1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:04,360 Speaker 1: Hi, friends, have you ever flown into blimp? I haven't. 2 00:00:04,880 --> 00:00:08,480 Speaker 1: It's one of my goals, and on August I had neither. 3 00:00:09,039 --> 00:00:11,040 Speaker 1: But that's what we talked about and more in the 4 00:00:11,080 --> 00:00:19,919 Speaker 1: episode How Blimps Work coming up right now. Welcome to 5 00:00:19,920 --> 00:00:22,600 Speaker 1: Stuff You Should Know, a production of I Heart Radios 6 00:00:22,600 --> 00:00:30,840 Speaker 1: How Stuff Works. Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm 7 00:00:30,920 --> 00:00:34,159 Speaker 1: Josh Clark. There's Charles w Chuck Bryant, and Jerry's with us, 8 00:00:34,159 --> 00:00:36,760 Speaker 1: so that makes this Stuff you should Know? How you doing? 9 00:00:37,400 --> 00:00:39,279 Speaker 1: I'm good man, this is I'm excited about this one. 10 00:00:39,440 --> 00:00:43,400 Speaker 1: Oh are you sure? Blimps? Yeah, because they have like 11 00:00:43,440 --> 00:00:52,720 Speaker 1: eight names, blimp, dirigible, zeppelin, yeah, airship yeah. Uh well 12 00:00:52,760 --> 00:00:56,160 Speaker 1: technically l t A I'm counting that lighter than airship, yeah, 13 00:00:56,600 --> 00:00:59,000 Speaker 1: which I think is ultimately lighter than airship. L t 14 00:00:59,160 --> 00:01:03,240 Speaker 1: A is the umbrella term for all of those things 15 00:01:03,280 --> 00:01:05,800 Speaker 1: which are slightly different. Yeah. I think an l t 16 00:01:05,959 --> 00:01:08,880 Speaker 1: A and an airship is all of them. The dirigible 17 00:01:08,959 --> 00:01:11,360 Speaker 1: is all of them. Zeppelin is rigid, and a blimp 18 00:01:11,440 --> 00:01:14,119 Speaker 1: is non rigid. Nice, and mostly we just said blimps. 19 00:01:14,160 --> 00:01:17,640 Speaker 1: These days, not a lot of rigid airships aren't there? 20 00:01:17,720 --> 00:01:20,880 Speaker 1: But would they? Would they constitute. Yeah, no, but there's 21 00:01:20,959 --> 00:01:24,640 Speaker 1: they can be semi rigid or non rigid, right, yeah, 22 00:01:24,640 --> 00:01:26,679 Speaker 1: and I think the future we'll talk about that obviously 23 00:01:26,680 --> 00:01:28,399 Speaker 1: at the end, but I think those are some of 24 00:01:28,440 --> 00:01:33,000 Speaker 1: those are more the semi rigid style, right. That's very huge. Yeah, 25 00:01:33,040 --> 00:01:35,640 Speaker 1: but they're made of some really lightweight but very strong 26 00:01:35,760 --> 00:01:41,600 Speaker 1: composite materials. Yeah. Boom so Chuck, Let's talk about the 27 00:01:41,640 --> 00:01:45,440 Speaker 1: history of blimps because I think when anybody thinks of blimps, 28 00:01:45,520 --> 00:01:49,200 Speaker 1: they think Handenburg, they think, they think the Handenburg and 29 00:01:49,240 --> 00:01:54,960 Speaker 1: then maybe can currently or right after the Good Year blimp. Yeah, 30 00:01:55,160 --> 00:01:59,040 Speaker 1: those are the two that really laid it on the 31 00:01:59,120 --> 00:02:03,800 Speaker 1: line for blimped him. Uh yeah, you know, want you 32 00:02:03,800 --> 00:02:05,480 Speaker 1: want to talk about the early history, I guess, and 33 00:02:05,520 --> 00:02:08,360 Speaker 1: then get to the tragedy. Yeah, because there wasn't that 34 00:02:08,480 --> 00:02:11,679 Speaker 1: much time in between the two to tell you the truth. Yeah, 35 00:02:11,720 --> 00:02:14,280 Speaker 1: I mean it all started, of course with hot air balloons, 36 00:02:14,360 --> 00:02:18,040 Speaker 1: because uh, they're not so different. In Sight three, a 37 00:02:18,080 --> 00:02:24,480 Speaker 1: couple of frenchees, brothers, Jacques Etienne and Joseph Michelle. They 38 00:02:24,560 --> 00:02:26,200 Speaker 1: said they were brothers, but they have different Last night, 39 00:02:26,280 --> 00:02:29,360 Speaker 1: I think Jacques Etienne is his first and middle name. Okay, 40 00:02:29,440 --> 00:02:32,720 Speaker 1: that makes sense. They all had three names, uh last name, 41 00:02:32,720 --> 00:02:37,080 Speaker 1: serial killer, mong Gulfier. They invented the hot air balloon 42 00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:41,400 Speaker 1: uh an unmanned hot air balloon in seventy three, and 43 00:02:41,400 --> 00:02:45,320 Speaker 1: then later that same year a French physicist last name 44 00:02:45,400 --> 00:02:49,600 Speaker 1: de Rosier had the first manned balloon flight. And they 45 00:02:49,600 --> 00:02:52,840 Speaker 1: were just floating around because that's what our balloons do. 46 00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:54,959 Speaker 1: You can go up and then if you're really good, 47 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:57,800 Speaker 1: you can come back down. But left and right, that's 48 00:02:57,960 --> 00:03:00,480 Speaker 1: up to mother nature. That's right, which is a little scary, 49 00:03:00,600 --> 00:03:03,200 Speaker 1: although I think these days can they steer them at all. 50 00:03:03,560 --> 00:03:06,840 Speaker 1: We have a great article on this. You're you're subject 51 00:03:07,080 --> 00:03:11,520 Speaker 1: to the winds, to the the um was the god 52 00:03:11,560 --> 00:03:14,760 Speaker 1: of wind that you know, he comes out of the 53 00:03:14,800 --> 00:03:18,639 Speaker 1: cloud and blows wind. Yeah that guy. Yeah, you're you're 54 00:03:18,639 --> 00:03:22,120 Speaker 1: subject to his whim So if if you're headed towards something, 55 00:03:22,200 --> 00:03:25,240 Speaker 1: it's go over it or hit it. Yes, okay, And 56 00:03:25,280 --> 00:03:27,680 Speaker 1: you remember there was that terrible blo um hot air 57 00:03:27,720 --> 00:03:31,800 Speaker 1: balloon accident and I think Virginia last year earlier this year. Yeah, 58 00:03:31,880 --> 00:03:33,680 Speaker 1: like they hit a power line I think, and then 59 00:03:33,680 --> 00:03:36,200 Speaker 1: the basket caught fire and like they had to jump. 60 00:03:36,320 --> 00:03:39,240 Speaker 1: It was really bad. Um. But yeah, you can go 61 00:03:39,360 --> 00:03:41,440 Speaker 1: up and over and I imagine it's under if it's 62 00:03:41,480 --> 00:03:44,000 Speaker 1: like a power line, yeah, or a tunnel if you're 63 00:03:44,040 --> 00:03:48,560 Speaker 1: really good, or you're in a cartoon like the laugh Olympics. 64 00:03:48,880 --> 00:03:53,440 Speaker 1: That's something they do in there. But the I think 65 00:03:53,480 --> 00:03:55,600 Speaker 1: if you're really good, you could probably know where to 66 00:03:55,680 --> 00:03:59,000 Speaker 1: steer into the wind to maybe use use the wind. 67 00:03:59,480 --> 00:04:02,880 Speaker 1: But know, with a blimp, the big distinction is, aside 68 00:04:02,880 --> 00:04:06,920 Speaker 1: from its distinctive shape, is that you can maneuver like 69 00:04:07,040 --> 00:04:10,960 Speaker 1: a pro That's right, And that's what Henry uh Jaffar 70 00:04:11,360 --> 00:04:14,080 Speaker 1: did in eighteen fifty two when he finally someone said 71 00:04:14,160 --> 00:04:16,800 Speaker 1: we should steer these things and he built the first 72 00:04:16,800 --> 00:04:20,719 Speaker 1: powered airship and it was cigar field like the classic 73 00:04:20,720 --> 00:04:23,040 Speaker 1: shapes that we know and love now, had a propeller 74 00:04:23,240 --> 00:04:26,080 Speaker 1: like they have now, and a little engine although it 75 00:04:26,160 --> 00:04:28,560 Speaker 1: was a steam engine which they don't use now. Three 76 00:04:28,560 --> 00:04:32,440 Speaker 1: horsepower steam engine. Yeah, they're not huge engine still didn't 77 00:04:32,440 --> 00:04:35,840 Speaker 1: take a lot apparently, No, it really doesn't, um. And 78 00:04:36,160 --> 00:04:40,200 Speaker 1: those were rigid airships. Uh, it's a it's a metal framework. 79 00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:44,000 Speaker 1: And in nineteen hundred, count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, that name 80 00:04:44,040 --> 00:04:47,840 Speaker 1: sounds familiar, Zeppelin of Germany. Uh, and that's where they 81 00:04:47,880 --> 00:04:50,599 Speaker 1: got the name, of course, because I never understood the 82 00:04:50,760 --> 00:04:54,239 Speaker 1: led the lead well it was I think someone said 83 00:04:54,360 --> 00:04:56,400 Speaker 1: as a joke, you guys are gonna go over like 84 00:04:56,440 --> 00:04:58,520 Speaker 1: a led Zeppelin, or they did when they played on 85 00:04:58,560 --> 00:05:00,520 Speaker 1: the BBC. Is that it? But I take the A 86 00:05:00,680 --> 00:05:03,400 Speaker 1: out because the same reason you take the A out 87 00:05:03,440 --> 00:05:06,400 Speaker 1: of def Leppard. I've never understood that either, in the 88 00:05:06,400 --> 00:05:08,280 Speaker 1: same as you put a boom loud over Motley Crue. 89 00:05:08,680 --> 00:05:12,520 Speaker 1: This just makes it cool, you know, different differentiates you 90 00:05:12,600 --> 00:05:14,599 Speaker 1: gotta mispell something in your band. I think I was 91 00:05:14,640 --> 00:05:17,960 Speaker 1: just looking too deeply into it. It's the problem. Yeah, 92 00:05:18,120 --> 00:05:21,320 Speaker 1: L E A d Zeppelin would be weird. Yeah, but 93 00:05:21,400 --> 00:05:24,280 Speaker 1: I think like our paradigm would have adjusted. We would 94 00:05:24,279 --> 00:05:26,840 Speaker 1: think L E. D Zeppelin would be weird if we 95 00:05:26,839 --> 00:05:29,200 Speaker 1: were used to led Zeppelin with an A, or if 96 00:05:29,240 --> 00:05:32,640 Speaker 1: the Beatles was spelled B E T L E S. Yeah, 97 00:05:32,920 --> 00:05:37,599 Speaker 1: instead of their penny name. Very punny, all right, boy, 98 00:05:37,640 --> 00:05:40,080 Speaker 1: we get sidetracks so easy with music stuff. Not really 99 00:05:40,160 --> 00:05:43,120 Speaker 1: Zeppelin was I think people saw that coming before the 100 00:05:43,240 --> 00:05:47,039 Speaker 1: press play. Uh. So that was the rigid Airship, the 101 00:05:47,040 --> 00:05:50,320 Speaker 1: first one, and those have a metal framework and