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Anon-rigid airship, commonly called ablimp (/blɪmp/), is anairship (dirigible)[1] without an internal structural framework or a keel. Unlikesemi-rigid andrigid airships (e.g.Zeppelins), blimps rely on the pressure of theirlifting gas (usuallyhelium, rather than flammablehydrogen) and the strength of the envelope to maintain their shape. Blimps are known for their use in advertising, surveillance, and observation due to their maneuverability, slow speeds and steady flight capabilities.[2]
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Since blimps keep their shape with internal overpressure, typically the only solid parts are the passenger car (gondola) and thetail fins. A non-rigid airship that uses heated air instead of a light gas (such as helium) as a lifting medium is called ahot-air airship (sometimes there arebattens near the bow, which assist with higher forces there from a mooring attachment or from the greater aerodynamic pressures there).
Volume changes of the lifting gas due to temperature changes or to changes of altitude are compensated for by pumping air into internalballonets (air bags) to maintain the overpressure. Without sufficient overpressure, the blimp loses its ability to be steered and is slowed due to increased drag and distortion. The propellerair stream can be used to inflate the ballonets and so the hull. In some models, such as theSkyship 600, differential ballonet inflation can provide a measure ofpitch trim control.
The engines driving the propellers are usually directly attached to the gondola, and in some models are partly steerable.
Blimps are the most commonly built airships because they are relatively easy to build and easy to transport once deflated. However, because of their unstable hull, their size is limited. A blimp with too long a hullmay kink in the middle when the overpressure is insufficient or when maneuvered too fast (this has also happened with semi-rigid airships with weak keels). This led to the development ofsemi-rigids andrigid airships.
Modern blimps are launched somewhat heavier than air (overweight), in contrast to historic blimps. The missing lift is provided by lifting the nose and using engine power, or by angling the engine thrust. Some types also use steerable propellers orducted fans. Operating in a state heavier than air avoids the need to dumpballast at lift-off and also avoids the need to lose costly helium lifting gas on landing (most of theZeppelins achieved lift with very inexpensive hydrogen, which could be vented without concern to decrease altitude).
The origin of the word "blimp" has been the subject of some confusion. Lennart Ege notes two possible derivations:[3]
Colloquially, non-rigid airships always were referred to as "blimps". Over the years, several explanations have been advanced about the origin of this word. The most common is that in the military vernacular, the Type B was referred to as "limp bag", which was simply abbreviated to "blimp".[4] An alternative explanation is that on 5 December 1915, Commander A. D. Cunningham,R.N., of theCapel-Le-Ferne Air Ship Station, flicked the envelope of the airship SS.12 with his fingers during an inspection, which produced a sound that he mimicked and pronounced as "blimp", and that the word then caught on as the nickname for all small non-rigid airships.[4][5][6]
A 1943 etymology, published inThe New York Times, supports a British origin during the First World War when the British were experimenting with lighter-than-air craft. The initial non-rigid aircraft was called the A-limp; and a second version called the B-limp was deemed more satisfactory.[7]
Yet a third derivation is given by Barnes and James inShorts Aircraft since 1900:
In February 1915 the need for anti-submarine patrol airships became urgent, and theSubmarine Scout type was quickly improvised by hanging an obsoleteB.E.2cfuselage from a spareWillows envelope; this was done by theR.N.A.S. atKingsnorth, and on seeing the result for the first time,Horace Short, already noted for his very apt and original vocabulary, named it "Blimp", adding, "What else would you call it?"[8]
Dr. A. D. Topping researched the origins of the word and concluded that the British had never had a "Type B, limp" designation, and that Cunningham's coinage appeared to be the correct explanation.[9]
TheOxford English Dictionary notes its use in print in 1916: "Visited the Blimps ... this afternoon atCapel". In 1918, theIllustrated London News said that it was "an onomatopœic name invented by that genius for apposite nomenclature, the late Horace Short".[10]
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TheB-class blimps were patrol airships operated by theUnited States Navy during and shortly afterWorld War I. The Navy learned a great deal from theDN-1 fiasco. The result was the very successful B-type airships.Dr. Jerome Hunsaker was asked to develop a theory of airship design. This was followed by then-LieutenantJohn H. Towers,USN, returning from Europe having inspected British designs, and theU.S. Navy subsequently sought bids for 16 blimps from American manufacturers. On 4 February 1917 the Secretary of the Navy directed that 16 nonrigid airships of Class B be procured. UltimatelyGoodyear built 9 envelopes,Goodrich built five andCurtiss built the gondolas for all of those 14 ships. Connecticut Aircraft contracted withU.S. Rubber for its two envelopes and withPigeon Fraser for its gondolas. The Curtiss-built gondolas were modifiedJN-4 fuselages and were powered byOX-5 engines. The Connecticut Aircraft blimps were powered byHall-Scott engines.
In 1930, a former German airship officer, Captain Anton Heinen, working in the US for the US Navy on its dirigible fleet, attempted to design and build a four-place blimp called the "family air yacht" for private fliers which the inventor claimed would be priced below $10,000 and easier to fly than a fixed-wing aircraft if placed in production. It was unsuccessful.[11][12]
In 2021,Reader's Digest said that "consensus is that there are about 25 blimps still in existence and only about half of them are still in use for advertising purposes".[13] The Airsign Airship Group is the owner and operator of 8 of these active ships, including the Hood Blimp,DirecTV blimp, and the MetLife blimp.[14]
This blimp is a type ofairborne early warning and control aircraft, typically as the active part of a system which includes a mooring platform, communications and information processing. Example systems include the U.S.JLENS and IsraeliAeronautics Defense Skystar 300.[15][16]
Surveillance blimps known asaerostats have been used extensively in the Middle East by theUnited States military, theUnited Arab Emirates andKuwait.[17]
Manufacturers in many countries have built blimps in many designs.[18] Some examples include:
![An A-60+, the MetLife Snoopy Two[19]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aMetlife_snoopy_two_blimp.jpg)
