I was wondering what other stabilization techniques you guys know of. For example, have there ever been sails (like sailboat sails) attached to a LTA dirigible? In my mind it seems possible that if you maintain tack on a few lightweight (and collapsible) sails, a blimp could even use the wind as a form of propulsion.
I'm willing to put some time into this idea - are there any flight sims that would let me combine the two before I try out a tethered prototype?
What other methods do you guys know about?
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Yes sailing is the correct metaphor. What if you devised a blimp that could change its shape based upon wind direction?
The issue of course is how do you counteract the force of the wind. Going into the wind one would need to reduce the exposure but retain the buoyancy (lift).
So, then there would need to be a way to inflate-deflate sections of the shape-shifter blimp.
Getting complicated isn't it?
Check out this sail maker website: http://www.sailcut.com/Main_Page
They have a free sail CAD program that may help you with design.