Posted on: Friday, May 25, 2001
Island Voices
See the Isles — from a blimp
By Ed Cesar
Resident of Kahalu'u
Imagine tourists and other visitors to Hawai'i coming here just for the added experience of riding the AirCruiser, an exciting new way to travel.
Everyone, including kama'aina, could experience a novel and enjoyable way to view our Islands while in comfortable and luxurious surroundings. No place on Earth besides Hawai'i could offer travelers the unique opportunity to see such wide panoramas of the Islands' scenery up close while moving at moderate and comfortable viewing speeds.
Passengers could enjoy and photograph all of the Islands' beautiful mountains, waterfalls, lush valleys, coasts, cities and towns leisurely, quietly and serenely from the air. The AirCruiser could soon become the most exhilarating way to island-hop safely and economically in cruiseship-style comfort. No ship, bus, car, airplane, helicopter or balloon can match the AirCruiser for spaciousness and comfort. And no one, not even Donald Trump, has one.
The concept for Hawai'i's air cruise experience is for an AirCruiser based at Honolulu to depart each day at sunrise from a small landing site at Magic Island or Kaka'ako. A dirigible doesn't need an airport to take off and land. Another one based at, say, Kaua'i or Maui would depart and return at the same time going in the opposite direction. They would cruise all the Islands in a day and return by sundown. Air routes would be designated to preclude conflicts between commercial and private aircraft and the airships.
Each AirCruiser would stop at major cities and towns along the way, dropping off and picking up passengers and freight. Travelers would be able to visit any one or all of the Islands of their choice. Some may wish to stay at one place for a night or two, a weekend or longer, then continue their journey, hopping from island to island using the same ticket at no added expense.
AirCruiser passengers would safely cruise over the ocean at altitudes up to 6,000 feet. Then as each island is approached, the AirCruiser would smoothly come down to fly at a level of only a few hundred feet so that its 500 or more passengers could better see panoramic views from spacious windows in front of comfortable cushioned swivel chairs. There would be no crowded coach seats — everyone travels first class on the spacious AirCruiser. The AirCruiser would be a big contrast to a shaky, noisy helicopter ride or a fixed-wing airplane that is noisy, offers limited views and is unable to get close enough to see and photograph areas of interest.
The CargoLifter would be the design basis for the AirCruiser. It is a large, helium-filled dirigible that was designed in Germany to carry very heavy loads like large containers of the kind now being drawn by trucks over highways and stacked on seagoing cargo ships. It can carry much larger outsized loads weighing 100,000 tons or more like a complete power plant or a gas turbine, for example.
This is a new class of airship, plans for which are to build them at the rate of three per year. A smaller type of airship could be designed and built to carry passengers in style.
To give some idea about the CargoLifter's size and capabilities: It is 726 feet long and 183 feet wide and can travel at a speed up to 80 mph for 2,400 miles without stopping to refuel. It can also move along at much lower speeds and even hover ever so gently, which is important for viewing most sights.
The AirCruiser, presumably, would be smaller, but very similar to the CargoLifter. Instead of a large container for cargo under its belly, there would be a detachable first-class cabin with spacious windows and other accommodations for passengers. Also, a large compartment for air freight in the aft section, large enough to accommodate all of the Islands' daily interisland air freight shipping requirements.
For those who might believe the AirCruiser is only a grandiose idea, just remember that entrepreneurs are often among visitors who come here from around the world. It only takes one to identify with a good idea like this one who can find the money to make it a reality. We need to expose the idea and its possibilities and agree to allow the facilities to be built and for the AirCruisers to fly here.