it 102 00:05:50,360 --> 00:05:54,320 Speaker 1: had tail fins and rudders had combustion engines and could 103 00:05:54,360 --> 00:05:58,159 Speaker 1: cruise about feet with up to five people. Yes, not bad. 104 00:05:58,360 --> 00:06:01,960 Speaker 1: You could bring the whole family as long as you encounter, 105 00:06:02,160 --> 00:06:04,440 Speaker 1: as long as you total no more than five, as 106 00:06:04,480 --> 00:06:06,800 Speaker 1: long as you paid off the captain. Well then you 107 00:06:06,920 --> 00:06:09,039 Speaker 1: just have to be a family four, that's right, because 108 00:06:09,080 --> 00:06:12,200 Speaker 1: the captain's got to sit somewhere, right. Yeah, they got 109 00:06:12,200 --> 00:06:17,599 Speaker 1: their little captain's chair. So everything was going quite swimmingly. Actually. Um, 110 00:06:17,640 --> 00:06:21,640 Speaker 1: around the turn of the twentieth century, there there was. 111 00:06:21,800 --> 00:06:24,919 Speaker 1: It was just widely assumed that we would have a 112 00:06:24,960 --> 00:06:28,960 Speaker 1: future where blimps zeppelins were just a regular feature of 113 00:06:28,960 --> 00:06:32,360 Speaker 1: the sky. Well they were up until the Hinderberg went down. 114 00:06:32,360 --> 00:06:36,440 Speaker 1: There were more than two thousand flights carried um tens 115 00:06:36,440 --> 00:06:39,000 Speaker 1: of thousands of passengers over a million miles. Like that 116 00:06:39,080 --> 00:06:43,040 Speaker 1: was air travel, we should say, ultra wealthy passengers at 117 00:06:43,040 --> 00:06:46,800 Speaker 1: the time. Um. The Hinderberg in particular was it was 118 00:06:47,040 --> 00:06:50,599 Speaker 1: high class. It was the pride of Nazi Germany, and 119 00:06:50,640 --> 00:06:52,360 Speaker 1: it was on its maiden voyage, wasn't it. It It was 120 00:06:52,400 --> 00:06:54,600 Speaker 1: almost called the Hitler by the way, was it really? Yeah? 121 00:06:54,600 --> 00:06:56,120 Speaker 1: But Hitler was like I don't want my name on 122 00:06:56,120 --> 00:07:00,280 Speaker 1: that thing. Really yet not that he like foretold the few. Sure, 123 00:07:00,320 --> 00:07:02,840 Speaker 1: he just didn't. I don't know. He just didn't want 124 00:07:02,839 --> 00:07:06,160 Speaker 1: to him named after an airship. He didn't believe um 125 00:07:06,720 --> 00:07:10,960 Speaker 1: Freud's idea that sometimes the cigar is just a cigar, yeah, 126 00:07:11,080 --> 00:07:13,840 Speaker 1: or a cigar shaped airship is just a cigar shaped 127 00:07:13,880 --> 00:07:16,280 Speaker 1: there and it crashed and burned too, So he was 128 00:07:16,880 --> 00:07:19,760 Speaker 1: probably pretty stoked that he didn't have his name on it. Yeah. 129 00:07:19,800 --> 00:07:23,200 Speaker 1: He very famously went who yeah when he heard the 130 00:07:23,200 --> 00:07:26,840 Speaker 1: news exactly. So, uh, we should probably stopped making light 131 00:07:26,880 --> 00:07:31,000 Speaker 1: of this nearly eighty year old tragedy because people did die, 132 00:07:32,280 --> 00:07:36,400 Speaker 1: you know. Yeah, I mean, should we tell the story? 133 00:07:37,360 --> 00:07:40,280 Speaker 1: All right? Well, it took off on May three, seven, 134 00:07:40,440 --> 00:07:44,760 Speaker 1: had thirty six passengers and six officers and crew members 135 00:07:44,760 --> 00:07:49,760 Speaker 1: and trainees, left Frankfort at about seven fifteen and then 136 00:07:49,880 --> 00:07:52,520 Speaker 1: crossed out over the Atlantic at about two am the 137 00:07:52,560 --> 00:07:55,520 Speaker 1: next day. It's not super fast travel. It was compared 138 00:07:55,560 --> 00:07:57,480 Speaker 1: to the ship travel at the time. It was about 139 00:07:58,120 --> 00:08:00,000 Speaker 1: it took about half the time to cross the Atlanta 140 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:02,040 Speaker 1: because it did in a boat. Yeah, But compared to 141 00:08:02,080 --> 00:08:04,920 Speaker 1: what we're used to, you were just it was leisurely 142 00:08:06,040 --> 00:08:09,680 Speaker 1: um and apparently after reading more about the Hindenburgh it's 143 00:08:09,800 --> 00:08:12,000 Speaker 1: not as um, and I guess ship travel is sort 144 00:08:12,040 --> 00:08:13,800 Speaker 1: of the same way, like we're going to get there 145 00:08:13,840 --> 00:08:16,520 Speaker 1: when we get there, like we're heading, we're trying to 146 00:08:16,520 --> 00:08:18,360 Speaker 1: get there and then, but you never know what's going 147 00:08:18,400 --> 00:08:21,000 Speaker 1: to happen. Right, that's why they called them the leisure class. 148 00:08:21,040 --> 00:08:25,320 Speaker 1: That's right. Uh. It follows followed a northern track across 149 00:08:25,360 --> 00:08:31,160 Speaker 1: the ocean. Um eventually crossed uh into North America, over 150 00:08:31,200 --> 00:08:34,040 Speaker 1: the coast of Newfoundland and arrived in lake Hurst, New 151 00:08:34,120 --> 00:08:40,199 Speaker 1: Jersey about twelve hours late. And um, Germans, they're always late. Yeah, 152 00:08:40,320 --> 00:08:43,880 Speaker 1: they're famous for it. And basically arrived there at the 153 00:08:43,960 --> 00:08:47,400 Speaker 1: Naval air station and because of poor weather, the captain 154 00:08:47,520 --> 00:08:50,640 Speaker 1: and the commanding officer on the ground said, you know what, 155 00:08:51,160 --> 00:08:54,720 Speaker 1: the weather is not so great. Let's wait a little bit, um, 156 00:08:54,800 --> 00:08:57,280 Speaker 1: because I can fly around forever in those things. And 157 00:08:57,440 --> 00:08:59,640 Speaker 1: um he said, all right, well, the Jersey shore is nice. 158 00:08:59,720 --> 00:09:01,319 Speaker 1: Let's just go fly about that and tell everyone to 159 00:09:01,360 --> 00:09:04,400 Speaker 1: look around and look at all those old timey bathingsasically 160 00:09:04,840 --> 00:09:10,120 Speaker 1: they're up to the ankles and water. Um. By six pm, 161 00:09:10,120 --> 00:09:13,920 Speaker 1: conditions had improved and at six twelve he sent a 162 00:09:13,960 --> 00:09:17,840 Speaker 1: message sand it's suitable for landing, recommended landing. Now about 163 00:09:17,920 --> 00:09:21,560 Speaker 1: seven o eight, he finally pulled the blimp in. It 164 00:09:21,640 --> 00:09:24,800 Speaker 1: was a bit of a dodgy approach, but he eventually, 165 00:09:24,880 --> 00:09:28,960 Speaker 1: you know, got it down towards the ground pretty you know, uh, skillfully, which, 166 00:09:28,960 --> 00:09:31,000 Speaker 1: as we'll see, it's not as easy as you'd think. 167 00:09:31,120 --> 00:09:33,560 Speaker 1: Even though now easy, it's it's not in practice. No, 168 00:09:34,120 --> 00:09:39,680 Speaker 1: they dropped the landing lines and then things went south 169 00:09:40,400 --> 00:09:43,199 Speaker 1: like really fast. Yeah, but it was filled with hydrogen, 170 00:09:43,480 --> 00:09:49,400 Speaker 1: which is the lightest element, right, Yeah, and uh it's 171 00:09:49,440 --> 00:09:52,760 Speaker 1: also probably the most flammable or one of them. Yes, 172 00:09:52,800 --> 00:09:57,320 Speaker 1: inflammable was a big error at the time. Um, a 173 00:09:57,360 --> 00:09:59,280 Speaker 1: lot of blimps had caught on fire. This was not 174 00:09:59,360 --> 00:10:03,400 Speaker 1: the first X event, and uh there was you know, 175 00:10:03,400 --> 00:10:06,120 Speaker 1: people testified afterward because not everyone died. We'll get to 176 00:10:06,320 --> 00:10:08,920 Speaker 1: the numbers here at the end of the story. But um, 177 00:10:08,960 --> 00:10:12,640 Speaker 1: there was testimony that, um, it appeared as if gas 178 00:10:12,679 --> 00:10:15,080 Speaker 1: was pushing against the cover. Maybe it escaped from a 179 00:10:15,080 --> 00:10:22,000 Speaker 1: gas cell. The first visible flames appeared, and it varies, 180 00:10:22,040 --> 00:10:24,080 Speaker 1: but most of witnesses say that the first flames are 181 00:10:24,080 --> 00:10:26,400 Speaker 1: either at the top of the hall, uh, forward of 182 00:10:26,400 --> 00:10:30,000 Speaker 1: the vertical fin or between the rear port uh engine 183 00:10:30,040 --> 00:10:32,400 Speaker 1: in the port fin and they described it as a 184 00:10:32,440 --> 00:10:36,319 Speaker 1: mushroom shaped flour and it pretty much engulfed the tail 185 00:10:36,440 --> 00:10:39,920 Speaker 1: like right away, and it was able to remain steady 186 00:10:39,960 --> 00:10:41,880 Speaker 1: for a little while. Like people could start jumping out 187 00:10:41,920 --> 00:10:45,400 Speaker 1: at this point. Well, those are the people who died, correct, No, 188 00:10:46,160 --> 00:10:48,440 Speaker 1: that's what I always heard, or that's what I have heard, 189 00:10:48,520 --> 00:10:53,920 Speaker 1: is that the people who stayed in the gondola lived 190 00:10:54,000 --> 00:10:55,720 Speaker 1: and the people who jumped were the ones that died 191 00:10:55,800 --> 00:10:59,760 Speaker 1: because the flames, because hydrogen is light, they were burning upward. 