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Cargolifter cl160 airship6/11/2023 The means to transfer cargo between a hovering airship and the ground (ladders, cables) also needs to consider ballast exchange. Landing will need stations, or at least large fields and perhaps some preparation. But landing safely and quickly is harder. They can go to and hover over most destinations, putting them at an advantage compared to planes, trains and ships. Where airships have to compete with established infrastructure, the case is more difficult to make.Īirships can go the last mile in a sense. Certainly, in areas without roads, airship services could be transformative. Aspiring airship entrepreneur, Andre Houssney, has coined the term “Roadless Revolution” to describe the all-aerial supply chains that might emerge in the age of giant airships. Where airships can offer “point to point” transport could lead to big changes in everyday logistics and distribution. For most general freight, cargo airships are likely to be more complementary to trucking, rather than competitive. Trucks can make door-to-door deliveries very well and have an entrenched, large market share. Last-mile freight applications require fine control, efficient transshipment, complementary communications technologies and price competitiveness. The airplane does the “long haul” component of such a journey, the taxicab does the “last mile,” which obviously need not be literally a mile. This principle is familiar to anyone who has made a long journey by airplane to an airport in a distant city, followed by a short drive to get to a specific address. Often this differs from the mode that gets the freight most of the way there. In logistics and communications, the “last mile” refers to the link that brings cargo, passengers, or information to the final destination. This airship claim has some merit, but “point to point” cargo operations are likely to be limited to special projects, rather than routine deliveries. Airplanes, trains, and ships haul cargo long distances, then require motor vehicles to complete the “last mile” of the journey. A claim sometimes made by aspiring airship builders is that airships can offer a “point to point” transport solution.
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