Darrell Kindley explores the interesting history of the airship.

1. Thehistoryoftheairship
Darrell Kindley

2. Airships remain some of the most unique flying machines in terms of design
and functionality. The machines are the product of an equally interesting series
of historical events and breakthroughs, each expanding upon the one before it.
Here is a brief history of the airship.

3. Earlydesigns
Airships trace their origin to the 1670s,
when Francesco Lana de Terzi
conceptualized an “aerial ship.” Terzi’s
idea was physically impossible to achieve,
but it started a conversation surrounding
the previously fantastical concept of
human flight.
Following in Terzi’s footsteps, French
Inventor Jean Pierre Blanchard created a
balloon in 1784 that was equipped with a
hand-powered propeller -- the first
recorded instance of “propulsion carried
aloft.”
Source: Wikipedia

4. Lateradvancements
A series of different airships were built
during the late 1700s and in the 1800s and
1900s. In 1900, Count Ferdinand von
Zeppelin of Germany invented the the first
rigid airship, or “zeppelin.” These ships
were designed with a steel internal frame.
Furthermore, nonrigid airships (blimps) rose
as zeppelin contemporaries, utilizing a
design that did not rely on a frame and
would lose its shape following deflation.
The airship would go on to be used in both
World Wars as a weapon and a form of
mass transportation.
Source: Wikipedia

5. airshipstoday
Airships still receive a lot of use to this day, though they are no longer viewed
as a common and popular form of cross country travel.
Most modern airships enjoy regular use as advertisement vehicles -- a
practice heavily popularized by the Goodyear blimp. Other airships continue to
be used for sightseeing, surveillance, and other forms of recreational or
research-based observation.