airships have been flown.
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aerodynamically as they travel through the air, using the shape of their envelope or through the addition of fins or even small wings. Types designed to exploit this lifting effect in normal cruise are called
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When heated, air expands. This lowers its density and creates lift. Small hot air balloons or lanterns have been flown in China since ancient times. The first modern man-lifting aerostat, made by the
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More recently, the US Government
Accountability Office has used the term "aerostat" in a different sense, to distinguish the statically tethered balloon from the free-flying airship.
218:, to which other components such as a gondola containing equipment or people are attached. Especially with airships, the gasbags are often protected by an outer envelope.
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A rigid airship has an outer framework or skin surrounding the lifting gas bags inside it, The outer envelope keeps its shape even if the gasbags are deflated. The great
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Historically, all aerostats were called balloons. Powered types capable of horizontal flight were referred to as dirigible balloons or simply dirigibles (from the French
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A semi-rigid airship has a deflatable gas bag like a non-rigid but with a supporting structure to help it hold its shape while aloft. The first practical airship, the
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which requires the movement of a wing surface through the surrounding air mass. The term has also been used in a narrower sense, to refer to the statically
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A balloon is an unpowered aerostat which has no means of propulsion and must be either tethered on a long cable or allowed to drift freely with the wind.
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A hybrid type uses both static buoyancy and dynamic airflow to provide lift. The dynamic movement may be created either using propulsive power as a
206:. The average density of the craft is lower than the density of atmospheric air, because its main component is one or more gasbags, a lightweight
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is held down by one or more mooring lines or tethers. It has sufficient lift to hold the line taut and its altitude is controlled by
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For full-size aircraft with powered rotors the rotor is normally tilted to achieve thrust (e.g. in a helicopter). Some toys (e.g.
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the line in or out. A tethered balloon does feel the wind. A round balloon is unstable and bobs about in strong winds, so the
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834:"GAO-13-81, DEFENSE ACQUISITIONS: Future Aerostat and Airship Investment Decisions Drive Oversight and Coordination Needs"
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aircraft functions as an aeroplane during normal (horizontal) flight and as a helicopter during low-speed flight.
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events, incorporating a higher proportion of hydrogen and less carbon monoxide, to improve its lifting power.
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lift which is a buoyant force that does not require movement through the surrounding air mass, resulting in
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hydrogen itself is flammable and, following several major disasters in the 1930s, including the
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in contrast to the free-flying airship. This article uses the term in its broader sense.
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An airship is a powered, free-flying aerostat that can be steered. Airships divide into
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Balloons and airships, 1783–1973: editor of the
English edition Kenneth Munson
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Balloons and airships, 1783–1973: editor of the
English edition Kenneth Munson
611: – Vehicle or machine that is able to fly by gaining support from the air
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refers to any thermostat that remains in the air primarily using aerostatic
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https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/805773_eba4ea45e5824133ad520da3a14b5b15.pdf
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A non-rigid airship or blimp deflates like a balloon as it loses gas. The
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meaning steerable). These powered aerostats later came to be called
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698:. Great Britain: Oxford University Press. 1976 . p. 281.
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641: – Gas used to create buoyancy in a balloon or aerostat
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In order to provide buoyancy, any lifting gas must be less
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738:"aerostat Definition in the Cambridge English Dictionary"
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was developed with an aerodynamic shape similar to a
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airships of the twentieth century were rigid types.
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and non-rigid types, with these last often known as
466:the concept and announced a proposed design of the
56:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
190:aircraft that gains its lift through the use of a
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343:and notable uses of untethered balloons include
860:EU FP7 ABSOLUTE Project: Aerial Platforms Study
841:United States Government Accountability Office
430:or by tethering in the wind like a kite, as a
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617: – Study of gases that are not in motion
870:Ege, Lennart A. T.; Munson, Kenneth (1973).
806:Ege, Lennart A. T.; Munson, Kenneth (1973).
369:The Goodyear blimps are non-rigid airships.
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1146:with novel thrust / lift solutions (e.g.
922:The principle of a balloon flight – Video
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116:Learn how and when to remove this message
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221:Aerostats are so named because they use
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1142:are not included in the table, nor are
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229:ability. This contrasts with the heavy
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621:Airborne wind turbine#Aerostat variety
540:is the only lifting gas which is both
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716:(first ed.). Osprey. p. 8.
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399:are still a common sight in the USA.
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700:fabric enclosing gas-bags of airship
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134:U.S. Department of Homeland Security
54:adding citations to reliable sources
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683:the gas-bag of a balloon or airship
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186: 'standing', via French) is a
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671:. Allied Publishers. p. 541.
