Keep Looking Up, It's a Blimp

Sometimes it pays to look up.Yesterday off in the distance I saw an odd shaped item getting closer and closer. When I noticed it was a blimp I grabbed my camera to take a photo. The navy blimp was flying right over Lecanto, Florida about 2 pm yesterday. Even though it looked like it was going slow compared to a plane, I barely had time to get a few photos before it moved out of sight. The wind was blowing from the southwest and it was helping propel the blimp forward at a goodly rate of speed.

Later Gary told me he heard on the news the Navy blimp will be flying over Florida for several months. Apparently a blimp is considered a cost efficient or 'green' air reconnaissance method of transportation. A blimp, or airship, uses approximately 10 to 12 gallons of fuel per  hour compared to a jet or airplane that's a very small amount of fuel. When a blimp or airship is mentioned people usually think of the Hindenburg disaster but airships are no longer filled with hydrogen but instead now use helium which isn't flammable.

Before and during World War II airships were used for anti submarine detection in patrolling both the Atlantic and Pacific ocean areas. After fifty years the Navy has resumed the airship program. Some interesting facts from wikipedia for the navy blimp are:

General characteristics

• Crew: 9-10
• Length: 251 ft 8 in (76.73 m)
• Diameter: 57 ft 10 in (17.63 m)
• Volume: 425,000 ft³ (12,043 m³)
• Useful lift: 7,770 lb (3,524 kg)
• Powerplant: 2 × Pratt & Whitney R-1340-AN-2 radials, 425 hp (317 kW) each each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 78 mph (125 km/h)
• Cruise speed: 58 mph (93 km/h)
• Range: 2,205 miles (3,537 km)
• Endurance: 38 hours  12 min

Armament

• 1 × .50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine gun
• 4 × 350 lb (160 kg) Mark 47 depth charges

In this photo is the gondola where the crew of the airship are located. For more information and animated diagrams about airship parts and propulsion please check out the link to How Stuff Works information about blimps. Keep looking up, you never know what you might see or learn. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.