The Zeppelin NT (short for Neue Technologie, New Technology) is a German airship class produced by Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik GmbH. It is a spiritual successor to the pre-World War II Zeppelins like the Hindenburg, but the NT is significantly smaller, filled with helium instead of flammable hydrogen, and its structure is only semi-rigid.
History[]
In 1988-1990 the commercial potential of a new "zeppelin" was studied, and a market for at least 80 airships was found. In September 1993 a new company named Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik (ZLT) was founded to produce the new type, and the building of the prototype began in 1995. It made its 40-minute maiden flight on 18 September 1997 in Friedrichshafen. Series production officially began in 2001, although the building of a second example had already began in 1999.
Zeppelin NTs are mainly used for aerial advertising, photography, sightseeing and research.
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company operates three NTs built jointly by the company and ZLT, and completed in 2014, 2016 and 2018. They replaced the old GZ-20s and ended Goodyear's 92-year tradition of operating its own airship designs. The NTs are named Wingfoot One, Two and Three, and are commonly known as Goodyear Blimps, although technically a blimp would be non-rigid while the NT is semi-rigid.
Variants[]
- NT 07-100 - Original version.
- NT 07-101 - New avionics and longer gondola with two extra seats. Replaced the NT 07-100 in 2011.
- NT 14 - Larger 19-seat version in development.
Specifications (NT 07-100)[]
- Crew: 2
- Capacity: 12 passengers or a payload of 1,900 kg (4188 lb)
- Length: 75.00 m (246 ft 0¾ in)
- Diameter: 14.16 m (46 ft 5½ in)
- Width: 19.50[45] m (63 ft 11¾ in)
- Height: 17.40 m (57 ft 1 in)
- Volume: 8,255 m3 (290,450 ft3)
- Gross weight: 10,690 kg (23,567 lb)
- Powerplant: 3 × Textron Lycoming IO-360 air-cooled flat-four, 149 kW (200 hp) each
- Maximum speed: 125 km/h (77 mph)
- Cruising speed: 115 km/h (71 mph)
- Range: 900 km (559 miles)
- Endurance: 24 hours
- Service ceiling: 2,600 m (8,530 ft)