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Cargo Airships Are Happening

elidourado.com

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Re: Cargo Airships Are Happening

#101

Post by bilbo0s »

mr_toad wrote: post #43
fernly wrote: post #37

Maybe a smaller issue than wind, but something is wrong with this claim: "If you can pick up goods directly from a customer on one side and deliver them directly to a customer on the other..." How do you handle customs inspections and duties on imports? As TFA states, in current air freight, "there is a trucking company, a warehouse, a customs broker..." Freight has to go through the warehouse on arrival in-country s…

> How do you handle customs inspections and duties on imports? Probably no different from private airfields, you have to file customs paperwork before arriving, and they can send inspectors out.

Not quite how it works. (At least, not in the US).

Firstly, not just any FBO is a point of entry.

Which brings us to the second point, the entire reason for designated points of entry is so that the customs officials can be on site already. As in, assigned to that FBO. Now at times specialists have to be sent out. (Think exotic or rare animals or biological/agricultural products.) But if that happens, your freight, and maybe even you, are quarantined and your freight isn't going anywhere any time soon. Believe me.

Most important, and relevant in this context is the third issue. Which is the fact that arrivals are met by customs officials and passengers and cargo are always subject to the same inspections/regulations as they are at any commercial airport.

So the original question is valid, how are they handling customs at the scale they're hoping to achieve in a fashion any faster than anyone else?

Re: Cargo Airships Are Happening

#102

Post by Thorrez »

voidUpdate wrote: post #93

> "But for air freight service, end-to-end delivery takes a week or more, involving multiple parties: in addition to the air carrier and freight forwarder, at both the origin and destination, there is a trucking company, a warehouse, a customs broker, and an airport. Each touchpoint adds cost, delay, and the risk of theft or breakage." How does an airship solve any of those problems? Its still got to go through custo…

I'm not sure about how they solve customs, but the picture shows an airship dropping cargo directly off at a warehouse (avoiding trucks).

Re: Cargo Airships Are Happening

#103

Post by pistoleer »

bilbo0s wrote: post #101
mr_toad wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> How do you handle customs inspections and duties on imports? Probably no different from private airfields, you have to file customs paperwork before arriving, and they can send inspectors out.

Not quite how it works. (At least, not in the US). Firstly, not just any FBO is a point of entry. Which brings us to the second point, the entire reason for designated points of entry is so that the customs officials can be on site already. As in, assigned to that FBO. Now at times specialists have to be sent out. (Think exotic or rare animals or biological/agricultural products.) But if that happens, your freight, a…

FBO = fixed base operator = private jet terminal or service provider at airports that caters to general aviation (non-commercial) flights. FBOs provide services like fueling, hangar space, and sometimes even customs clearance for international flights.

Re: Cargo Airships Are Happening

#105

Post by rtkwe »

xg15 wrote: post #97
fernly wrote: post #37

Maybe a smaller issue than wind, but something is wrong with this claim: "If you can pick up goods directly from a customer on one side and deliver them directly to a customer on the other..." How do you handle customs inspections and duties on imports? As TFA states, in current air freight, "there is a trucking company, a warehouse, a customs broker..." Freight has to go through the warehouse on arrival in-country s…

Not sure how realistic, but could the inspectors go to the airship instead? They are not planes: Not only can they "park" while airborne, but at least there were concepts of boarding/unboarding in the air as well: https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/26/realestate/26scapes.html

They could in theory but I'm dubious governments will be willing to shape their customs enforcement to accommodate this company. Best case I think they might be able to do a drop off at a place for customs inspections and pick them up again with a different craft once cleared.

Re: Cargo Airships Are Happening

#106

Post by VyseofArcadia »

ralfd wrote: post #98
Terretta wrote: post #92

> Over the summer, Jim incorporated Airship Industries. He hired a team of cracked ex-SpaceX engineers. And he raised a large pre-seed round... This typo is perfect.

I am blind. What typo?

"Crack engineer" means an engineer who is smart and capable. "Cracked engineer" means an engineer who is insane.

Re: Cargo Airships Are Happening

#107

Post by dole »

eptcyka wrote: post #60
fulafel wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think if that was the biggest problem, they'd be used much more. There are a lot of places with light and regular winds, and we're also pretty good at predicting winds in the 1 day forward timescale. And of course there's the regular and predictable high winds that were traditionally used by sail ships.

The article is talking about atlantic freight trips - middle of the ocean is not one of those places with light winds.

"Hindenburg made 17 round trips across the Atlantic in 1936 — its first and only full year of service — with ten trips to the United States and seven to Brazil."

Re: Cargo Airships Are Happening

#109

Post by myspy »

fl0id wrote: post #64
thecrumb wrote: post #3

I see this brought up every few years but nothing ever seems to happen. I used to live not far from the Weeksville station in NC and would occasionally see flights from there. Would love to see these all over. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/weeksville-dirigible-han...

This. Anybody remember cargolifter?

I still remember seeing the big hall in a Galileo broadcast https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cargolifter-Luftschiffhalle
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