192 00:11:01,080 --> 00:11:04,120 Speaker 1: Well it says here basically it was all depended on 193 00:11:04,160 --> 00:11:06,440 Speaker 1: where you were. If you were close to a means 194 00:11:06,440 --> 00:11:10,160 Speaker 1: of exit, you generally survived. Um, if you were deep 195 00:11:10,160 --> 00:11:13,360 Speaker 1: inside the ship, like in the power room along the keel, 196 00:11:13,840 --> 00:11:15,719 Speaker 1: or in the smoking room. They had a smoking room 197 00:11:15,760 --> 00:11:20,160 Speaker 1: in the Edinburgh. I'm supposed it wasn't all smoking with 198 00:11:20,240 --> 00:11:24,680 Speaker 1: a big blimpful of hydrogen. Oh yeah, yeah, I thought 199 00:11:24,800 --> 00:11:26,679 Speaker 1: it was not a good yet. They had apparently a 200 00:11:26,720 --> 00:11:32,439 Speaker 1: double um air locked door, one electric lighter and um 201 00:11:32,600 --> 00:11:34,520 Speaker 1: you were allowed to smoke as long as you put 202 00:11:34,520 --> 00:11:39,360 Speaker 1: it out before you left. And um, so like I said, 203 00:11:39,400 --> 00:11:41,560 Speaker 1: if you were in the smoking room on B deck, 204 00:11:41,600 --> 00:11:45,360 Speaker 1: you're in big trouble. Um. If you were one of 205 00:11:45,400 --> 00:11:47,360 Speaker 1: the nine men closest to the front of the ship, 206 00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:52,640 Speaker 1: you definitely didn't survive. Yeah. So out of the ninety 207 00:11:52,720 --> 00:11:55,760 Speaker 1: seven people on board sixty two survived. I think when 208 00:11:55,760 --> 00:11:57,560 Speaker 1: you see the footage, I mean you can watch it 209 00:11:57,800 --> 00:12:00,400 Speaker 1: on YouTube, it looks like, how on the world could 210 00:12:00,400 --> 00:12:02,760 Speaker 1: anyone survive it? Because it goes I mean it's fully 211 00:12:02,800 --> 00:12:04,920 Speaker 1: burned in less than a minute and on the ground. Yeah, 212 00:12:04,960 --> 00:12:08,120 Speaker 1: it went up fast. But sixty two to survive, thirteen 213 00:12:08,160 --> 00:12:10,760 Speaker 1: of the thirty six passengers and twenty two of the 214 00:12:10,800 --> 00:12:15,240 Speaker 1: sixty one crew. And there's still two guys alive today 215 00:12:15,640 --> 00:12:18,160 Speaker 1: checked as of two years ago. But they don't like 216 00:12:18,200 --> 00:12:21,840 Speaker 1: to talk about it. I can imagine. Yeah, there's one experience. 217 00:12:21,880 --> 00:12:25,160 Speaker 1: They're both named Verner Verner Franz and Werner Donor, the 218 00:12:25,200 --> 00:12:27,760 Speaker 1: two Verners, and one was a little cabin boy and 219 00:12:27,800 --> 00:12:31,280 Speaker 1: one was a passenger with his family, and uh, they 220 00:12:31,280 --> 00:12:36,079 Speaker 1: were contacted for like the you know, the ceremony. I 221 00:12:36,120 --> 00:12:42,360 Speaker 1: guess you don't call it an anniversary, I guess, uh memorial. Yeah, 222 00:12:42,720 --> 00:12:45,920 Speaker 1: it just sounds like a party, you know. But they said, no, 223 00:12:46,080 --> 00:12:48,000 Speaker 1: we're not coming. We don't like to talk about it. Yeah. 224 00:12:48,320 --> 00:12:50,720 Speaker 1: So it's been a long standing mystery exactly what happened. 225 00:12:50,720 --> 00:12:54,559 Speaker 1: And I found an article in the UK Independent from 226 00:12:54,640 --> 00:12:57,800 Speaker 1: two thousand thirteen about a study from that year that 227 00:12:58,080 --> 00:13:01,480 Speaker 1: found they said they they figured it out. They built 228 00:13:01,520 --> 00:13:04,200 Speaker 1: like scale models of the Hindenburg, which was like two 229 00:13:04,200 --> 00:13:06,720 Speaker 1: and a half football fields long by the way, They 230 00:13:06,760 --> 00:13:10,040 Speaker 1: were building scale models that were like like sixty ft long, 231 00:13:10,120 --> 00:13:12,559 Speaker 1: so good sized ones, and they tried to blow them 232 00:13:12,640 --> 00:13:15,120 Speaker 1: up because there was a rumor that it was sabotage. 233 00:13:15,480 --> 00:13:19,080 Speaker 1: You know that everybody hated the Nazis even then. Um 234 00:13:19,360 --> 00:13:22,800 Speaker 1: and uh. They tried all all manners stuff, and what 235 00:13:22,880 --> 00:13:26,080 Speaker 1: they finally figured out was that probably what happened was 236 00:13:26,120 --> 00:13:30,640 Speaker 1: from being in that stormy weather, that exterior the envelope 237 00:13:30,640 --> 00:13:36,280 Speaker 1: of the blimp became um electrified and when the ground 238 00:13:36,280 --> 00:13:38,880 Speaker 1: crew ran up and grabbed the cables, they completed the 239 00:13:38,880 --> 00:13:41,640 Speaker 1: current from the blimp to the ground, which caused a 240 00:13:41,679 --> 00:13:46,480 Speaker 1: spark which actually um ignited a hydrogen leak that fire 241 00:13:46,640 --> 00:13:49,960 Speaker 1: caused pushing out. Yeah. Yeah. One thing they say it 242 00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:52,920 Speaker 1: definitely isn't which they long thought it was, was the 243 00:13:52,960 --> 00:13:57,200 Speaker 1: actual fabric was like painted in this flammable stuff, and 244 00:13:57,240 --> 00:14:00,480 Speaker 1: that's not true. It was the standard fabric, Okay, it 245 00:14:00,600 --> 00:14:06,040 Speaker 1: was just a big balloon fill of hydrogen. Yeah, So 246 00:14:06,120 --> 00:14:12,640 Speaker 1: when that happened, UM, the future of blimps were just 247 00:14:12,679 --> 00:14:16,080 Speaker 1: pretty much like that was it for blimps. That wasn't 248 00:14:16,120 --> 00:14:19,320 Speaker 1: the immediate end. But as far as like commercial blimp travel, 249 00:14:19,800 --> 00:14:22,040 Speaker 1: that's tough for an industry to get over, so it 250 00:14:22,120 --> 00:14:24,200 Speaker 1: kind of fell on the wayside, although they did continue 251 00:14:24,280 --> 00:14:28,680 Speaker 1: on UM in a couple of forms. Up until the sixties. 252 00:14:28,760 --> 00:14:32,960 Speaker 1: The US government, especially the Navy, maintained blimps. One of 253 00:14:32,960 --> 00:14:35,480 Speaker 1: the UM I think that I guess the Air Force, 254 00:14:35,520 --> 00:14:37,560 Speaker 1: I don't know is the Navy, but one of the 255 00:14:37,560 --> 00:14:40,560 Speaker 1: branches of the U. S Military use blimps as UM 256 00:14:40,760 --> 00:14:45,400 Speaker 1: giant aircraft carriers of the air, not not the sea, 257 00:14:45,600 --> 00:14:49,360 Speaker 1: the air, which is pretty awesome. And apparently they had 258 00:14:49,400 --> 00:14:52,760 Speaker 1: them so you could connect like a light plane to 259 00:14:53,000 --> 00:14:55,920 Speaker 1: what's called like a trapeeze mechanism coming out of the 260 00:14:55,960 --> 00:14:58,280 Speaker 1: bottom of the blimps and just like hook your plane on, 261 00:14:58,720 --> 00:15:01,520 Speaker 1: climb up and say, hey, guys, where are we going? 262 00:15:02,120 --> 00:15:05,000 Speaker 1: Or you can take off from there too. What, yes, 263 00:15:05,120 --> 00:15:07,000 Speaker 1: how do you take off, you just drop. I think 264 00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:09,640 Speaker 1: you just released the hook from the trap peas and 265 00:15:09,640 --> 00:15:12,440 Speaker 1: started to free fall, and then you just go off 266 00:15:12,480 --> 00:15:14,640 Speaker 1: into the distance and go thanks for the ride, lady. 267 00:15:14,880 --> 00:15:17,880 Speaker 1: That sounds really weird. Um. And they had even bigger 268 00:15:17,920 --> 00:15:20,520 Speaker 1: plans that were never realized because the Navy scrapped the 269 00:15:20,560 --> 00:15:24,400 Speaker 1: program and I think nineteen two UM to have like 270 00:15:24,440 --> 00:15:27,400 Speaker 1: a landing strip on top of the blimp, so you 271 00:15:27,440 --> 00:15:30,360 Speaker 1: could have just like planes takeoff and land and then 272 00:15:30,400 --> 00:15:33,600 Speaker 1: be stored like in the blimp, which would have been 273 00:15:33,640 --> 00:15:37,560 Speaker 1: pretty awesome. Well, cargo airships are the wave of the future, perhaps, 274 00:15:37,560 --> 00:15:41,560 Speaker 1: so we'll see. Yeah. So, but that was the military 275 00:15:41,800 --> 00:15:45,000 Speaker 1: was involved in blimps for most of the first half 276 00:15:45,040 --> 00:15:48,240 Speaker 1: of the twentieth century and then um, our friends a 277 00:15:48,320 --> 00:15:51,760 Speaker 1: good Year came up with a blimp that has really 278 00:15:51,800 --> 00:15:54,560 Speaker 1: served them well. Like they were making blimps for the military, 279 00:15:54,600 --> 00:15:58,640 Speaker 1: and then um, they started using them for commercial purposes 280 00:15:58,680 --> 00:16:02,480 Speaker 1: and everybody he knows about good Year thanks to those blimps. Yeah, 281 00:16:02,520 --> 00:16:04,240 Speaker 1: and they're going to figure in here, of course, because 282 00:16:04,240 --> 00:16:06,120 Speaker 1: you can't talk about blimps a lot without a ton 283 00:16:06,160 --> 00:16:10,600 Speaker 1: of buzz marketing for good Year. Um. But you know 284 00:16:10,640 --> 00:16:12,760 Speaker 1: that's where they make their name. In fact, my in 285 00:16:12,880 --> 00:16:15,720 Speaker 1: laws almost wrote on the one based out of Akron 286 00:16:15,800 --> 00:16:18,400 Speaker 1: because that's where they're from, and they I think he 287 00:16:18,440 --> 00:16:21,280 Speaker 1: was going to put in a bid on a like 288 00:16:21,320 --> 00:16:24,640 Speaker 1: an auction bid to win a trip Nate, and I 289 00:16:24,720 --> 00:16:27,720 Speaker 1: think it never happened. The trip never happened. I think 290 00:16:27,760 --> 00:16:30,000 Speaker 1: he either lost the bid. I'll have to ask him, 291 00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:32,160 Speaker 1: but I don't think they ever wrote on the blimp. Okay, 292 00:16:32,320 --> 00:16:34,320 Speaker 1: I was gonna say the trip never happened. That doesn't 293 00:16:34,320 --> 00:16:37,600 Speaker 1: sound like the Good Year I know. No, No, they're 294 00:16:37,720 --> 00:16:41,440 Speaker 1: very They're like the Germans. So they've got there's three, 295 00:16:41,680 --> 00:16:45,280 Speaker 1: um Good Year blimps. Actually there's one and I believe Texas. 