r/whatif • u/AndamanEyes • 2d ago
Technology What if we invested in zeppelins instead of airplanes?
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u/Extra-Account-8824 2d ago
if i ever had billions i would probably just live in a zepplin and have a sattelite beaming high speed internet to me.
that sounds bomb as fuck to be in all day.
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u/Amtrox 2d ago
A bit impractical if you need to get some groceries though.
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u/Extra-Account-8824 2d ago
taylor swift uses her private jet to fly 2500 miles for dinner then goes back, im sure i can figure out a solution with ublimited money
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u/slurrydestination 2d ago
Air travel would be a lot slower.
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u/Turbulent-Name-8349 2d ago
Air travel would still be faster than ship travel. The regular Zeppelin route from Germany to Brazil and back was very much faster than the sea journey.
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u/boytoy421 2d ago
The issue with zeppelins is they're very much a jack of all trades but master of none.
The advantage they have over jets is they can haul significantly more cargo, but they can't haul nearly as much cargo as a ship or a train. The advantage they have over ships and trains is they're faster but they're gonna get DUSTED by planes
So they're only really ever going to have niche applications
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u/trumpsucks12354 2d ago
Also docking zeppelins are a royal pain. You need a lot of space and those things are massive. Theres a reason some of the biggest buildings around were zeppelin hangars
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u/Funny-Recipe2953 2d ago
There are several good youtube videos answering very similar question about airghips, generally. Here's one of the better ones.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjBgEkbnX2I
The short answer is, probably not.
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u/Xylembuild 2d ago
Well would be ok if we were not running out of Helium, and you dont want to fill those things with Hydrogen :).
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u/Pinkninja11 2d ago
I think Hindenburg put the last nail of the coffin into that.
That aside, they take more space, are slower and rely on hydrogen. Maybe as a domestic transportation it would be worth to explore over planes. We have made great advancements with hydrogen use so maybe some of the technology developed for cars can be translated into that.
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u/fredrikca 2d ago
On the other hand, you could board a Zeppelin in London at 5 pm and wake up in New York at 7 am after a full nights sleep. Not as fun in the other direction though.
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u/fredrikca 2d ago
It could be a carbon free alternative to jets, one third the speed though.
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u/SimplyLaggy 2d ago
I’d say more like a enjoyable and novelty experience like a cruise ship when you have time
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u/Turbulent-Name-8349 2d ago
One of the most amazing things that I've ever seen in a book is a Zeppelin aircraft carrier. A Zeppelin (in real-life) was turned into an aircraft carrier. The planes were supported on hooks that hung underneath the Zeppelin. They could be launched from the Zeppelin, and, amazingly, return and land under the Zeppelin as well.
It seems impossible, but actually existed.
Photographs in the book "They sailed the skies" about US made Zeppelins.
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u/ScottyBBadd 2d ago
There would be a Black Dog getting A Whole Lotta Love on the way to Kashmir via the Stairway To Heaven.
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u/Forsaken-Use-3220 2d ago
Everything would be like Gotham city, along with their being more explosions and probably terror attacks.
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u/SnooRabbits1411 2d ago
I read this as zip-lines at first, and I was finna be like that’s such a bad idea
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u/ichangetires 2d ago
The decision to invest in aeroplanes that were more maneuverable and quicker during wartime is why, coupled with the Hindenburg disaster zeppelins weren't designed to develop further into modern airships. They're good for advertising, weather monitoring and sight seeing.
YouTube, searching for the video... will return
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u/Jen0BIous 2d ago
We wouldn’t get places nearly as fast? Not to mention much easier to destroy or have an accident
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u/Personal-Ad8280 2d ago
We would be in flames goddamit think with you head man /s
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u/fredrikca 2d ago
It would help if new Zeppelins would use safer materials than acetate and aluminium powder as skin. It was basically a flying fire bomb even without the hydrogen.
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u/Xylembuild 2d ago
Fun fact, the Zeplins were designed to run on Helium, a non flammable material, but the US having a lock on the Helium supplies denied the Nazi regime access, so they filled them with Hydrogen, retrofitting alot of them to not 'spark' but as we all know it was not very successful.
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u/KingStevoI 9h ago
Because planes are more efficient in the modern era. Add that to how valuable helium is and the volatility of hydrogen they're cheaper and safer.
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u/redneckerson1951 2d ago
For passenger service today, it would be a no-go. Freight on the other hand, well that is a different animal. If they could be totally automated so no labor was involved in transit between travel points, then that would sweeten the pot.