635: – Proposed airborne habitats
461:Piasecki Helicopter developed the
202:. A balloon may be free-flying or
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791:Historical dictionary of aviation
696:The Oxford Illustrated Dictionary
194:gas. Aerostats include unpowered
1162:) or balloon-wing hybrids (e.g.
876:. Blandford Press. p. 110.
763:"Buoyancy: Archimedes Principle"
761:Hodanbosi, Carol (August 1996).
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409:Some airships obtain additional
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812:. Blandford Press. p. 11.
41:needs additional citations for
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138:Tethered Aerostat Radar System
132:A modern aerostat used by the
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1040:Tethered (static or towed)
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252:In student usage, the term
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998:Lift: Lighter than air gas
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665:Chambers, Allied (1998).
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21:Aerostat (disambiguation)
16:Lighter-than-air aircraft
742:dictionary.cambridge.org
714:A Dictionary of Aviation
712:Wragg, David W. (1973).
281:
169: 'air' and
793:, History Press (2008).
668:The Chambers Dictionary
458:achieve 7,000 ft.
314:meteorological balloons
1196:Balloons (aeronautics)
1136:Ground-effect vehicles
1012:Unpowered free flight
580:This section is empty.
517:, it fell out of use.
449:Helikites do not need
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1144:experimental aircraft
1004:Lift: Unpowered rotor
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304:Balloon (aeronautics)
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1058:(None – see note 2)
1035:(None – see note 2)
1007:Lift: Powered rotor
499:Montgolfier brothers
337:observation balloons
316:and sport balloons.
50:improve this article
19:For other uses, see
1206:Aircraft categories
515:Hindenburg Disaster
404:Santos-Dumont No. 6
233:that primarily use
1125:balloon helicopter
908:DJ's Zeppelin page
549:Low-pressure gases
406:was a semi-rigid.
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345:espionage balloons
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1001:Lift: Fixed wing
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443:Allsopp Helikite
422:Hybrid aerostats
341:barrage balloons
321:tethered balloon
242:tethered balloon
188:lighter-than-air
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843:. October 2012
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39:This article
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1031:autorotation
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845:. Retrieved
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48:Please help
43:verification
40:
1076:ornithopter
918:, June 1930
789:Wragg, D.;
772:January 16,
639:Lifting gas
615:Aerostatics
480:Lifting gas
248:Terminology
235:aerodynamic
212:lifting gas
106:August 2009
1185:Categories
1140:hovercraft
1091:helicopter
1054:Rotor kite
1029:, etc. in
1027:Helicopter
847:2013-06-15
747:2018-01-16
652:References
633:Cloud nine
591:March 2024
379:semi-rigid
265:dirigeable
223:aerostatic
148:(from
76:newspapers
65:"Aerostat"
1191:Aerostats
1148:coleopter
1113:tiltrotor
961:Types of
451:ballonets
231:aerodynes
1133:Note 3:
1121:Note 2:
1109:tiltwing
1105:Note 1:
1087:Gyrodyne
1082:Autogyro
1072:Airplane
1063:Powered
992:Aerodyne
987:Aerostat
963:aircraft
627:Buoyancy
609:Aerodyne
603:See also
526:Coal gas
521:Coal gas
510:Hydrogen
505:Hydrogen
432:Helikite
390:zeppelin
355:Airships
325:winching
287:Balloons
269:airships
258:buoyancy
254:aerostat
216:buoyancy
204:tethered
200:airships
196:balloons
146:aerostat
1156:Avrocar
1067:Airship
1017:balloon
1015:(Free)
983:
926:YouTube
493:Hot air
361:Airship
273:balloon
192:buoyant
90:scholar
1164:kytoon
1078:, etc.
1022:Glider
967:thrust
880:
816:
720:
675:
538:Helium
533:Helium
436:kytoon
383:blimps
181:statós
174:στατός
140:(TARS)
136:, the
92:
85:
78:
71:
63:
837:(PDF)
486:dense
375:rigid
282:Types
152:
97:JSTOR
83:books
1166:and
1158:and
1138:and
1049:Kite
971:lift
969:and
878:ISBN
814:ISBN
774:2018
767:NASA
718:ISBN
673:ISBN
441:The
411:lift
347:and
339:and
238:lift
227:VTOL
208:skin
69:news
1111:or
586:.
434:or
164:aḗr
157:ἀήρ
144:An
52:by
1187::
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