296 00:16:45,400 --> 00:16:48,040 Speaker 1: There's one in California. There's one in Ohio or is 297 00:16:48,040 --> 00:16:51,960 Speaker 1: it Florida California and Ohio is what it is. I'm sorry, Um, 298 00:16:52,160 --> 00:16:55,320 Speaker 1: the spirit of good Year, the Spirit of America, the 299 00:16:55,360 --> 00:16:58,840 Speaker 1: spirit of Innovation and Chuck. About the time this episode 300 00:16:58,840 --> 00:17:03,160 Speaker 1: comes out, Robin Roberts, the TV personality, is going to 301 00:17:03,200 --> 00:17:05,760 Speaker 1: be christening the newest member of the fleet, the wing 302 00:17:05,840 --> 00:17:09,800 Speaker 1: foot one. Nice. So they're gonna have four, yeah, because 303 00:17:09,840 --> 00:17:12,040 Speaker 1: there's a lot of sporting events there. Sure, and you 304 00:17:12,080 --> 00:17:15,240 Speaker 1: can't watch a big sporting event without hearing the words. Uh. 305 00:17:15,280 --> 00:17:19,280 Speaker 1: Aerial coverage provided by Goodyear and those shots. Man, they're 306 00:17:19,280 --> 00:17:22,879 Speaker 1: pretty great. They really are. Haven't been around forever. It 307 00:17:22,920 --> 00:17:25,040 Speaker 1: was I think an Orange Bowl in Miami where the 308 00:17:25,080 --> 00:17:28,240 Speaker 1: first one was broadcast and what like the sixties maybe 309 00:17:28,760 --> 00:17:33,119 Speaker 1: I don't know, something like that, and it changed America. Yeah, 310 00:17:33,160 --> 00:17:35,359 Speaker 1: well it um certainly gives them a lot of press 311 00:17:35,600 --> 00:17:38,120 Speaker 1: and saves well, I don't know about saves some money. 312 00:17:38,119 --> 00:17:41,199 Speaker 1: Haven't seen their balance sheet, but it's they don't just 313 00:17:41,240 --> 00:17:44,040 Speaker 1: spend money on that thirty second spot. They still do 314 00:17:45,080 --> 00:17:51,080 Speaker 1: to tie into the blimp. But it's great advertising for them. Yeah. Um. 315 00:17:51,200 --> 00:17:54,800 Speaker 1: They also were good sports in a movie called Black Sunday. 316 00:17:55,040 --> 00:17:57,200 Speaker 1: Did you ever see that movie? Of course I never 317 00:17:57,280 --> 00:18:01,280 Speaker 1: saw it. Um, but apparently the seventies they provided Um, 318 00:18:01,320 --> 00:18:05,200 Speaker 1: they provided some of the footage for the movie, and UM, 319 00:18:05,400 --> 00:18:08,840 Speaker 1: let their blimps be used, uh, and let their name 320 00:18:08,840 --> 00:18:12,600 Speaker 1: be used even like it wasn't like the the good 321 00:18:12,960 --> 00:18:15,040 Speaker 1: Wire blimp. You know, they didn't try to have to 322 00:18:15,160 --> 00:18:17,960 Speaker 1: change it just enough. They used good Year, which made 323 00:18:17,960 --> 00:18:20,520 Speaker 1: the whole thing even more terrifying and realistic. Yeah, they 324 00:18:20,520 --> 00:18:22,560 Speaker 1: wanted to kill everyone at the Super Bowl. That was 325 00:18:22,600 --> 00:18:27,680 Speaker 1: the plot, right, uh with a blimp right that shot darts, 326 00:18:28,880 --> 00:18:31,159 Speaker 1: which is weird. But it was written by the guy 327 00:18:31,200 --> 00:18:33,760 Speaker 1: who wrote Silence of the Lambs. Oh. Yeah, he's a 328 00:18:33,800 --> 00:18:35,960 Speaker 1: good writer. Have you ever read any of his books? 329 00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:41,320 Speaker 1: Oh he was the bookwriter. Oh no, I didn't know that. No, 330 00:18:41,440 --> 00:18:42,960 Speaker 1: I haven't read any of Silence of the Way. He 331 00:18:43,000 --> 00:18:48,120 Speaker 1: does very good research. Interesting guy. Um. Anyway, so good year, 332 00:18:48,480 --> 00:18:51,320 Speaker 1: good year in the military. After the Hindenburg. That was 333 00:18:51,359 --> 00:18:54,320 Speaker 1: the two cases of blimps. But like you said, there 334 00:18:54,400 --> 00:18:57,679 Speaker 1: is potentially a future for blimps, which we'll talk about. 335 00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:00,320 Speaker 1: But first, let's talk about how blimps work. Can enroll 336 00:19:00,440 --> 00:19:19,520 Speaker 1: after these messages. So you want to know how blimps work, buddy, 337 00:19:20,400 --> 00:19:23,480 Speaker 1: I do. They're pretty simple. This is the delight to 338 00:19:23,560 --> 00:19:26,080 Speaker 1: learn because it was like, oh, I thought that would 339 00:19:26,080 --> 00:19:28,240 Speaker 1: be just that little to it, and that's really kind 340 00:19:28,240 --> 00:19:31,560 Speaker 1: of the case, right yeah. Yeah, there's not like oh 341 00:19:31,560 --> 00:19:34,159 Speaker 1: and here's where it gets really hard. They're like the 342 00:19:34,240 --> 00:19:37,560 Speaker 1: pontoon boats of this guy. Yeah. Like the most complicated 343 00:19:37,600 --> 00:19:39,879 Speaker 1: thing on the blimp is probably the gyroscopic camera on 344 00:19:39,920 --> 00:19:42,919 Speaker 1: the front of it to film the football stadium. I 345 00:19:42,960 --> 00:19:46,080 Speaker 1: think you're right. Uh so, let's talk about the anatomy 346 00:19:46,080 --> 00:19:48,080 Speaker 1: of a blamp you have. You mentioned the envelope earlier. 347 00:19:48,119 --> 00:19:49,920 Speaker 1: That is the thing that you're looking at. That is 348 00:19:50,040 --> 00:19:57,040 Speaker 1: key big cigar shaped balloon. It's filled nowadays with helium. 349 00:19:57,400 --> 00:20:00,800 Speaker 1: It is that shape because of aero done amics, of course, 350 00:20:01,600 --> 00:20:03,720 Speaker 1: and they are super lightweight and super strong. Like you 351 00:20:03,760 --> 00:20:08,320 Speaker 1: were saying, neoprene to ply neoprene polyester generally, is that 352 00:20:08,359 --> 00:20:11,160 Speaker 1: what the envelopes made of. There's a company UM called 353 00:20:11,160 --> 00:20:13,560 Speaker 1: the I LC Dover Corporation. They make a lot of 354 00:20:13,640 --> 00:20:18,080 Speaker 1: skins UM and they use the same material that they 355 00:20:18,119 --> 00:20:21,960 Speaker 1: make UM space suits out of for NASA for blimps. 356 00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:25,040 Speaker 1: Too good enough for Neil Armstrong, Buddy, good enough for 357 00:20:25,160 --> 00:20:27,920 Speaker 1: my blimp. This is like all about Ohio. This one 358 00:20:28,920 --> 00:20:31,600 Speaker 1: oh is here? Ohio? Yeah, yeah, let have done that 359 00:20:31,960 --> 00:20:35,400 Speaker 1: so it was good here? No, No, I knew that, Um, 360 00:20:35,480 --> 00:20:38,919 Speaker 1: so were your in laws. That's right. The envelopes they 361 00:20:38,960 --> 00:20:41,080 Speaker 1: hold UM and it depends on the blimps for all 362 00:20:41,080 --> 00:20:44,560 Speaker 1: of these statistics, of course, but between sixty seven thousand 363 00:20:44,560 --> 00:20:48,280 Speaker 1: and two hundred and fifty thousand cubic feet of helium 364 00:20:48,320 --> 00:20:51,000 Speaker 1: and UM, it's not super The pressure is really low 365 00:20:51,040 --> 00:20:54,640 Speaker 1: inside point zero seven pounds per square inch. So that's 366 00:20:54,640 --> 00:20:58,639 Speaker 1: why if you shot a blimp, it wouldn't like fall, No, 367 00:20:58,920 --> 00:21:01,520 Speaker 1: just leak very slowly and you just land it and 368 00:21:01,760 --> 00:21:05,639 Speaker 1: patch it up. I guess, yeah, very slowly. Yeah. British 369 00:21:05,640 --> 00:21:08,880 Speaker 1: Ministry of Defense fired hundreds of bullets into an airship 370 00:21:09,359 --> 00:21:11,320 Speaker 1: just for fun, well, not to see what if it 371 00:21:11,320 --> 00:21:14,720 Speaker 1: would could be shot down in battle basically, and it 372 00:21:14,760 --> 00:21:17,560 Speaker 1: took many hours to deflate and land. So cool. And 373 00:21:17,600 --> 00:21:19,560 Speaker 1: they don't even deflate them, they just leave them that 374 00:21:19,600 --> 00:21:23,399 Speaker 1: way so that they're natural structure will not natural, but 375 00:21:23,480 --> 00:21:27,600 Speaker 1: their original structure UM prevents them from being shot down. 376 00:21:27,920 --> 00:21:30,320 Speaker 1: That's one big benefit. Because I was wondering about that. 377 00:21:30,359 --> 00:21:33,400 Speaker 1: I was like, you're just providing a target for every 378 00:21:33,480 --> 00:21:36,040 Speaker 1: teenager with a gun in any country that you hover 379 00:21:36,119 --> 00:21:40,199 Speaker 1: a blimp over. UM. Now I understand. But secondly, as 380 00:21:40,240 --> 00:21:42,520 Speaker 1: we'll see, it also has to do with the dynamics 381 00:21:42,560 --> 00:21:48,320 Speaker 1: of the flight of UM hovering in the atmosphere. UM. 382 00:21:48,440 --> 00:21:51,160 Speaker 1: So you've got the envelope, and the envelope also has 383 00:21:51,240 --> 00:21:54,800 Speaker 1: something called nose cone battons, which is basically like a 384 00:21:54,840 --> 00:21:57,560 Speaker 1: support structure for the nose the front of it. Just 385 00:21:57,600 --> 00:22:00,879 Speaker 1: the very very tip and it keeps the the the 386 00:22:01,640 --> 00:22:04,640 Speaker 1: the blimps front from being mashed in as it moves forward, 387 00:22:05,400 --> 00:22:07,720 Speaker 1: which is pretty smart. Yeah, I think I misspoke. The 388 00:22:07,760 --> 00:22:09,639 Speaker 1: nose cone is on just the very tip, and then 389 00:22:09,640 --> 00:22:12,320 Speaker 1: the batons are like the fingers that distribute the stress 390 00:22:12,400 --> 00:22:15,080 Speaker 1: over the front of the conetch. Okay, so they're like 391 00:22:15,160 --> 00:22:19,280 Speaker 1: the the the structure that comes out of the nose, right, 392 00:22:19,800 --> 00:22:23,320 Speaker 1: and then also on the nose as the mooring. Um 393 00:22:23,440 --> 00:22:27,160 Speaker 1: hook because you got to hook a blimp up to something. Yeah, 394 00:22:27,240 --> 00:22:29,320 Speaker 1: it's got a little spindle there and um, it's got 395 00:22:29,320 --> 00:22:33,640 Speaker 1: a little wheel under the tail rudder and that's basically 396 00:22:33,640 --> 00:22:37,560 Speaker 1: how it sits. You just tie it down, very simple. Um, 397 00:22:37,600 --> 00:22:41,960 Speaker 1: just like a balloon. That's right. So there's here's where 398 00:22:41,960 --> 00:22:45,560 Speaker 1: it gets a little craftier, like nineteen century crafty, but 399 00:22:45,680 --> 00:22:50,879 Speaker 1: still neat. Nonetheless, Um, there's something called balonetts, right, and 400 00:22:50,880 --> 00:22:53,840 Speaker 1: these are basically air bladders that are located within the 401 00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:59,000 Speaker 1: envelope and you inflate or deflate them depending on whether 402 00:22:59,000 --> 00:23:00,960 Speaker 1: you want the blimp to go up or down. If 403 00:23:00,960 --> 00:23:04,159 Speaker 1: you wanted to go up, you deflate these ballonets. You 