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Some airship designs that use a lighter-than-air lifting gas heat a portion of the gas, which is usually maintained in enclosed cells to gain additional lift. Heating the lifting gas causes expansion of the gas in order to further lower the density of the lifting gas, which results in greater lift.
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to keep the envelope in shape. When not in use, the structure folds up in a manner similar to an umbrella. The structure also permits the mounting of a steerable engine/propeller on the tail of the aircraft. The tail-mounted propeller provides for
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In recent years, the steering of these ships has improved somewhat. The most successful approach has been to use higher pressure in the tail fin structures than in the rest of the envelope, or to use an internal structure (see below).
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Most thermal airships are non-rigid. Some are pressurized. In some cases, the pressurized air is taken from a duct located behind the propeller. In other cases, the pressurized air comes from a separate fan.
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lack of elevator (pitch) control, causing the airship to pitch up or down in response to changes in the throttle setting (a motion called 'porpoising')
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Like hot air balloons, thermal airships are first inflated partially with cold (ambient temperature) air. Once the envelopes are sufficiently full, a
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The first public flight of a hot air airship was made by Don
Cameron (UK) in a
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at the Icicle Meet in
January 1973. The aircraft took 3 years to develop.
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difficulty in handling on the ground if the ground wind is above 5 knots
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Thermal airships have the advantage of being much less expensive than
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burner is ignited and the inflation is completed using heated air.
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Hot air craft produce much less uplift per unit volume than
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Skyacht
Personal Blimp - another type of thermal airship
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difficulty in steering, particularly at low air speeds
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Lighter-than-air aircraft with propulsion capabilities
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109:Learn how and when to remove this message
313:"The Difference Engine: Not all hot air"
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337:Steam Balloon JBFA Article
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41:Please help
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322:25 December
168:lifting gas
360:Categories
299:References
69:newspapers
275:Operation
264:aluminium
207:airspeeds
293:Zeppelin
287:See also
199:hydrogen
145:envelope
141:buoyancy
281:propane
226:History
166:, as a
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205:lower
195:helium
188:blimps
184:helium
164:helium
135:is an
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