35:
552:
was taxiing on a runway at Mercer County
Airport in a 15 knots (28 km/h) crosswind when it failed to slow down, tried to turn at the end of the runway, and tilted over onto two wheels. One of the pilots jumped from the cockpit, and the airship then turned flat on its back. The second pilot then
419:
burners in each hull enabled the helium to be heated to increase lift; the ship would be about 400 pounds (180 kg) heavy (i.e. weight greater than static lift) with the gas cells 83 percent filled with helium, but heating the gas would increase the static lift by 800 pounds (360 kg). The
821:
793:
231:
The AEREON Corporation had been founded in 1959 by
Presbyterian minister and U.S. Naval Reserve chaplain turned airship enthusiast Monroe Drew and Navy airship veteran Lieutenant Commander John Fitzpatrick. The organization was named in honor of
361:
with a non-steerable nosewheel beneath the central hull and steerable (via a connection with the rudders) wheels at the tips of the ventral fins at the aft ends of the outer hulls. The nosewheel functioned as an "internal
406:
feature to facilitate low-speed control. AEREON patented this propulsion and control system in 1966. However, the propeller required shortening before trials commenced because of its "greatly excessive vibration."
298:
of 0.74. The design was intended to "maximize the dynamic lifting forces acting on the airship hull and to take the fullest advantage of these forces in flight." Each hull contained six gas cells, for a total
262:. The construction work was carried out by Everett Linkenhoker, an airship rigger hired on the recommendation of Aereon's consultant, the distinguished airship aviator and retired U.S. Navy Vice Admiral
432:
but substituting helium heating for
Andrews's dropping of ballast and helium cooling for his valving of hydrogen. However, Fitzpatrick is quoted elsewhere as "deplor such exaggerations."
420:
helium could also be cooled by admitting air through vents in the noses of the hulls, with the assistance of blowers. The double-layer outer cover, mentioned above, facilitated
1040:
323:
tubing, rather than the built-up girders of earlier rigids. The structure was described as "half as heavy and twice as strong as the structural material in the ill-fated
319:-type structure comprising seven 20-sided main rings, three intermediate rings between each pair of main rings, and wire bracing; however, the structural members were of
428:
s buoyancy-control capabilities would allow it to fly using "gravity propulsion"—without the assistance of an engine—along the lines of
Solomon Andrews's original
590:, which had an entirely different, deltoid shape. The new aircraft inherited its predecessor's McCulloch engine, along with aluminum tubing from the structure of
286:
The AEREON III comprised three rigid hulls, each 83 feet (25 m) in length and 17 feet 6 inches (5.33 m) in maximum diameter, connected by
203:
to create extra lift as the craft moved forward. Intended as a small prototype craft that would precede the development of much larger hybrid airships, the
565:
were "virtually bulldozed back into the hangar, arriving more or less in flakes." However, another source states that reconstruction into a new, larger
199:
in the early 1960s. Of unconventional design, the airship featured three gas envelopes attached side-by-side, with the connecting structures shaped as
973:
386:
Titan gas turbine of 80 horsepower (60 kW), but the engine eventually installed was described as a "four-cylinder McCullough" (sic—presumably
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1035:
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to be varied while moored (e.g. nose down to hug the ground or nose up in preparation for takeoff) and a tie-down fitting at its lower end.
273:. Even "thousand-foot automated Aereons moving in connected trains through the lower atmosphere" were foreseen by some of those involved.
929:
118:
341:. The gas cells were also made of Tedlar. The fins were of sheet Duralumin on frames of the same material, joined primarily with
854:
56:
424:
of the gas cells. AEREON also patented the pressurization and buoyancy-control system, in 1965. One source states that the
303:
volume of 40,000 cubic feet (1,100 m). There were ventral fins with rudders at the aft ends of the outer two hulls and
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99:
387:
382:
was powered by a single engine located at the aft end of the central hull. This engine was reported in 1962 as being a
71:
735:
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on the trailing edges of the connecting structures. The two-seat cockpit was located in the nose of the central hull.
52:
403:
233:
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rotating in the vertical plane). The location of the propeller at the aft end of the hull was stated to assist in
78:
1050:
819:, Fitzpatrick, John R., "Pressurized Airship", published January 23, 1963, issued April 27, 1965
569:
was contemplated. This craft would have been 100 feet (30 m) long and 75 feet (23 m) in span, with a "
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599:
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85:
45:
244:—that could make forward progress without an engine by alternately dropping ballast and valving hydrogen. (
399:
358:
255:
162:
791:, Fitzpatrick, John R., "Aircraft", published November 10, 1964, issued November 29, 1966
269:
Future versions of the airship were envisaged as being up to 1,000 feet (300 m) long, possibly with
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jumped straight down from the inverted cockpit, and the airship overturned a second time. According to
67:
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tests in 1966 and scrapped without having flown. It was "the first rigid airship to be built since
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2-bladed
Helicom, 21 ft 0 in (6.40 m) diameter reversible-pitch rotor/propeller
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329:." The hulls were enclosed by a double-layer outer cover, comprising an outer
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members. The connecting structures between the hulls were faired in an
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655:"Rigid-airship Venture: Details of the highly unorthodox "Aereon III""
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section, and the aircraft as a whole functioned as an airfoil with an
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was designed by
Fitzpatrick and constructed between 1959 and 1965 at
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196:
951:
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855:"The Modern Airship: A Review of 40 Years of Airship Development"
573:, partially delta" shape. According to this source, the damaged
390:). The engine drove a 21 feet (6.4 m) diameter, two-bladed
955:
207:
was constructed between 1959 and 1965 but was destroyed during
28:
946:. London: Jane's All the Worlds Aircraft Publishing Co. Ltd.
