What’s the difference between a Blimp and a Zeppelin?

A blimp has no internal structure whereas a Zeppellin is a ‘rigid airship’ with a distinct inner frame.

Count Ferdinand von Zeppellin was quite the man. His invention, patented in 1895, resulted in the first commercially flown airships in 1910 (driven by postal needs). And not just Mickey Mouse distances – we’re talking here NY and Rio (from Europe).

I was amazed to discover that the Art Deco spire of the Empire State Building was originally designed to act as a mooring mast for Zeppellin and other airships.

And they were enormous – take a look at the scale model in this picture:

In fact, the Hindenburg (which famously and tragically caught fire and killed 13 passengers and 22 crew on board) was a staggering 804 feet long.

They’re getting a new lease of life now – who knows what advances we’ll see (interesting;u]y, they feature in “Ministry for the Future” , a wonderfully provocative book on climate change).

Zeppellin’s legacy – a conglomerate (sporting turnover of over 16 billion), a Zeppellin University and lots more.