404 00:23:04,160 --> 00:23:06,680 Speaker 1: wanted to go down, you inflate them. And the reason 405 00:23:06,760 --> 00:23:10,240 Speaker 1: that works is because you're inflating or you're inflating these 406 00:23:10,280 --> 00:23:15,160 Speaker 1: ballonets with air and helium, which blimps fly using now 407 00:23:15,760 --> 00:23:19,719 Speaker 1: is lighter than air. So more air means the blimps heavier, 408 00:23:19,760 --> 00:23:22,560 Speaker 1: so it goes down. Less air means it's lighter, so 409 00:23:22,600 --> 00:23:24,800 Speaker 1: it goes up. Yeah, it's pretty easy. It's sort of 410 00:23:24,800 --> 00:23:27,639 Speaker 1: like how a submarine operates. Um. And there's one in 411 00:23:27,680 --> 00:23:30,800 Speaker 1: the four and one in the aft. So that's how 412 00:23:30,800 --> 00:23:32,679 Speaker 1: you control your trim. You can just knows it up 413 00:23:32,760 --> 00:23:36,920 Speaker 1: or knows it down, filling up or deflating. That's the 414 00:23:36,960 --> 00:23:43,320 Speaker 1: pitch axis, that's right, or trim Okay, Well, the trim 415 00:23:43,359 --> 00:23:47,840 Speaker 1: is the levelness okay. And the axis where the nose 416 00:23:47,920 --> 00:23:50,720 Speaker 1: and the back go up and down, that's the trim axis. 417 00:23:51,160 --> 00:23:57,680 Speaker 1: Or no, the pitch axis right yeah, okay, no one 418 00:23:57,680 --> 00:24:01,200 Speaker 1: can see you not in agreement, okay, um chuck. Then 419 00:24:01,200 --> 00:24:05,639 Speaker 1: there's the caternary curtain and the suspension cables, which I 420 00:24:05,640 --> 00:24:09,080 Speaker 1: didn't get the caternary curtain really I understood. The suspension 421 00:24:09,080 --> 00:24:11,600 Speaker 1: cable is just fine. Uh. It's on the on the 422 00:24:11,640 --> 00:24:18,000 Speaker 1: inside about thirty off center. Um. And it basically if 423 00:24:18,040 --> 00:24:20,600 Speaker 1: you look, it sort of looks like the where you 424 00:24:20,680 --> 00:24:24,240 Speaker 1: attach the basket to the hot air balloon. They all, um, 425 00:24:24,280 --> 00:24:27,680 Speaker 1: you know, there's a number of these lines that run 426 00:24:27,760 --> 00:24:30,920 Speaker 1: down and I'll meet at a single point, um near 427 00:24:31,000 --> 00:24:35,200 Speaker 1: the gondola, right, and that's what you attach the gondola 428 00:24:35,280 --> 00:24:37,720 Speaker 1: to the blimp using right. Yeah. So basically, if if 429 00:24:37,760 --> 00:24:40,720 Speaker 1: you if the blimp envelope wasn't there, it would sort 430 00:24:40,760 --> 00:24:42,240 Speaker 1: of look like a hot air balloon. It would have 431 00:24:42,280 --> 00:24:44,359 Speaker 1: these lines that run up from the gondola a k. 432 00:24:44,560 --> 00:24:47,280 Speaker 1: A basket up to the top. So they would be 433 00:24:47,359 --> 00:24:53,560 Speaker 1: like the um vertical lines are the horizontal lines. Okay, 434 00:24:53,600 --> 00:24:57,440 Speaker 1: I understand exact amundo. Um. Then you've got the really 435 00:24:57,480 --> 00:25:01,240 Speaker 1: technical stuff, the flight control surfaces everything we've just described 436 00:25:01,280 --> 00:25:03,800 Speaker 1: as basically balloons, and then the structure that gives the 437 00:25:03,800 --> 00:25:08,359 Speaker 1: balloon it's shape, right, and then um, the flight control 438 00:25:08,400 --> 00:25:13,800 Speaker 1: services are basically a rudder and elevators and they're the 439 00:25:13,920 --> 00:25:17,040 Speaker 1: things that you can control to make the balloon tilt 440 00:25:17,119 --> 00:25:20,720 Speaker 1: upward or side to side. That's pretty much it. Yeah, 441 00:25:20,760 --> 00:25:23,199 Speaker 1: there's that one rudder on the top and bottom and 442 00:25:23,240 --> 00:25:25,920 Speaker 1: that controls your yaw and you do it with little 443 00:25:25,960 --> 00:25:27,600 Speaker 1: If you look at the captain's chair. He's got little 444 00:25:27,800 --> 00:25:30,440 Speaker 1: little foot pedals. It's like a clutch pedal you would 445 00:25:30,440 --> 00:25:35,040 Speaker 1: put in, push in, and um. On the bottom, very 446 00:25:35,200 --> 00:25:37,440 Speaker 1: bottom back of the rudder, there's something called a boost 447 00:25:37,520 --> 00:25:41,800 Speaker 1: tab and that's just a little additional sectioned off piece 448 00:25:41,800 --> 00:25:44,800 Speaker 1: of the rudder that's also controllable. It's like a little 449 00:25:44,800 --> 00:25:48,240 Speaker 1: mini rudder and um. It assists with the rudder I 450 00:25:48,240 --> 00:25:50,560 Speaker 1: think to make an even tighter turn. So if you 451 00:25:50,600 --> 00:25:54,040 Speaker 1: imagine just the smaller rudder as part of the main rudder, 452 00:25:54,560 --> 00:25:56,639 Speaker 1: just to give you that extra boost I guess when 453 00:25:56,680 --> 00:25:59,640 Speaker 1: you need to turn. Uh. And then there's two elevators 454 00:25:59,760 --> 00:26:02,840 Speaker 1: and a UM. If you are sitting in your little 455 00:26:02,880 --> 00:26:07,439 Speaker 1: captain's chair, imagine a car steering wheel placed vertically like 456 00:26:07,560 --> 00:26:09,800 Speaker 1: by your side. And that's just a wheel that you 457 00:26:10,040 --> 00:26:13,119 Speaker 1: turn up and turn down. It's really very basic. It 458 00:26:13,160 --> 00:26:16,760 Speaker 1: sounds like the Wizard of Oz to the curtain, like 459 00:26:16,800 --> 00:26:20,800 Speaker 1: all the machineries messing with and it looks very steampunky 460 00:26:20,840 --> 00:26:23,119 Speaker 1: when you look at it. Huh. So you steer up 461 00:26:23,160 --> 00:26:27,200 Speaker 1: or down with that wheel and uh, that's pretty much it. 462 00:26:27,800 --> 00:26:30,119 Speaker 1: Oh no, don't forget the engines. Oh well, yeah, I 463 00:26:30,119 --> 00:26:32,560 Speaker 1: mean as far as like driving this puppy. Yeah, the 464 00:26:32,600 --> 00:26:35,280 Speaker 1: flight control. Yeah, this is what separates it from hot 465 00:26:35,280 --> 00:26:39,640 Speaker 1: air balloons. Don't forget the engines, No, the hot the well, yeah, 466 00:26:39,640 --> 00:26:42,320 Speaker 1: the engines, but also the flight control services. But the 467 00:26:42,320 --> 00:26:46,720 Speaker 1: engines are turbo prop engines. Right, there's twin ones, which 468 00:26:46,720 --> 00:26:49,160 Speaker 1: means there's two, one on each side of the gondola 469 00:26:49,280 --> 00:26:52,400 Speaker 1: at the rear. And they're pretty cool because they propeled 470 00:26:52,400 --> 00:26:56,960 Speaker 1: the thing forward, but very cleverly. There's also something called 471 00:26:57,040 --> 00:27:02,440 Speaker 1: air scoops that are basically these funnels that face the 472 00:27:02,480 --> 00:27:06,120 Speaker 1: back of the turbo prop and they catch the vented 473 00:27:06,280 --> 00:27:09,520 Speaker 1: air out of the props and they use those to 474 00:27:09,720 --> 00:27:14,520 Speaker 1: inflate the ballonets. Yeah, it's called prop wash. This is 475 00:27:14,560 --> 00:27:17,320 Speaker 1: all the lingo I've learned. That's good stuff. Uh. And 476 00:27:17,400 --> 00:27:20,679 Speaker 1: the engines are just six cylinder engines. Like I said that, 477 00:27:20,720 --> 00:27:22,800 Speaker 1: you don't need a ton of power to power these things. 478 00:27:23,560 --> 00:27:26,320 Speaker 1: And you can go at about thirty to seventy This 479 00:27:26,359 --> 00:27:29,959 Speaker 1: says miles per hour, not knots. So how about that 480 00:27:30,760 --> 00:27:34,840 Speaker 1: and seventies cruising apparently, like fifty is where you want 481 00:27:34,840 --> 00:27:37,840 Speaker 1: to be get this. I did the calculations. So one 482 00:27:37,880 --> 00:27:40,800 Speaker 1: of the um one of the great advantages blimps have, 483 00:27:41,000 --> 00:27:43,040 Speaker 1: which is the reason we're even talking about these things, 484 00:27:43,240 --> 00:27:46,320 Speaker 1: anybody's talking about still making blimps, is that they can 485 00:27:46,359 --> 00:27:51,200 Speaker 1: stay aloft for days, weeks, even um, which gives them 486 00:27:51,200 --> 00:27:53,439 Speaker 1: a huge advantage over airplanes which have to stop and 487 00:27:53,480 --> 00:27:57,200 Speaker 1: refuel and stop and refuel. But going seventy miles per 488 00:27:57,240 --> 00:28:01,440 Speaker 1: hour chuck, a blimp NonStop at that rate could travel 489 00:28:01,520 --> 00:28:06,840 Speaker 1: the circumference of the Earth around the equator in fourteen days. Wow, 490 00:28:07,119 --> 00:28:12,080 Speaker 1: that enough fuel? Yeah, which I think it's not very hard. No, 491 00:28:12,280 --> 00:28:16,359 Speaker 1: they at thirty knots. The sky ship, which is just 492 00:28:16,440 --> 00:28:20,000 Speaker 1: one example, UM, consumes about eight gallons of fuel per hour, 493 00:28:21,400 --> 00:28:24,439 Speaker 1: so apparently during an entire week of operations it consumes 494 00:28:24,480 --> 00:28:27,560 Speaker 1: less fuel than a seven sixties seven commercial jet uses 495 00:28:27,920 --> 00:28:31,919 Speaker 1: to move away from the gate. So it's super green, 496 00:28:32,200 --> 00:28:34,439 Speaker 1: which is kind of cool. You can understand why cargo 497 00:28:34,560 --> 00:28:37,200 Speaker 1: companies are looking at them too. Yeah, and that's it 498 00:28:37,280 --> 00:28:41,040 Speaker 1: runs on av gas of course, not just regular old gas. 499 00:28:41,080 --> 00:28:43,080 Speaker 1: You couldn't pull it up to a gas station like 500 00:28:43,160 --> 00:28:46,479 Speaker 1: your car, because I think AV gas is still leaded, 501 00:28:46,760 --> 00:28:49,280 Speaker 1: or a lot of it is. Oh and that's the 502 00:28:49,360 --> 00:28:53,680 Speaker 1: dif that's not that cream. Yeah, true, but they're not 503 00:28:53,680 --> 00:28:57,000 Speaker 1: burning much of it. Uh, So let's see what else 504 00:28:57,080 --> 00:28:59,000 Speaker 1: is there. The valves, you've got to be able to 505 00:28:59,040 --> 00:29:00,840 Speaker 1: let air in and out. You also want to be 506 00:29:00,920 --> 00:29:03,160 Speaker 1: able to air in and out of the envelope itself 507 00:29:03,200 --> 00:29:08,040 Speaker 1: in case things become too pressurized. You don't wanted to pop. Yeah, 508 00:29:08,080 --> 00:29:10,640 Speaker 1: that's true. So you've got your air valves for the 509 00:29:10,760 --> 00:29:15,200 Speaker 1: um for the bladders inside, and they are underneath, uh 510 00:29:15,360 --> 00:29:17,520 Speaker 1: to tow up front, two in the back. And then 511 00:29:17,520 --> 00:29:20,040 Speaker 1: you have your helium valve and you can either vent 512 00:29:20,120 --> 00:29:22,080 Speaker 1: it and you don't have to do this much because 513 00:29:22,120 --> 00:29:25,600 Speaker 1: you should have it pretty like the pressure set um. 514 00:29:25,640 --> 00:29:28,040 Speaker 1: But if something does happen, you can either manually do 515 00:29:28,080 --> 00:29:30,840 Speaker 1: it or it's set to automatically release. And if you 516 00:29:30,840 --> 00:29:32,640 Speaker 1: look at the Goodyear blimp, it's sort of in the 517 00:29:32,840 --> 00:29:36,760 Speaker 1: y of a year. Wow little it just looks like 518 00:29:36,800 --> 00:29:40,560 Speaker 1: a little gas cap. You really know you're blimps? Man? Well, 519 00:29:40,600 --> 00:29:42,600 Speaker 1: I mean I went to the good Year site. It's awesome. 