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and several of its instruments. One of the nosecones from
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was
Andrews's second airship, a single-hulled craft.)
366:," with a telescopic strut that allowed the ship's
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59:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
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147:Hybrid fixed wing aircraft/lighter-than-air craft.
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577:was eventually broken up "sometime in 1967."
8:
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952:
130:
1041:1960s United States experimental aircraft
653:Robinson, Douglas H. (October 18, 1962).
521:127 mph (204 km/h, 110 kn)
119:Learn how and when to remove this message
944:Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1965-66
628:
512:65 mph (105 km/h, 56 kn)
443:Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1965-66
703:Johansen, Herbert O. (November 1962).
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7:
57:adding citations to reliable sources
738:. February 19, 2004. Archived from
469:85 ft 0 in (25.91 m)
864:(2). AEROPLAST Inc. Archived from
25:
33:
924:. New York: The Noonday Press.
44:needs additional citations for
1046:Single-engined pusher aircraft
1:
1036:Airships of the United States
481:2,800 lb (1,270 kg)
736:"AEREON Corporation History"
533:8,500 ft (2,600 m)
333:layer and an inner layer of
240:, a three-hulled craft—like
1067:
715:(5): 60–63, 202, 204, 207.
224:
195:construction built by the
990:
678:McPhee, pp. 33–38, 40–43.
491:, 70 hp (52 kW)
920:The Deltoid Pumpkin Seed
600:Lighter-than-Air Society
559:The Deltoid Pumpkin Seed
539:800 ft (240 m)
156:United States of America
548:On April 15, 1966, the
448:General characteristics
311:Structure and materials
853:Kaley , Nigel (2003).
705:"Behold the Trigible!"
475:56 ft (17 m)
400:boundary layer control
359:tricycle undercarriage
598:is reportedly in the
584:was succeeded by the
561:, the remains of the
256:Mercer County Airport
662:Flight International
615:Comparable aircraft:
187:was an experimental
53:improve this article
834:Taylor 1965, p. 358
760:McPhee, pp. 44, 47.
260:Trenton, New Jersey
139:General information
940:Taylor, John W. R.
871:on January 4, 2011
843:McPhee, pp. 49–50.
806:McPhee, pp. 48–49.
517:Never exceed speed
422:thermal insulation
357:The airship had a
271:nuclear propulsion
197:AEREON Corporation
168:AEREON Corporation
1023:
1022:
889:McPhee, pp. 66–7.
668:(2797): 648, 650.
602:'s collection in
264:Charles Rosendahl
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16:(Redirected from
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531:Service ceiling:
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487:1 Ă— Solar Titan
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411:Buoyancy control
396:helicopter rotor
392:pusher propeller
315:The hulls had a
236:'s 1863 airship
214:Graf Zeppelin II
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709:Popular Science
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368:angle of attack
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152:National origin
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942:, ed. (1965).
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898:McPhee, p. 50.
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778:McPhee, p. 46.
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769:McPhee, p. 47.
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742:on May 2, 2015
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510:Maximum speed:
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436:Specifications
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225:Main article:
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189:hybrid airship
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537:Take-off run:
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337:treated with
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335:ripstop nylon
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282:Configuration
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109:December 2009
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70: –
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64:Find sources:
58:
54:
48:
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42:This article
40:
36:
31:
30:
27:
19:
943:
919:
914:McPhee, John
894:
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875:February 15,
873:. Retrieved
866:the original
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848:
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746:November 30,
744:. Retrieved
740:the original
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463:40,000 cu ft
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404:cyclic pitch
394:(actually a
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364:mooring mast
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353:Landing gear
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296:aspect ratio
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174:Number built
163:Manufacturer
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68:"Aereon III"
63:
51:Please help
46:verification
43:
26:
862:Montgolfier
604:Akron, Ohio
567:AEREON IIIB
555:John McPhee
544:Destruction
503:Performance
495:Propellers:
485:Powerplant:
426:AEREON III'
343:epoxy resin
301:lifting gas
277:Description
1030:Categories
1010:VectoRotor
1005:Dynairship
906:References
817:US 3180590
789:US 3288397
596:AEREON III
592:AEREON III
582:AEREON III
575:AEREON III
571:metal-clad
563:AEREON III
550:AEREON III
525:Endurance:
380:AEREON III
374:Propulsion
326:Hindenburg
252:AEREON III
242:AEREON III
221:Background
205:AEREON III
185:AEREON III
134:AEREON III
79:newspapers
18:AEREON III
916:(1996) .
618:AEREON 26
587:AEREON 26
473:Wingspan:
461:Capacity:
441:Data from
388:McCulloch
321:Duralumin
246:Aereon II
985:airships
610:See also
557:'s book
402:and its
347:riveting
317:Zeppelin
201:airfoils
527:4 hours
489:turbine
467:Length:
417:propane
305:elevons
292:airfoil
209:taxiing
93:scholar
983:AEREON
928:
823:
795:
430:Aereon
331:Tedlar
238:Aereon
227:AEREON
95:
88:
81:
74:
66:
869:(PDF)
858:(PDF)
658:(PDF)
623:Notes
455:Crew:
415:Five
384:Solar
288:truss
193:rigid
100:JSTOR
86:books
1015:WASP
926:ISBN
877:2011
748:2015
580:The
378:The
339:dope
183:The
144:Type
72:news
995:III
713:181
258:in
217:".
191:of
55:by
1032::
1000:26
860:.
711:.
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683:^
666:82
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631:^
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266:.
975:e
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457:2
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116:(
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107:(
97:·
90:·
83:·
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20:)
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