The envelope of an airship may form a single gas bag, or may contain a number of internal gas-filled cells. Most airships built since the 1960s have used helium, though some have used hot air. Significant amounts were first discovered in the United States and for a while helium was only used for airships by the United States. Helium gas has almost the same lifting capacity and is not flammable, unlike hydrogen, but is rare and relatively expensive. In early dirigibles, the lifting gas used was hydrogen gas, due to its high lifting capacity and ready availability. Aerostats gain their lift from large gas bags filled with a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air.ĭirigible airships compared with related aerostats, from a turn-of-the-20th-century encyclopedia File:Zeppellin NT amk.JPGĪ modern airship, Zeppelin NT D-LZZF in 2010Īn airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Not to be confused with Balloon (aircraft).
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