Buoyant flight, the use of gases lighter than air for lift, has fascinated people for more than two centuries.

The Wright Brothers were the first to fly a powered airplane in 1903. But French steam engineer Henri Giffard first demonstrated powered flight in 1852, flying in a 44 m (144 ft) long airship with a 3 horsepower steam engine of his own design.

In 1901 a Brazilian Count named Santos Dumont first demonstrated controlled flight. He flew an 11.3 km (7 mile) figure-eight course in Paris in less than 30 minutes not in an airplane but in his airship.

World Wars I and II saw the development of lighter than air vehicles for missions ranging from surveillance to bombing. In World War I, German Zeppelins flew as high as 6100 m (20,000 ft) dropping bombs on England. In World War II the US Navy operated 167 "blimps" on anti-submarine patrol, protecting the vital convoys carrying men and materials to the war zones in Europe. No convoy lost a single ship to submarine attack while protected by the blimps, and only one blimp was lost to enemy action.

Using modern materials, airships like those manufactured today by American Blimp Corporation can easily carry payloads of 1000 kg (1.2 tons), remain aloft for more than 24 hours, and reach altitudes of 3050 m (10,000 ft). Designers are now studying very large airships that will be capable of carrying 450 metric ton (500 ton), high value payloads across the Pacific at more than 160 kph (100 mph). Another recent development is the design of remotely piloted airships for many surveillance missions.

Of course avionics have not stood still through revolutions in materials and design! The photograph shows the SPECTOR^TM-42's instrument panel, which the FAA has approved for IFR. (Click on the photo to see a 43 kB enlargement.)

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