[erb]

The flying luxury hotel of tomorrow
Cruise ship will sail through the air, not the water
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')his is not a Blimp. It's a sort of flying Queen Mary 2 that could change the way you think about air travel. It's the Aeroscraft, and when it's completed, it will ferry pampered passengers across continents and oceans as they stroll leisurely about the one-acre cabin or relax in their well-appointed staterooms.

[gnm]

Queen Mary eh? More like an air Titanic.

Yeah and I'll have a flying car too....

-G

[Starvid]

It's a lot smarter than you people think. It uses a lot less fuel than a commercial airliner of the same capacity.

Maybe one could mount thin film solar cells on the massive upperside of the balloon to supply parts of the power.

I'd love to ride one of those.

[lorenzo]

It's hideous. Can someone please hire a European designer?

I would love a vacation in this one:
Airship

Not in that monster shown in the article.


By the way, check out the Toroid Luxury Airship, a much nicer concept:

Airship

{images edited by MQ}

From the COC:

Do not post linked in graphics/photos more than 450 pixels wide or long URL’s that cause the page view to widen and necessitates the reader to scroll

[dhfenton]

Personally, I like the concept. I hate being cramped like a sardine on our current air fleet. It would eliminate a lot of noise and be able to land in the city core. The big issue is energy, and keeping it viable in a different energy environment. I hope it works.

[erb]

i could care less about being cramped or it using less fuel

i just have to wonder how much use it would get, being that its not yet in production. how much oil will be used to make this thing? how much oil will it use to fly it? wherever its going and how much will tickets cost when it is operating.

lets say it's ready in 10 years

whats going to be left then and how many people will be vacationing then, how many people can they actualy con onto that death trap??

sounds like and effort for naught

[NeoPeasant]

According to Popular Science articles of the past, we should all be commuting in personal helicopters, hovercraft, and mini-jets by now.

There will be a need for trans-oceanic transport in the future, but for a smaller fraction of the population than today. I suspect that speed may be sacrificed for cheapest fuel consumption/passenger. Maybe we will have coal fired ocean liners again. Or maybe ships with composite sails that double as solar collectors to drive auxillary electric motors.

[FossilFool]

I have heard on the The Fabulous Lives of... The Elite that there's a big cruise ship that people could live on all year. And there's "The World" which is a set of islands they have been making that are shaped all together to look like all the continents in the world. It's their escape pods. That's what these things are.

[Starvid]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('NeoPeasant', 'A')ccording to Popular Science articles of the past, we should all be commuting in personal helicopters, hovercraft, and mini-jets by now.

There will be a need for trans-oceanic transport in the future, but for a smaller fraction of the population than today. I suspect that speed may be sacrificed for cheapest fuel consumption/passenger. Maybe we will have coal fired ocean liners again. Or maybe ships with composite sails that double as solar collectors to drive auxillary electric motors.

[Falconoffury]

It looks interesting, but unlikely.

[Novus]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('FossilFool', 'I') have heard on the The Fabulous Lives of... The Elite that there's a big cruise ship that people could live on all year.

[rogerhb]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('NeoPeasant', 'w')e should all be commuting in personal helicopters, hovercraft, and mini-jets by now.

[RdSnt]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('gnm', '[')img]http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2006/TECH/02/16/aeroscraft/vert.aeroscraft.jpg[/img]

Queen Mary eh? More like an air Titanic.

Yeah and I'll have a flying car too....

-G

[Vexed]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Novus', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('FossilFool', 'I') have heard on the The Fabulous Lives of... The Elite that there's a big cruise ship that people could live on all year.

[clv101]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Starvid', 'I')t's a lot smarter than you people think. It uses a lot less fuel than a commercial airliner of the same capacity.

Maybe one could mount thin film solar cells on the massive upperside of the balloon to supply parts of the power.

[kerosene]

Let me rock you like a hurricane...

That ship would never stay in one piece - its easy ti draw hige but there is a reason it doesn't exist.

h

[rogerhb]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('kerosene', 'i')ts easy ti draw hige

[kerosene]

hey its late here and my big belt is slipping pretty bad

[Odin]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('gnm', '[')img]http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2006/TECH/02/16/aeroscraft/vert.aeroscraft.jpg[/img]

[Vexed]

Kerosene wrote:
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')hat ship would never stay in one piece - its easy to draw huge but there is a reason it doesn't exist.