GB997679A - Rigid type lighter-than-air craft - Google Patents

Abstract

997,679. Airships. AEREON CORPORATION. June 18, 1963 [June 29, 1962], No. 24185/63. Heading B7W. A rigid airship comprises hulls 2, 4, 6, each having an envelope of fabric, plastic, or sheet metal, enclosing a framework affording an enclosure for a plurality of gas cells. Each framework comprises rings 10 composed of truss members 14, 24, 26, and posts 22 connected by tension members 16 to a common central bearing member. The rings are connected at their peripheries by longerons 12 and ties 34, a gas cell being located between each adjacent pair of rings. Beams 42 connect the bearing members 18, Fig. 2, with heavier beams 40 fore and aft, and at the maximum diameters of the hulls, adjacent rings are connected at 14c. The gaps between the forward parts and rearward parts of the hulls are filled in by fillets 60, 62, having internal framework 64, 66, the fillets 62 comprising elevators 78 and tabs 80. The aspect ratio of the airship is between one and three-tenths. An engine propeller unit is located in the tail of one or more hulls. Rear fins 96 extend below the hulls, with servotab operated rudders. Undercarriages are located beneath the fins and at 108. Cabin accommodation is within a hull, as at 120, Figs. 3, or below a hull, as at 122. In an alternative, the whole airship has a covering of aerofoil section. The inner hull may be larger than the central hull, and may be below these. Two spaced apart hulls may be connected together by beams, the load being slung below the space between them. Specification 997,678 is referred to.