this post was submitted on 27 Mar 2024
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Helicopter can also go into autorotation mode, i.e., to "gently" land even with engine failure. I think airships has no moving parts, what's safe, and with the gas leak, I think it is rather slow process, so it would be easy to gently land.
Yep, airships aren't overpressurized like a balloon - any leak will be extremely slow, as the heavier ambient air gradually displaces the helium inside the airship through whatever hole might be created. As I understand it, one of the big maintenance issues they have is even finding the holes from normal wear and tear. The usual failure scenarios involve storms with huge pressure changes.
Helium could be detected with some specialized detectors, but I suppose approximately -- so, as you said, finding exact leak place is challenging.
If it was even slightly heated couldn't you maybe visualize it with thermal imaging?
I suppose so, if some heater would be placed to heat the helium.