Airship cargo

In today’s economy, there are usually two reasons why cargo is transportated by air:  speed and remoteness.  While train and ship transport are far cheaper and have much lower carbon outputs than air cargo, aircraft are used to move cargo that is time sensitive, and they are used to move cargo in and out of locations, like the Canadian north, that lack infrastructure.  It is this second circumstance that is initially being targeted by a group of companies, including aerospace giant Lockheed Martin, that are developing designs for cargo lifting airships.

Lockheed Martin’s SkyTug should be ready for use by late 2013.  It will be capable of transporting 20 tons of cargo up to 1,000 miles.  The SkyFreighter is expected to follow in 2014 with a 50 ton capacity.  By comparison, a Boeing 747-400 Freighter can carry 124 tons of cargo up to 4,450 miles.  Calgary based Aviation Capital Enterprises has purchased the commercial righhts to the SkyTug, and plans to begin selling the craft in 2013 to oil companies for use in northern Alberta.

Barry Prentice, of the University of Manitoba, expects that the SkyTug will find a niche in this province as well.  Continuing climate warming here has reduced the average open time of the winter ice roads that are vital to supplying northern communities from 3 months to 1 month.  Construction and maintenance of all-weather roads is prohibitively expensive in northern Manitoba due in part to melting permafrost, also the result of climate change.  Airships could provide a more cost-effective, reliable and environmentally friendly way to provide service to remote communities.

While airships will likely find their initial usage in remote locations that currently have limited options for cargo transport, Prentice believes that they could one day supplant all fixed wing cargo aircraft.  If true, this would be a huge step forward in reducing carbon emissions.

Read more at http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=is-there-a-future-for-airships