Aircraft - airship Zeppelin NT - over Alpine landscape

Postcard
• Picture / Image:  Der Zeppelin NT - airship - pictured over an Alpine landscape probably somewhere in Germany
• Publisher:  Deutsche Zeppelin Reederei GmBH
• Postally used:  no
• Stamp:  n/a
• Postmark(s):  n/a
• Sent to:  n/a
• Notes / condition: 

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Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information (internal links may not  work) :

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The Zeppelin NT (""Neue Technologie"", German for new technology) is a class of helium-filled airships being manufactured since the 1990s by the German company Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik GmbH (ZLT) in Friedrichshafen.^[1] The initial model is the NT07. The company considers itself the successor of the companies founded by Ferdinand von Zeppelin which constructed and operated the very successful Zeppelin airships in the first third of the 20th century. There are, however, a number of notable differences between the Zeppelin NT and the airships of those days, as well as between the Zeppelin NT and usual non-rigid airships known as blimps. The Zeppelin NT is classified as a semi-rigid airship.^[2]

The modern development and construction was financed from an endowment, initially funded with money left over from the earlier Zeppelin company, that had been under the trusteeship of the Mayor of Friedrichshafen. A stipulation on the endowment limited use of its funds to the field of airships. Over the many years, the investment value of the endowment grew to a point where the time seemed right to use it for the design, development, and construction of a new Zeppelin.

The initial design study was prepared in 1989. The ZLT was founded as a spin-off of the Zeppelin company in September 1993. It began to construct a prototype in 1995. The prototype first took to the air in September 1997.

On July 2, 2000, the centennial of the first Zeppelin flight, the prototype SN 01 was christened D-LZFN Friedrichshafen. Subsequently, it traveled some 3,600 km in test flights.

In 2001 the company began manufacturing the Zeppelin NT in series and began to exploit the airships commercially. The second ship SN 02 was christened D-LZZR Bodensee on August 10, 2001 and started to give joyrides five days later. By the end of that year, it had already transported 3,222 passengers, a figure that rose to about 30,000 by November 2003.

The Zeppelin NT airships constructed so far are 75 metres (246 ft) long, with a volume of 8,225 cubic metres (290,500 cu ft).^[1] They are thus considerably smaller than the old Zeppelins, which reached a maximum volume of 200,000 m³ (7,100,000 cu ft), such as the LZ 129 Hindenburg. Furthermore, they are inflated exclusively with the non-flammable noble gas helium, rather than with hydrogen.

In standard operations with a maximum payload, the gas cells do not create enough buoyancy to make the whole ship ""lighter-than-air."" The negative buoyancy is overcome with engine power. The buoyancy can change when traveling with reduced payload and partially emptied fuel tanks, but usually the Zeppelin NT starts its journey with a net downward force of about 3,000 newtons (670 lbf); on long trips, it can become lighter–than–air if a lot of fuel is used.

The Zeppelin NT is a semi-rigid airship. It is unlike both the original Zeppelins that had a rigid skeleton and non-rigid blimps. It has an internal triangular truss made of graphite-reinforced plastic and three longitudinal girders made of aluminium which connect the triangular elements along the length of the frame. This frame holds the engines, control car and the steering fins. Additionally, this structure is tightened with aramid cords. It weighs only about 1,000 kilograms (2,200 lb).

Inside historical Zeppelins, the gas cells were separate entities from the hull. However, the hull of the Zeppelin NT serves both as the hull and as the gas cell. It is made of a three-layered laminate: one gas-tight layer of Tedlar (PVF), one polyester fabric layer to provide stability and one polyurethane layer suitable for thermic welding that serves to connect the separate laminate panels.

To preserve its outer form, a slight overpressure of about 5 millibars (0.073 psi) is maintained within the hull. As in blimps, this pressure is kept constant by using ballonets. The ballonets have a total volume of 2,000 cubic metres (71,000 cu ft).

Power is provided by a trio of 147-kilowatt (197 hp) Textron Lycoming IO-360 boxer aviation engines, each provide the Zeppelin NT with maneuverability. The two lateral engines are equipped with tilting propellers and usually aligned horizontally, but can be turned 90° upward or 30° downward. The aft engine powers a pushing propeller that can be turned 90° downward, as well as a steering propeller directed to the side and working similarly to the lateral-thrust units of some ships. The engines are fueled by aviation gasoline.^[3]

Instead of four rudder and elevator fins, the Zeppelin NT uses only three, which saves weight. As a side effect, the loss of one fin can be compensated with the remaining two.

The controls are implemented by fly-by-wire technology, with the pilot using a joystick to steer in three dimensions.

type=printed postcards

theme=transportation

sub-theme=air

transportation type=airship

number of items=single

period=1945 - present

postage condition=unposted