520 00:29:43,120 --> 00:29:46,360 Speaker 1: You can like there's all sorts of animated gifts and 521 00:29:47,200 --> 00:29:53,920 Speaker 1: or is it gifts? I never could yeah? Yeah, graphic interface. Yeah, 522 00:29:53,920 --> 00:29:55,360 Speaker 1: but there is a correct way. I just don't know 523 00:29:55,360 --> 00:29:57,520 Speaker 1: what it is. Well, the guy who created gifts says, 524 00:29:58,000 --> 00:30:00,840 Speaker 1: he pronounces it Jeff. Oh. It kind of throws a 525 00:30:00,880 --> 00:30:05,040 Speaker 1: wrench in the works, but I disagree with him. Morgellons 526 00:30:05,880 --> 00:30:12,480 Speaker 1: give the Goodyear blimp. Gondola, which is where we are now, 527 00:30:12,720 --> 00:30:15,760 Speaker 1: is twenty two point seven five ft long. It is 528 00:30:15,800 --> 00:30:21,160 Speaker 1: aluminum on welded steel frame, and that's where everyone rides. Um. 529 00:30:21,200 --> 00:30:24,560 Speaker 1: Depending on your blimp, it's gonna hold up to well. 530 00:30:24,640 --> 00:30:26,440 Speaker 1: It depends on how big the blimp is, but usually 531 00:30:26,440 --> 00:30:28,560 Speaker 1: you don't see a blimp with more than twelve passengers 532 00:30:28,640 --> 00:30:31,760 Speaker 1: or so. Yeah, and it's not even necessarily passengers. The 533 00:30:31,840 --> 00:30:33,760 Speaker 1: gondola can also be the place where it holds all 534 00:30:33,800 --> 00:30:37,120 Speaker 1: of the surveillance equipment to depending on what you use 535 00:30:37,160 --> 00:30:41,160 Speaker 1: it for. Or it can also be the massive cargo hold. Yeah, 536 00:30:41,160 --> 00:30:44,280 Speaker 1: and you've got your communications up there, your flight surface controls, 537 00:30:44,800 --> 00:30:49,160 Speaker 1: any KNAB equipment, UM propeller controls. That's where all the 538 00:30:50,440 --> 00:30:52,680 Speaker 1: there's there's not much else to it besides what what 539 00:30:52,760 --> 00:30:56,960 Speaker 1: you got there in the gondola. What's funny is UM, 540 00:30:57,680 --> 00:31:02,480 Speaker 1: I always thought blimps were basically like know, you you 541 00:31:02,640 --> 00:31:04,320 Speaker 1: get the blimp in the air and it takes off, 542 00:31:04,360 --> 00:31:07,240 Speaker 1: and then that's it, but it's it's at least with 543 00:31:07,320 --> 00:31:11,360 Speaker 1: good Year. It's kind of like, um got helicopter parents 544 00:31:11,400 --> 00:31:14,040 Speaker 1: almost because when the blimp. When you see the blimp, 545 00:31:14,160 --> 00:31:17,520 Speaker 1: if you look around, you'll also find a ground crew 546 00:31:17,880 --> 00:31:22,480 Speaker 1: with a bus, uh eighteen wheeler and a bunch of 547 00:31:22,560 --> 00:31:26,520 Speaker 1: vans that follow it everywhere because I guess those things 548 00:31:26,560 --> 00:31:29,840 Speaker 1: break down. Yeah, and apparently the pilots to their f 549 00:31:30,040 --> 00:31:34,000 Speaker 1: A certified and Goodyear pilots also have another training program. 550 00:31:34,080 --> 00:31:36,880 Speaker 1: But the pilots are even it's all sort of everyone 551 00:31:36,960 --> 00:31:39,440 Speaker 1: is cross trained. It sounds like to work on the 552 00:31:39,480 --> 00:31:42,440 Speaker 1: ground or make repairs and um yeah, it's like a 553 00:31:42,480 --> 00:31:46,320 Speaker 1: little self contained unit all just traveling around together like 554 00:31:46,360 --> 00:31:51,840 Speaker 1: a like anato chasers right. Oh, and you talked about 555 00:31:51,960 --> 00:31:54,920 Speaker 1: um the end. You know, if they just took off 556 00:31:54,920 --> 00:31:57,440 Speaker 1: and floated around, if the engines did stop, that's exactly 557 00:31:57,480 --> 00:32:00,000 Speaker 1: what you're doing. You're basically a hot air balloon at 558 00:32:00,040 --> 00:32:04,800 Speaker 1: that point, so you lose control of the flight service controls. Yeah, well, 559 00:32:04,840 --> 00:32:06,920 Speaker 1: I mean if it's they call it a free balloon, 560 00:32:07,600 --> 00:32:11,400 Speaker 1: so it's buoyant um and it's kept aloft obviously, But 561 00:32:11,440 --> 00:32:13,920 Speaker 1: if they lose all the power, then all you can 562 00:32:14,000 --> 00:32:17,000 Speaker 1: do is ascend and descend because I think I guess 563 00:32:17,040 --> 00:32:20,720 Speaker 1: the rudders and the elevators are also powered mechanisms. I got, 564 00:32:20,880 --> 00:32:22,920 Speaker 1: it's not just attached to a cable, attached to a 565 00:32:22,960 --> 00:32:25,840 Speaker 1: pedal attached to a wheel. That the guys next to 566 00:32:25,920 --> 00:32:28,000 Speaker 1: it sounds like it is though, And as far as 567 00:32:28,000 --> 00:32:32,920 Speaker 1: weather goes, they compare it to roughly operating is about 568 00:32:32,960 --> 00:32:35,520 Speaker 1: as similar as a helicopter. Like we can fly in 569 00:32:35,600 --> 00:32:39,920 Speaker 1: bad weather, um, but we try to avoid super bad weather. Yeah. 570 00:32:40,080 --> 00:32:42,560 Speaker 1: I don't blame them, sure, because I mean that's not fun. 571 00:32:43,800 --> 00:32:45,200 Speaker 1: You want to be above the Rose Bowl in like 572 00:32:45,240 --> 00:32:49,760 Speaker 1: seventy degree weathers. Yeah, So coming up, we're gonna talk 573 00:32:49,800 --> 00:32:54,040 Speaker 1: about how blimps fly, and then also the feature of 574 00:32:54,080 --> 00:32:56,960 Speaker 1: blimps and if there is such a thing after this, 575 00:32:58,400 --> 00:33:17,360 Speaker 1: so chuck. The way blimps flies pretty simple and beautiful 576 00:33:17,560 --> 00:33:20,760 Speaker 1: and elegant, if you ask me. Yeah. Yeah, So you 577 00:33:20,760 --> 00:33:23,840 Speaker 1: have helium, right, which is they used to use hydrogen. 578 00:33:23,960 --> 00:33:28,360 Speaker 1: Helium slightly heavier than um hydrogen, but not that much more. 579 00:33:28,880 --> 00:33:31,000 Speaker 1: You don't notice a difference, I would guess. Yeah, I 580 00:33:31,000 --> 00:33:33,959 Speaker 1: mean you get why they use hydrogen. They weren't dummies, right, 581 00:33:34,000 --> 00:33:36,320 Speaker 1: It was lighter than air. The lightest of all the 582 00:33:36,400 --> 00:33:39,800 Speaker 1: gases of all the elements from what I understand, um. 583 00:33:39,840 --> 00:33:43,680 Speaker 1: And when hydrogen blew up, they said, okay, not hydrogen. 584 00:33:43,720 --> 00:33:45,920 Speaker 1: What else do we have? And they said, well, helium works, 585 00:33:46,320 --> 00:33:49,640 Speaker 1: and so they started using helium. And helium has a 586 00:33:49,800 --> 00:33:55,520 Speaker 1: lift of lift capacity of point seventy pounds per square 587 00:33:55,520 --> 00:33:59,640 Speaker 1: foot right, which is one point one kilograms per square 588 00:33:59,720 --> 00:34:03,720 Speaker 1: meter um, which means it can lift a pretty decent 589 00:34:03,760 --> 00:34:08,560 Speaker 1: amount of wait for just a little bit amount, And 590 00:34:08,600 --> 00:34:11,920 Speaker 1: since they're filling these balloons with hundreds of thousands of 591 00:34:12,200 --> 00:34:17,120 Speaker 1: cubic feet or cubic meters of these um of helium, 592 00:34:17,239 --> 00:34:20,200 Speaker 1: they can look tons and tons of weight, and they 593 00:34:20,280 --> 00:34:23,919 Speaker 1: do it by just simple physics. Since helium is lighter 594 00:34:23,920 --> 00:34:27,960 Speaker 1: than air. As long as the helium has enough lifting 595 00:34:28,000 --> 00:34:31,239 Speaker 1: power to lift whatever the envelope and the gondola and 596 00:34:31,280 --> 00:34:34,399 Speaker 1: all of the mechanisms way, then it will rise more 597 00:34:34,440 --> 00:34:37,040 Speaker 1: than the air. It will rise into the air. It's 598 00:34:37,040 --> 00:34:40,680 Speaker 1: called positive buoyancy. And what you want as a blent 599 00:34:40,800 --> 00:34:43,880 Speaker 1: pilot is neutral buoyancy. So that's why you're gonna control, 600 00:34:43,920 --> 00:34:47,120 Speaker 1: like we talked about your air bladders to uh get 601 00:34:47,160 --> 00:34:49,840 Speaker 1: that thing where it's Once you've got your cruising altitude. 602 00:34:49,840 --> 00:34:52,520 Speaker 1: You just want to be at the same level you 603 00:34:52,719 --> 00:34:55,760 Speaker 1: yet and you want to fill it up by blowing 604 00:34:55,800 --> 00:34:59,120 Speaker 1: exhaust into your air scoops which fill up your balonets. 