It seems like every ten years or so there is a flurry of activity aimed at returning large dirigibles to the air, with promises of cheap air transport of cargo and a return to the glory days of lighter-than-air travel, before the Hindenburg screwed everything up. The last go-around was with DARPA’s “WALRUS” program to develop a strategic airlift dirigible capable of carrying 1000 tons of cargo; the program started a decade or so ago, and was cancelled in 2010. When WALRUS went away, a lot of the press behind new zeppelins also went away.

One effort that still seems to be chugging along, though, is Aeroscraft, which is building a large dirigible of somewhat unconventional shape. Instead of the traditional cigar-shaped vehicle with a circular cross-section, the Aeroscraft has a flattened underside. By flattening the underside, the vehicle can hug the ground. This allows the landing gear – four largish “pads” – to contact the ground. These appear to be air cushion landing pads… which can not only provide a soft landing without a ground crew, but can also “suck” the vehicle to the ground. This means that an airship could land on a flat but otherwise unimproved spot of land and stick itself to the ground without needing to be tied down. Together with a built-in means of compressing the helium lift gas, an Aeroscraft zeppelin could land and offload cargo without suddenly floating away at the sudden weight loss.

A few recent news articles with lots of photos of their test vehicle:

Thundebird 2 is go! California firm unveils gigantic amphibious airship which could revolutionize air travel as we know it