Lighter-Than-Air Airship (Homemade)

[P47P47]

"Airship" or "dirigible" are the generic terms for lighter-than-air craft that are powered and capable of being steered on a specific course.

"Blimp" or "non-rigid airship" refer to such craft that have no rigid structure and rely on gas pressure to maintain their shape.

"Semi-rigid airship" refers to a craft that have a rigid keel or other support structure but maintain their hull shape with gas pressure.

"Rigid airship" refers to a craft that has a full rigid framework with a skin stretched over it, and carries its lifting gas in separate internal gas cells.

"Zeppelin" refers to airships built by the Zeppelin company, and are either rigid or semi-rigid (like the one posted previously). The Zeppelin Company does not build blimps.


Fifteen cubic feet of helium per pound to get barely airborne at sea level. More weight or more altitude needs more gas.

Hot-air blimps don't work very well because they don't have enough internal pressure to maintain their shape under power and manuvering.


None of the rigid airships or the football-shaped blimps generate aerodynamic lift. Only the Lockheed P-791 (check YouTube) or the similar one built for Northrup-Grumman do that.

[Axis Power]

Aloha gentlemen,
I have just started building a blimp, however I am in the preliminary stage
A small team of experts are too with me.

Now the intention to join this thread is to interact with 'birds with same feathers' ��
As this will help me to check if I lack something in my project, as I can't go to Oshkosh and sunandfun, from Asia .now big talks apart lets get into tchnicalities,
The airship can carry 4-6 people. The weight of gondola with the passengers and the equipment is around 1.5 to 1.7 tonnes, and the lifting gas required will be around 4000000cu ft ( will check and tell the accurate answer) the gas decided is hydrogen as here in Asia its first of all costly as nothing. Second hydrogen if used properly will yield good results ( don't belive the Hindenburg 10*10 cm cloth burning with hydrogen, you can't compare the match with a forest fire. ) let me draw your attention to a recent event just a week ago a chinese built a hydrogen blimp for two , cost effective and good. (Thus the project is not immpossible.) now most raw material is available locally if you know the right name ( eg coroplast , I spent a whole week in markets searching for it with this name but later someone told me it's called sunpack , and bang I got it at a nearby stationary shop, hope you get it)
The design
I have decided to go for an already flying design of a k class blimp or skyship 600 , but in order to make a mockup in slolidworks or cad I don't have the required drawings, I have asked someone to get it but..( it would be better if you all do contribute)
The engines , there are two options disel and gas.
Iam searching for anadequate disel engine, small and efficient, but if not found then we have the vw and subarus, or other standard light aircrafft engines.
The control will NOT be a hi if wireless one but a more dependable wired system,
Plus the the craft is for sustaining long duration flight , hence the envelope material is yet to de decided, and gondola will probably be a metal frame (otherwise obviously a wooden one if required grade tubes are not found.
Now a job for you,
Please
List the formula for the envelope , gases , weight etc, this will be a check list for me as I will match it my papers so I will make sure I left no one out ��
Reply asap
Good day

[MidValleyDad]

First of all a Blimp and a Dirigible are two completely different types of airships. A Blimp is a large gas bag with no frame other than the lower structure that holds the cabin and power modules. A Dirigible has a complete frame with an outside covering and internal gas bags.

I do not believe you will be able to build a liftable structure out of wood. Special aluminium alloys developed for light weight were needed for the fullsize airships and would be more important with a scale model if you hoped it would be operable.