605 00:34:59,160 --> 00:35:02,359 Speaker 1: And the higher you get into the atmosphere, the less 606 00:35:02,400 --> 00:35:04,879 Speaker 1: pressure there is, which means the higher up you could 607 00:35:04,920 --> 00:35:07,759 Speaker 1: float conceivably, So you want to make sure you get 608 00:35:07,800 --> 00:35:10,239 Speaker 1: that air in so you don't just float away, and 609 00:35:10,280 --> 00:35:14,160 Speaker 1: you achieve is it negative buoyancy or neutral buoyancy? You said, yeah, 610 00:35:14,200 --> 00:35:15,799 Speaker 1: that's what you want. And then when you want to land, 611 00:35:15,840 --> 00:35:18,480 Speaker 1: you did you just the opposite um You fill it 612 00:35:18,560 --> 00:35:21,279 Speaker 1: up with even more air and then you make the 613 00:35:21,320 --> 00:35:25,600 Speaker 1: blimp heavier than the helium inside can lift and it 614 00:35:25,719 --> 00:35:28,520 Speaker 1: just slowly comes down to the ground. And I mean 615 00:35:28,600 --> 00:35:32,600 Speaker 1: that's it. That's how blimps rise and fall. Yeah, it 616 00:35:32,719 --> 00:35:35,279 Speaker 1: is pretty simple. And when they're on the ground, they 617 00:35:35,320 --> 00:35:37,160 Speaker 1: just tie it to that little spindle. You've got your 618 00:35:37,160 --> 00:35:39,800 Speaker 1: little wheel under the rear. You got a little tractor 619 00:35:39,840 --> 00:35:43,480 Speaker 1: to tow it around, maybe a hanger. And uh, that's 620 00:35:43,520 --> 00:35:45,120 Speaker 1: the life of a blimp. And it, like I said, 621 00:35:45,160 --> 00:35:48,560 Speaker 1: they don't inflate and deflate these. I'm sure it's a 622 00:35:48,600 --> 00:35:52,880 Speaker 1: time and expense. Uh, and I think they're running out 623 00:35:52,880 --> 00:35:54,680 Speaker 1: of helium too. Didn't we learn that? Yeah, do you 624 00:35:54,680 --> 00:35:58,160 Speaker 1: know much about that? Well, we we covered it, and uh, 625 00:35:58,440 --> 00:36:03,040 Speaker 1: the I probably the Mars Turbine episode Mars Turbine. Well, 626 00:36:03,160 --> 00:36:06,560 Speaker 1: I read a really interesting article and I think the 627 00:36:06,560 --> 00:36:10,279 Speaker 1: New Republic, I can't remember. I found it online last night, 628 00:36:10,719 --> 00:36:13,239 Speaker 1: and um, it's about the helium shortage and why we 629 00:36:13,320 --> 00:36:16,880 Speaker 1: have a helium shortage. And apparently the US has had 630 00:36:16,920 --> 00:36:21,920 Speaker 1: a reserve, a strategic helium reserve since in a cave 631 00:36:22,000 --> 00:36:27,440 Speaker 1: in Texas, and apparently during the Clinton era, the government said, 632 00:36:28,280 --> 00:36:31,040 Speaker 1: let's make some money off of this, or let's make 633 00:36:31,040 --> 00:36:32,719 Speaker 1: our money back off of it, so they passed it 634 00:36:32,760 --> 00:36:35,160 Speaker 1: all that said, start selling this stuff off Bureau of 635 00:36:35,280 --> 00:36:40,520 Speaker 1: Land Management, but only make enough money off of it 636 00:36:40,719 --> 00:36:43,439 Speaker 1: to recoup whatever we've put into it over the years, 637 00:36:43,440 --> 00:36:46,640 Speaker 1: which is like one billion dollars. So they started selling it, 638 00:36:46,680 --> 00:36:50,800 Speaker 1: and by setting the price artificially, they created an artificial market. 639 00:36:51,120 --> 00:36:55,440 Speaker 1: Because this is like eight of the world's helium reserves 640 00:36:55,640 --> 00:36:58,400 Speaker 1: in this cave in Texas. So whatever the BLM was 641 00:36:58,440 --> 00:37:01,200 Speaker 1: selling it for, that's how much the market value was. 642 00:37:01,600 --> 00:37:05,399 Speaker 1: But it was artificial, so you had artificially cheap helium 643 00:37:05,440 --> 00:37:08,719 Speaker 1: flooding the market, which had a two pronged effect. One, 644 00:37:08,760 --> 00:37:11,239 Speaker 1: it led to these scarcities that we're running into now 645 00:37:11,320 --> 00:37:13,360 Speaker 1: because they just started selling it off in a fire 646 00:37:13,360 --> 00:37:16,920 Speaker 1: sale the private industry. But the other more positive effect 647 00:37:16,960 --> 00:37:21,120 Speaker 1: it had was that it spurred all of this technological 648 00:37:21,160 --> 00:37:27,480 Speaker 1: innovation because nuclear magnetic resonance, the technology behind m ri 649 00:37:27,560 --> 00:37:35,080 Speaker 1: I superconductivity UM molecular analysis, uses helium two super cool 650 00:37:35,239 --> 00:37:38,680 Speaker 1: magnets to turn them into superconductors, right, So you need 651 00:37:38,719 --> 00:37:40,799 Speaker 1: helium for that. So all these industries were using this 652 00:37:40,880 --> 00:37:43,960 Speaker 1: helium from the Bureau of Land Management to like advanced 653 00:37:43,960 --> 00:37:46,640 Speaker 1: technology by leaps and bounds, which is one of the 654 00:37:46,680 --> 00:37:49,640 Speaker 1: big reasons why we are where we are right now 655 00:37:49,719 --> 00:37:53,920 Speaker 1: technologically speaking because of helium. But now we're starting to 656 00:37:54,040 --> 00:37:58,719 Speaker 1: run out. There's I think nine billion cubic feet of 657 00:37:58,760 --> 00:38:01,040 Speaker 1: helium left in the reserve of in Texas, which is 658 00:38:01,040 --> 00:38:03,480 Speaker 1: about a third of what they had when they started 659 00:38:03,520 --> 00:38:06,040 Speaker 1: selling it off in the nineties, which would be fine 660 00:38:06,200 --> 00:38:08,160 Speaker 1: if we just clamped it out and said, okay, this 661 00:38:08,239 --> 00:38:10,840 Speaker 1: is a reserve again. But instead, for some reason, the 662 00:38:10,880 --> 00:38:14,080 Speaker 1: government just doubled down and issued another decree to the 663 00:38:14,080 --> 00:38:16,960 Speaker 1: beer of lamb. Management is like, keep selling this stuff. 664 00:38:17,040 --> 00:38:18,799 Speaker 1: Let's just get rid of all of it for no 665 00:38:18,840 --> 00:38:22,480 Speaker 1: good reason. I don't understand why. Interesting, like it made 666 00:38:22,520 --> 00:38:24,640 Speaker 1: sense in the nineties maybe, and it had all these 667 00:38:24,680 --> 00:38:27,440 Speaker 1: great effects, but now it's like, okay, we understand that 668 00:38:27,480 --> 00:38:31,759 Speaker 1: helium is literally irreplaceable. As the article put it, like 669 00:38:31,800 --> 00:38:33,920 Speaker 1: there's once there's no helium. There's no helium, Like we 670 00:38:33,960 --> 00:38:36,640 Speaker 1: can't go get it anywhere else for manufacturer, and we 671 00:38:36,680 --> 00:38:39,800 Speaker 1: have no technology to recycle it. I wonder what the 672 00:38:39,840 --> 00:38:43,520 Speaker 1: reason is. I guess money private industry has a lot 673 00:38:43,560 --> 00:38:46,279 Speaker 1: of interest in it, and there's good interest to like 674 00:38:46,719 --> 00:38:49,680 Speaker 1: using it for m RIS or pharmaceutical research or that 675 00:38:49,760 --> 00:38:52,640 Speaker 1: kind of parties. Well that's the thing. So med, the 676 00:38:52,719 --> 00:38:58,280 Speaker 1: med and pharma sectors used of helium worldwide. Welding uses 677 00:38:58,320 --> 00:39:02,120 Speaker 1: seventeen percent because they use heli in the weld. Party 678 00:39:02,120 --> 00:39:06,200 Speaker 1: balloons equals eight percent of worldwide helium use. I have 679 00:39:06,239 --> 00:39:07,759 Speaker 1: a feeling that party balloons are going to go the 680 00:39:07,800 --> 00:39:10,520 Speaker 1: way of the dinosaur very soon, if they haven't already. 681 00:39:10,800 --> 00:39:14,080 Speaker 1: And half of that is the stoner kid who operates 682 00:39:14,080 --> 00:39:17,759 Speaker 1: the helium tank just talking funny. Yeah, So that's the 683 00:39:17,800 --> 00:39:21,279 Speaker 1: helium shortage. That's the skinny on it. So that I 684 00:39:21,320 --> 00:39:25,800 Speaker 1: wonder if there's any other gas they could use for blimps. 685 00:39:26,320 --> 00:39:29,560 Speaker 1: I don't know. It seems like a giant waste. Or 686 00:39:29,560 --> 00:39:33,120 Speaker 1: I wonder if they couldn't, like do like a hybrid 687 00:39:33,280 --> 00:39:37,600 Speaker 1: so it's fueled by hot air like a balloon. Huh, 688 00:39:37,920 --> 00:39:40,560 Speaker 1: probably wouldn't. I don't know. Yeah, I don't know either. 689 00:39:41,239 --> 00:39:43,560 Speaker 1: H Well, I guess we are at the future then 690 00:39:44,400 --> 00:39:50,120 Speaker 1: in the future, and depending on who you ask, the 691 00:39:50,160 --> 00:39:54,200 Speaker 1: future of airships is either super exciting and awesome and 692 00:39:54,239 --> 00:39:57,480 Speaker 1: when you look at these they are, or it's not 693 00:39:57,520 --> 00:40:00,480 Speaker 1: going to be funded enough to really um, there's not 694 00:40:00,520 --> 00:40:02,200 Speaker 1: a lot of money being pumped into it. Well, the 695 00:40:02,239 --> 00:40:06,440 Speaker 1: government was for a little while with the Afghanistan war. 696 00:40:06,880 --> 00:40:09,360 Speaker 1: The Department of Defense was like, give us new blimps. 