Today’s the day, back in 1889, that the famed Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin patented his first airship design, called a ‘navigable balloon’. Airships became a major part of early aviation, and were pressed into combat service on bombing missions in World War I. Later on, they never really stood a chance against the speed and practicality of fast-developing conventional aircraft, and with the 1937 loss of the giant Hindenburg (its splendid dining room is shown in the top picture) while attempting to land in New Jersey, the airship age came to a halt. Small numbers are still made today, but the ‘age of the airship’ is long gone.
Meantime, what about that smaller, yet hugely desirable object, the personal aircraft? One that you can use as casually as an automobile is probably as far away as ever, but that doesn’t stop people from dreaming up new ideas. And here’s a nice little concept for a single-seater called the Muecke, or Mosquito (lower pictures). The designer, Daniel Kocyba from Germany, reckons his concept would be good as a personal sports machine, but it could also be used as a spotter or control craft for fire, police and coastguard operations. The tiny Muecke might also provide a neat solution for rushing emergency medical packages - nothing like sailing over traffic jams with that vital supply of blood.
An important feature of the Muecke is the contra-rotating lift rotor layout, which does away with the need for a tail rotor, so reducing the helo’s weight and complexity. Will the Muecke - or something like it - ever get built? We can only hazard a ‘maybe’, but computerized easy-fly controls make such machines a strong future possibility.
Visit Daniel Kocyba here.
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