Our Products
Sightseeing Airships
Our Voyager Airship is purpose designed to provide passengers with the ultimate sightseeing experience. It is currently under construction at 21st Century Airships Team Inc.'s facility in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada and is scheduled to be flight ready by late summer 2009.
An Airship, like any other commercial aircraft, must go through a lengthy Type Certification process to assure thatit complies with all safety standards. Work on the Type Certification began mid-2006 and is scheduled for completion by the end of 2009.
The Voyager Airship has a distinctive and futuristic look and incorporates advanced technologies that enhance flight operations and safety.
The oversized gondola not only accomodates 19 passengers and 2 pilots, it also offers passengers plenty of walk-around space and magnificient panoramic views from the finest window seats in the world.
A partial glass-bottom floor will provide an interesting view point, giving the more adventurous passengers a thrill when stepping onto it while flying high above the ground.
On-board amenities include a washroom and a bar.
The Voyager Airship is powered by 4 turbo-diesel engines, mounted in ducts far from the gondola and assures a low noise profile both inside and outside the airship. The maximum speed is slightly more than 100 km/h (65 mph). However, sightseeing flights will be conducted at a leisurely pace to give passengers more time to take in the sights.
The Voyager Airship will provide passengers with the ultimate sightseeing experience.
Imagine... viewing the New York skyline, Niagara Falls, Grand Canyon, or maybe even the Taj Mahal from the comfort of a Voyager Airship window seat.
Imagine... a bird's-eye view over the wild-life in Africa.
A truly remarkable adventure will soon await you.
A 130-ft. long scale version of the Voyager was successfully flight tested during August and September 2007. These test flights confirmed its many advantages over conventional "old" airship technology.
Most of the innovative technology that differentiate the Voyager Airships from traditional airships, commonly referred to as blimps, is not immediately obvious. Below is a brief comparison.
On today's traditional airships, steering and altitude controls are mainly achieved through the rudders and elevators, mounted on the fins at the rear. For the rudders to work properly, it is necessary to have airflow over the fins' control surfaces. These rudders/elevators become ineffectual below a speed of approximately 15 km/h. Since the steering and altitude controls do not work effectively during the slow speeds at take-off and landing, a large ground crew, of up to 20 people, is required to assist the pilot with every launch and landing.
A Voyager Airship also has fins but without control surfaces and their sole purpose is to stabilize the airship during flight. Steering and altitude controls are achieved through differential and directed thrust from the engines/propellers. This makes a Voyager Airship extremely manoeuverable at any speed from zero to full. It can even accomplish vertical take-offs and landings (VTOL) similar to a helicopter. A Voyager Airship requires only one or two ground crew members to assist during landing and take-off.
Historically, the design of airship propulsion systems has been governed primarily by considerations of accessibility, weight distribution and ground clearance. Therefore, traditional airships with elongated hulls have their engines mounted inside or attached to the gondola, which is located under the airship's envelope. The engines drive the propellers either directly or through a shaft. In this configuration, the engine's thrust-line is far below the center-line of the airship. Therefore, the airship pitches up every time the pilot throttles-up and it pitches down when throttling-down. The arrangement with the engines/propellers on the gondola also make it a very noisy environment for pilot and passengers.
The engines/propellers on a Voyager Airship are mounted in ducts, located near the front and rear of the envelope. The pilot/passenger cabin as a result is very quiet and allows for conversations at a normal level and an ideal environment for an enjoyable sightseeing ride. Another advantage is that the engines' thrust-line perfectly coincides with the center-line of the airship, making it exceptionally stable at any power setting.
The technology for steering and altitude controls as well as other features on the Voyager Airship are patented or patent pending by 21st Century Airships Team Inc. The Company has also improved traditional manufacturing methods, making the Voyager Airship less costly to design, construct and operate than a traditional airship of comparable size.
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