European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 20, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Artist s Conception of a . Navy Airship. D Aily Magazine giant airships As Navy radar sentries by Robert Lee hot2 Cox news service t he Graceful blimps and dirigible that once crisscrossed the oceans Laden with passengers and National Pride have carried Little except advertising for almost two generations. Ever since the . Navy abandoned the last of its lighter than air forces in 1961, the Blimp has been a vehicle in search of a Mission. But now the Navy has sparked renewed interest in the giant airships with a proposal to build a new Fleet of up to 50 modern airships beginning with a $200 million prototype almost seven times the size of the familiar Goodyear Blimp. Ii the plan is approved the new airships Are destined Tor service As High flying radar sentries designed to select any threat to Navy aircraft carriers or Battle groups from submarine launched cruise missiles or Low flying supersonic fighters. Radar sensors carried aloft by such Mammoth blimps could extend a Fleet s Early warning Range by As much As 10 times up to 200 Miles Over the horizon Industry officials say. The Airship is Back in the picture says Fred Nebiker vice president for business development at Goodyear aerospace corp. In Akron Ohio which carried out a $650.000 feasibility study for the project. The proposed airships would each be about 403 feet Long and 85 feet in diameter with a volume of 1.5 million cubic feet. Carrying a Crew of about 25. Such blimps could cruise at about 70 Miles an hour relying on Turboprop and Turbine engines. Far smaller unmanned radar blimps called Aerostat already Are being used by the . Coast guard to track Low flying smugglers along the Florida coast. Since the fiery wreck of the German Zeppelin Hindenburg ended commercial passenger service in 1937. Dirigible and blimps have seen service mostly in the cause of National defense or corporate Public relations. Generations of aerospace engineers however continued to be inspired by the Prospect of lighter than air vehicles and visions of Low Cost Energy efficient air transports. Experimental airships under development could patrol National fishing zones Monitor offshore Oil drilling or haul freight in and out of otherwise inaccessible areas. What such airships Lack in Speed and Maneule ability they More than make up for in endurance. A properly provisioned Blimp can stand aloft for Days even weeks. A radar equipped Airship refuelled by Ocean going tankers could remain at sea As Long As the Navy Fleet it is protecting. Older dirigible such As the ill lated Hindenburg. Relied on highly flammable Hydrogen Gas for lift. Modern lighter than air vehicles however Are fuelled by helium an inert Gas that does not Burn. New High strength materials such As Kevlar. The same fabric used in bulletproof vests reduced the structural weight increasing the payload that dirigible can carry. Control systems based on High Speed Liber optics make the Mammoth balloons vastly More manageable. Airships have always had an air of nostalgia about them says Algy Williams of Airship industries Ltd. In London. But i think the reason airships have made such a remarkable revival is the advances in materials and electronics. The technology of the time was t up to the  Airship industries which along with Goodyear is one of several firms bidding on the Navy project also is pioneering the return of the commercial Airship with the first regularly scheduled passenger service in 49 years. In april the company inaugurated Aerial Tours of London s main attractions. The service was fully booked within 48 hours after it was announced. The sky ship 500 dirigible carrying up to six passengers at $150 apiece cruise at a stately Snail s Pace 30 Man just 1,000 feel Over London s historic Spires. By 1992, the company Hopes to begin luxury passenger service Between London and Paris with a 600-foot Blimp carrying 200 passengers 30 staterooms a restaurant and an observation deck. Airship industries sky ship 500 flies aver London sunday july 20, 1986 the stars and stripes Page 13