World Sky Race 2010: The Return of the Air Ship
June 16, 2008
World Sky Race 2010 is being hailed as the biggest race of all time, as well as ushering in the new age of lighter-than-air flight (again). The race will feature blimps, dirigibles, and zeppelins floating around the world in an effort to circumnavigate the globe and be crowned “World Sky Champion.”
Zeppelins haven’t seen the light of day since 1937 when the Hindenburg went down in a fit of flames. Safety, at the time, was sub-par and these massive airships lost favor due to the evolution of flight and jet travel. The recent push towards ‘green’ technologies and eco-friendly fuel alternatives has led a few individuals to take a second look at the history of lighter-than-air travel, and try to bring it back full circle.
World Sky Race 2010 will fly across four continents and over 130 different World Heritage sites in 16 separate races to crown one champion. Think a meaner, cleaner Nascar, without noise, and 20,000 Ft. off the ground. The winner of this race can also lay claim to the world’s fastest lighter-than-air world circumnavigation, stats were never kept of previous attempts, so you will get the first opportunity to set the mark.
I mentioned “you” because entries are still being taken for this event. If you happen to have a spare $3-4 million laying around then, yes, you could have a wonderful shot at world fame, a world record, and being a part of aviation history in the making.
Anyone know Sir Richard Branson’s phone number? If he would spot me the entry fee, I would be more than happy to ride along…
From The Adventurist Vault:
Written by Jason A. Hendricks · Filed Under World Sky Race 2010 |
That sounds kind of cool. I’m not sure I would go up in a zeppelin, but I bet it is an experience.
The new machines should be better built. Back in the original hayday of the Zepplins, they were actually made out of cow stomachs–thought that was a bit of an odd choice, but I guess they ended up finding that out on their own..lol
It’s an obvious fraud. No airships exist at the moment anything like capable of flying the proposed route, and no facilities for airships are available on most of the route.
Hey Alfred,
If you don’t believe in this, you can easily find out information about a new airship service that has been launched recently in San Francisco. The airships are actually being housed in the original airship buildings used in the 1930’s. Many of these buildings still exist. There are actually 13 such buildings in San Fran, alone.
So what, Adventurist? I know all about the excellent San Francisco airship tourism service. That’s got nothing to do with it; my previous remark stands unimpaired. True, there are airship facilities in San Francisco; but there are none along most of the route proposed by the ridiculously implausible “World Sky Race”. Moreover no airship in current existence is anything like capable of crossing the Pacific Ocean. To develop a new type of aircraft - including airship - and get it certified costs a fortune and takes many years. That’s why the “World Sky Race” is an obvous scam. And to say that it will take place in 2010 is an insult to the intelligence.
… And the Airship Association of Great Britain, a highly respected organization in the field, agrees with me. See the comment upon their webpage
http://www.airship-association.org/news.html
Alfred the Skeptic
First off, thanks for sharing your insight. I have looked into this further and now am siding on your part. This does look quite questionable, especially since the major organizing bodies are also claiming it’s a fraud. When I posted this piece back in June, I had done so after being contacting by someone in the World Sky Race organization. It looked like a cool concept and I really never gave it any more thought. Now, it looks like I stand to be corrected on making a post about this. I may have to do a new update and alert some of my other readers to the discrepencies being perpetrated. Thanks, Alfred.
Jason A. Hendricks
The Adventurist
When I first got interested in lighter-than-air (LTA) flight in the early 80’s, my mentor warned me that the field attracts “fakes and flakes” like errrr… barn waste attracts flies. He was unfortunately right. Mostly it’s flakes: people who rediscover and reinvent the airship and imagine impossible schemes in the sincere belief that they are feasible. But occasionally somebody cynically exploits the public’s nostalgia, love of novelty, and now “greenmindedness” to put over a fraud. When I first heard of this one I dismissed it: it was so obviously unfeasible that it wasn’t worth the trouble to refute. Unfortunately, it looks like the promoter has got UNESCO (among other entities that should know better) in his pocket, which means that he might succeed in taking many well-meaning but naive people to the cleaners after all. It’s high time to emphasize a few simple facts:
Imprimis, there are no airships in existence that are even remotely capable of making the Pacific crossing; the largest ever built would have had trouble doing it! Secundus, new designs cannot be stamped out with a cookie cutter; it’s hard enough to finance new ships with a clear utilitarian purpose and profitable prospects - imagine the reaction of a financing source to a giant airship project built for a publicity stunt. Sorry, folks! Tertius, even if the project were scaled back so that some existing ships could undertake it, no airship owner that I know of would risk his ship in this kind of activity, and his insurance carrier would drop him if he did.
And all this by 2010? Give me a break. Somebody needs to start asking this promoter some tough questions, and insisting on cogent answers. Keep your checkbooks in your pockets, and don’t let your governments give any of your cash to this scammer.
Marc de Piolenc
Assn. of Balloon and Airship Constructors
The Airship Association comments on the “World Sky Race” and the “World Air League” are now cached at
http://abac.archivale.com/events/WSR/news.htm
Alfred the Skeptic
The Race may NOT BE HAPPENING BUT NEW AIRSHIPS ARE.
SEE MY WEB SITE: http://www.myspace.com/nostradome
AN GET YOURSELF UP TO DATE…..
I MAY BE THE ONLY 1 AT THIS TIME TO BE TOTALLY ABLE TO GO AROUND THE WORLD IN AN AIRSHIP…..
THE MEDIA SEEMS TO CONTROL ALOT OF YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE TRUTH ABOUT ALOT OF THINGS BUT AIRSHIPS ARE COMMING.
enough said,Steve Nostradome
This lunatic Nostradome is actually not much more of a madman than the organizers of the “World Sky Race” - in fact at least he is probably moderately honest, which is more than can be said for the “World Air League” gang! Nostradome is a florid example of the type of flake discussed by Marc Piolenc, whereas the “World Air League” is more of a cynical and calculated plot to defraud.
Alfred continues to be skeptical. Show me the airships!
Alfred, just curious, what is your background?
Well, I am a knowledgable amateur enthusiast of airships and airship technology, have a sound understanding of physics (classical), and am a member of the Airship Association:
http://www.airship-association.org/
which is the leading professional association in the field; and I am one of the leading lights of the Airship Mailing List, which can be subscribed to by writing to
listproc@lists.Colorado.EDU
The contents of the message should be simply - subscribe airship-list + your email address
But I am not professionally involved in the manufacture or flying of airships.
And yes, I know Marc Piolenc of old, and can vouch that he is a man of very sound opinions.
Alfred, still skeptical