697 00:40:09,440 --> 00:40:12,319 Speaker 1: We want these things now. And all these companies ran 698 00:40:12,360 --> 00:40:14,200 Speaker 1: in and we're like, here's your blimps, here's your blimps, 699 00:40:14,600 --> 00:40:17,120 Speaker 1: give us some money. The problem is is the whole 700 00:40:17,120 --> 00:40:20,920 Speaker 1: program got scrapped because nobody could fulfill the enormous orders 701 00:40:20,960 --> 00:40:25,440 Speaker 1: the d D was placing four helium Well that makes sense, uh, 702 00:40:25,520 --> 00:40:29,360 Speaker 1: And the military is interested because they basically, um, could 703 00:40:29,360 --> 00:40:33,880 Speaker 1: be uh a satellite function as a satellite like a 704 00:40:33,960 --> 00:40:37,480 Speaker 1: ten thou fot satellite. Yeah, pretty much. Um. There are 705 00:40:37,600 --> 00:40:40,759 Speaker 1: people doing it though. Lockheed Martin has a pet one 706 00:40:41,520 --> 00:40:45,120 Speaker 1: UM that is super cool looking. It is a try hall. 707 00:40:45,200 --> 00:40:46,799 Speaker 1: If you look at it from the front, it looks 708 00:40:46,840 --> 00:40:50,960 Speaker 1: sort of like three blimps squashed together. Um. And it 709 00:40:51,000 --> 00:40:54,240 Speaker 1: has four big it looks like feet these disc shaped 710 00:40:54,280 --> 00:40:58,560 Speaker 1: cushions that apparently for landing and these are also cool. 711 00:40:58,640 --> 00:41:03,200 Speaker 1: There's um an the one in California from Worldwide Aeroscorp 712 00:41:03,800 --> 00:41:06,400 Speaker 1: called the Dragon Dream. Yeah, and it's different look and 713 00:41:06,400 --> 00:41:07,920 Speaker 1: it sort of looks like a whale shark. Did you 714 00:41:07,960 --> 00:41:10,520 Speaker 1: see it. It's a single hull, I guess, but it's 715 00:41:10,520 --> 00:41:13,439 Speaker 1: sort of kind of flattened out. Um. Yeah, it looks 716 00:41:13,480 --> 00:41:16,200 Speaker 1: like a whale shark. They they actually submitted that design 717 00:41:16,200 --> 00:41:17,840 Speaker 1: to the d o D and when the d D 718 00:41:17,920 --> 00:41:21,960 Speaker 1: scraped the program. Um, they bought their design back because 719 00:41:22,000 --> 00:41:25,239 Speaker 1: they want to go commercial like cargo carrier with it. Yeah. 720 00:41:25,480 --> 00:41:29,919 Speaker 1: And they're in trouble though because the Dragon died well 721 00:41:29,960 --> 00:41:31,839 Speaker 1: it had a roof collapse and a hangar. Yeah, and 722 00:41:31,880 --> 00:41:33,719 Speaker 1: they don't know if they have the money to even 723 00:41:33,760 --> 00:41:36,640 Speaker 1: fix it. And then continue, well, they have another model 724 00:41:36,680 --> 00:41:39,000 Speaker 1: called the mL eight sixties six that it sounds like 725 00:41:39,000 --> 00:41:42,759 Speaker 1: they're putting their energy into. It's supposedly can carry two 726 00:41:43,200 --> 00:41:46,800 Speaker 1: and fifty tons, which is more than twice the cargo 727 00:41:46,880 --> 00:41:52,000 Speaker 1: payload of a cargo seven seventy s twice. And again 728 00:41:52,120 --> 00:41:55,240 Speaker 1: you mentioned how little fuel it takes to power these things. 729 00:41:55,760 --> 00:41:57,319 Speaker 1: So it'll take a little while for you to get 730 00:41:57,320 --> 00:42:00,200 Speaker 1: your package, But the company shipping it as going to 731 00:42:00,280 --> 00:42:02,640 Speaker 1: spend too much money delivering it. I still say, if 732 00:42:02,640 --> 00:42:06,280 Speaker 1: it's a military like to use as a cargo plane, 733 00:42:07,120 --> 00:42:08,719 Speaker 1: I know you can't shoot a hole in it, but 734 00:42:09,160 --> 00:42:11,279 Speaker 1: what if you launched a surface to air missile at it? 735 00:42:12,080 --> 00:42:14,839 Speaker 1: You know, it's still pull a helium. That's it doesn't 736 00:42:14,880 --> 00:42:17,000 Speaker 1: sound like I don't know. They're so high up there 737 00:42:17,040 --> 00:42:20,200 Speaker 1: you can't the fact that we have satellites and drones. 738 00:42:21,840 --> 00:42:24,720 Speaker 1: It seems to me like the surveillance uses of blimps 739 00:42:24,800 --> 00:42:28,200 Speaker 1: or preposterous, especially considering that we could be using that 740 00:42:28,280 --> 00:42:33,960 Speaker 1: helium for medical purposes instead. You know, I agree you 741 00:42:34,000 --> 00:42:36,840 Speaker 1: got anything else on blimps? Got nothing else? Um, I 742 00:42:36,920 --> 00:42:39,399 Speaker 1: got one other thing. If you were fascinated by the 743 00:42:39,520 --> 00:42:43,520 Speaker 1: um the way blimps float. I think it's cool for 744 00:42:43,560 --> 00:42:49,160 Speaker 1: some reason. I did a brain stuff video about that. 745 00:42:49,560 --> 00:42:52,279 Speaker 1: You can calculate how many balloons it would take, like 746 00:42:52,360 --> 00:42:56,080 Speaker 1: regular party balloons to lift yourself into the sky, and 747 00:42:56,080 --> 00:42:58,200 Speaker 1: I made a video about it. So you go to 748 00:42:58,320 --> 00:43:02,200 Speaker 1: a brain stuff show dot com and check it out. Uh. 749 00:43:02,280 --> 00:43:04,080 Speaker 1: And if you want to read this article, you can 750 00:43:04,120 --> 00:43:06,960 Speaker 1: go to how stuff worst dot com. Type in how 751 00:43:07,000 --> 00:43:09,720 Speaker 1: blimps work and it will bring it up. And I said, 752 00:43:10,480 --> 00:43:13,200 Speaker 1: how stuff works, I think So that means it's time 753 00:43:13,200 --> 00:43:18,600 Speaker 1: for listener mail. I'm gonna call this uh sterilizing addicts. 754 00:43:18,800 --> 00:43:22,160 Speaker 1: Remember that Old One did a show on whether or 755 00:43:22,120 --> 00:43:25,359 Speaker 1: not it's legal to sterilize addicts. It turns out it is, Yeah, 756 00:43:25,400 --> 00:43:27,600 Speaker 1: and that's the thing. Uh. And this is from someone 757 00:43:27,600 --> 00:43:32,160 Speaker 1: who had a personal uh stake in it. Um. It's long, 758 00:43:32,239 --> 00:43:35,440 Speaker 1: but I'm gonna edit it in my head as I go. Hey, guys, 759 00:43:35,480 --> 00:43:38,319 Speaker 1: just recently listen to your podcast and sterilation sterilization of 760 00:43:38,360 --> 00:43:43,120 Speaker 1: addicts had a personal story to share. Um. Until my 761 00:43:43,200 --> 00:43:46,920 Speaker 1: mother is a fully recovered heroin addict and I'm grateful 762 00:43:46,960 --> 00:43:49,080 Speaker 1: just to be alive. Until I was six, she was 763 00:43:49,120 --> 00:43:52,560 Speaker 1: only an alcoholic. However, drug addiction set in fast. My mother, 764 00:43:52,640 --> 00:43:56,120 Speaker 1: brother and myself, along with whatever scumbag boyfriend she had 765 00:43:56,120 --> 00:43:58,560 Speaker 1: at the time. We're constantly on the run from the police, 766 00:43:58,560 --> 00:44:01,320 Speaker 1: looking for shelter and searching for food. My father is 767 00:44:01,320 --> 00:44:03,920 Speaker 1: an upper middle class blue collar worker who always had 768 00:44:03,920 --> 00:44:06,160 Speaker 1: a sound home environment. When my mother was sent to 769 00:44:06,200 --> 00:44:07,640 Speaker 1: prison when I was ten, I was sent to live 770 00:44:07,680 --> 00:44:10,280 Speaker 1: with my father. Always had food, to shower and clean clothes. 771 00:44:10,680 --> 00:44:12,960 Speaker 1: Was never in fear for being homeless. UH. I live 772 00:44:13,000 --> 00:44:15,120 Speaker 1: with my father for three years until I finally ran away. 773 00:44:15,400 --> 00:44:18,279 Speaker 1: Once I regained contact with my mother, my father, even 774 00:44:18,320 --> 00:44:21,560 Speaker 1: with his financial support, instability was never there, even though 775 00:44:21,600 --> 00:44:24,279 Speaker 1: he was only a few feet away. My mother, even 776 00:44:24,280 --> 00:44:27,560 Speaker 1: while on drugs, always listened and always cared about my 777 00:44:27,560 --> 00:44:30,600 Speaker 1: thoughts and feelings, and that was what was important as 778 00:44:30,600 --> 00:44:34,320 Speaker 1: a child. My mother eventually overcame her addictions cold turkey 779 00:44:34,360 --> 00:44:37,279 Speaker 1: because she could see it was damaging to me and 780 00:44:37,320 --> 00:44:40,360 Speaker 1: my brother. She's been clean for eleven years now and 781 00:44:40,440 --> 00:44:43,600 Speaker 1: as an amazing mother, an amazing grandmother to my nephew. 782 00:44:44,440 --> 00:44:46,080 Speaker 1: I like to believe that seeing the harder side of 783 00:44:46,120 --> 00:44:49,120 Speaker 1: life made me appreciate UH such things and be more 784 00:44:49,200 --> 00:44:52,279 Speaker 1: humble and responsible. UH and fearful of what could happen 785 00:44:52,280 --> 00:44:54,120 Speaker 1: if I slipped or did not take care of myself. 786 00:44:55,320 --> 00:44:57,840 Speaker 1: I don't want to be the poster child for children 787 00:44:57,840 --> 00:45:00,000 Speaker 1: of addicts. Whoever, I do believe that we are all 788 00:45:00,000 --> 00:45:05,080 Speaker 1: and control of our own lives. Uh. And that is 789 00:45:05,280 --> 00:45:10,440 Speaker 1: anonymized as Cornelius Jacobs the seventh, Corney Jake seven, Yeah, 790 00:45:10,640 --> 00:45:11,920 Speaker 1: he said, yeah, you can read it, and I said, 791 00:45:11,920 --> 00:45:15,400 Speaker 1: all anonymious anonymous size it is there some sort of 792 00:45:15,480 --> 00:45:19,200 Speaker 1: name anonymizer on the internet now, he said, please do 793 00:45:19,360 --> 00:45:22,120 Speaker 1: just make it something awesome like Cornelius Jacobs the seventh. 794 00:45:22,400 --> 00:45:25,680 Speaker 1: That's great and that's a cool PS. I've been secretly 795 00:45:25,719 --> 00:45:29,080 Speaker 1: wanting Jerry to be the Tyler Dirton of your podcast. 796 00:45:29,160 --> 00:45:32,160 Speaker 1: What that even means? Like made up? But like we 797 00:45:32,239 --> 00:45:35,960 Speaker 1: think she's real, but she's not. Okay, are you real, Jerry? 798 00:45:36,480 --> 00:45:40,360 Speaker 1: Jerry says, no, Nope, that answers that Cornelius Jacobs the 799 00:45:40,440 --> 00:45:43,799 Speaker 1: seventh and you read the Roman numerals correctly, Chuck this time, 800 00:45:43,840 --> 00:45:49,239 Speaker 1: good going be I. I UH. If you want to 801 00:45:49,239 --> 00:45:51,440 Speaker 1: get in touch with me and Chuck to tell us 802 00:45:51,440 --> 00:45:55,239 Speaker 1: any story like Cornelius Jacobs the seventh, UM, please do 803 00:45:55,400 --> 00:45:58,200 Speaker 1: you can tweet to us at s y s K podcast. 804 00:45:58,560 --> 00:46:00,399 Speaker 1: You can join us on Facebook, dot com, m slash 805 00:46:00,400 --> 00:46:02,640 Speaker 1: Stuff you Should Know. You can send us an email 806 00:46:02,640 --> 00:46:05,239 Speaker 1: to Stuff podcast at how Stuffworks dot com and is 807 00:46:05,280 --> 00:46:07,720 Speaker 1: always go to our cool home on the web. Stuff 808 00:46:07,719 --> 00:46:12,360 Speaker 1: you Should Know dot Com. Stuff you Should Know is 809 00:46:12,360 --> 00:46:14,960 Speaker 1: a production of iHeart Radios How stuff Works. For more 810 00:46:15,000 --> 00:46:17,479 Speaker 1: podcasts for my heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, 811 00:46:17,560 --> 00:46:20,160 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. 812 00:46:23,320 --> 00:46:23,360 Speaker 1: H