View Single Post
Old 09-29-2010, 10:06 PM   #18
Anaraxes
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Default Re: Seaplanes & Submarines

Quote:
Could {dirigibles} attain a high enough altitude to be safe enough from the weather?
Probably not with WW2 tech. At least according to Wikipedia, the record altitude for rigid airship was 24,000 feet (1917). They claim a practical limit for commercial operation of around 3000 feet (hydrogen-filled passenger airship record of 5500 feet for the Graf Zeppelin), 8000 for pressure ships.

Even modern jets fly around storms, rather than over them. Cumulonimbus clouds can reach 60,000 feet; severe thunderstorms are at least 30-35,000 feet tall. FAA advice is to clear the top of a thunderstorm by at least 1,000 feet for every 10 knots of wind speed at the top of the storm, which can easily be 50 knots or more; maximum altitude of commercial jets like a 747 or 777 is about 45,000 feet. You fly over rain, or clouds that block visibility, but not ship-threatening storms.

There are a number of current research programs or prototype development for LTA ships that can fly up to 60-70,000 feet, usually for surveillance or research purposes as a sort of cheaper standin for satellite observation.
Anaraxes is offline   Reply With Quote