Up Ship! The Airship History Podcast

It was great to interview Toby Page, Managing Director of Skyship Services Inc, operator of the largest lighter-than-air fleet in the world. Toby and I met 25 years ago when I boarded one of his airships as a wide-eyed teenager and it's testament to the power of these wonderful aircraft that we are both still airship-obsessed. Toby talks about some of the key moments that have shaped the industry over the last quarter century, from 9/11 to the covid pandemic. We explore how an effective blimp advertising campaign comes together and what it's like out on the road with a travelling airship circus. We also talk about the future of the industry and Skyship Services' role in training the pilots of the future. Find out more about Skyship Services at www.airships.com. This is the last episode of Season One. Thanks for listening and I'll see you soon for Season Two! As ever, please remember to like, share and review...

As political tensions escalated across Europe in the years leading up to the First World War, the major powers engaged in an aerial arms race to develop their airships into war-winning weapons. Britain, Italy, France and Germany watched each other's progress with fear and alarm. Britain struggled to keep up with its continental rivals. Italy was the only country to deploy airships in combat pre-WW1. France built a large fleet but didn't know what to do with it. Germany, of course, dominated the skies but experienced several devastating crashes that claimed the lives of many of their valuable experienced airshipmen. By the time war erupted in the summer of 1914, airshipmen around the world faced an uncertain future. What role would these lighter-than-air giants play in the conflicts to come? Join us as we explore the story of how airships prepared for war - an era marked by ambition, innovation and no small measure of calamity. Sources The Zeppelin in Combat by Douglas RobinsonMilitary, Naval and Civil Airships Since 1783 by Daniel George Ridley-Kitts MBEThe Achievement of the Airship by Guy HartcupThe British Rigid Airship 1908 – 1931 by Robin HighamJane's Pocket Book of Airship Development by Lord Ventry and Eugene M. KolesnikThe Parseval Airships by Alastair Reid12,000 Kilometres in Parseval Airships by August Stelling, translated by Alastair ReidAirshipmen, Businessmen and Politics by Henry Cord MeyerDance of the Furies by Michael NeibergWeb site of the Airship Heritage TrustWeb site of the Royal Air Force Museum

In 1909, the Zeppelin Company made history by founding the world's first airline, DELAG. But it was not smooth sailing; DELAG lost their first airships in a series of high-profile, humiliating disasters before they found their feet. Expanding amid a wave of German nationalism, in which the Zeppelin became a patriotic symbol of Teutonic technological might, DELAG airships soon flew over all the major cities of Germany. Years ahead of aeroplanes, airline passengers on DELAG's ships flew in plush cabins and served the finest food and wine by the world's first flight attendant. But the storm clouds of war were gathering over Europe… Sources: The Achievement of the Airship by Guy HartcupGiants in the Sky by Douglas RobinsonCount Zeppelin by Hugo EckenerEckener Unabridged by Hugo Eckener, translated by Alastair ReidThe Men of Manzell by Georg Hacker, translated by Alastair ReidZeppelin! by Guillaume de SyonAirships.net

"Remember - there are 7,000,000 cubic feet of hydrogen at the end of a fishing pole!" A slightly different bonus episode today - my film nerd husband and I recap the plot of the 1975 disaster movie The Hindenburg, starring Anne Bancroft and George C. Scott!  My husband knows a lot about films but not much about airships (although he helps me produce these podcasts, so you'd imagine that by osmosis some knowledge has crept through). After a few drinks, we go back over the story scene-by-scene, discussing the characters, the story, the effects and the recreation of the airship itself. At the end, we discuss the film as a whole and our thoughts on it. Let me know if you agree or disagree with our opinions... This episode contains spoilers from the very beginning!! PS - this was originally uploaded on my Patreon account, since shut down, so ignore references to that.

In the years before the First World War, people from nations around the world worked to fill the sky with airships. In this episode, we take a look at developments in the United States and the United Kingdom. We will join one of the most epic adventures in the history of early aviation and we will see how one man's obsession with airships ended up costing him his life. The governments and armed forces of both the United States and the United Kingdom were slow on the uptake with airships, leaving civilians to lead the way. This led to some crazy disasters, as with Morrell's gigantic sausage airship of 1908, as well as giving visionary explorers the opportunity to spread their wings, as with Walter Wellman and his polar and Atlantic adventures. In the United Kingdom, Ernest Thompson Willows, a failed dental student, dedicated his life to airships - with tragic consequences. Enjoy a selection of unusual stories from the early age of aviation!

Delighted to share a very special bonus episode - a discussion with the senior management team of Straightline Aviation, one of the leading British airship companies. Straightline Aviation was formed by some of the most knowledgeable people in the industry so it was fascinating to sit down with them to discuss their significant airship experience and their objectives with Straightline as they work with AT2 Aerospace to bring the Z1 hybrid airship to market.  The panel was formed of: Mike Kendrick, Founder and President Mark Dorey, CEO Jim Dexter, Director of Operations We cover a lot of ground in the discussion, including Mike's early days in balloon advertising and his work on Richard Branson's record-setting balloon flights, Jim's hairiest moment as an airship pilot (it's pretty intense!), Mark's ambitions for Straightline Aviation and the team's experience running the Virgin Airship and Balloon Company in the 1990s and early 2000s. We also talk about the features and benefits of the Z1 hybrid airship design and the challenges and opportunities of bringing a new technology to the market.

The road to success was not a smooth one for Count von Zeppelin. This episode tells the story of his repeated attempts to put the Zeppelin enterprise on a firm foundation, to safeguard the future for his rigid airship invention. Even now he would have agonising false starts, with his second airship torn to pieces in a storm.  With the stunning success of his third airship, the LZ-3, and her larger successor, the LZ-4, the stage seemed set for the Count to meet the German government's audacious challenge - to complete a 24-hour endurance flight with the LZ-4, something no aircraft had yet achieved. But triumph was to turn to tragedy; LZ-4 would be destroyed in a devastating, fiery accident.  It all seemed to be over for the Count, but a nationwide upswell of popular support turned crushing defeat into overwhelming victory. This is the story of how the Zeppelin rose from the ashes.

Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin was a titan of the airship world - of aviation in general, in fact. The inventor of the rigid airship, he founded a company which manufacturers airships to this day and which was responsible for the creation of some of the most iconic aircraft of all time. But this was not supposed to be his legacy. An army officer and diplomat, he faithfully served the Kingdom of Wurttemberg and the German Empire that followed, through a time of political and social upheaval, until his beloved military career was suddenly and brutally taken away from him.  Bereft, humiliated and cast adrift, the Count turned his energy to a subject that had interested him for years; the problem of human flight. Moving mountains to get his first airship built, he ensured that his name would be synonymous with lighter-than-air flight forever. This is the story of Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin and his dream of the rigid airship.

I was delighted to welcome Max Pinucci to the podcast. Max is a designer, pilot, author and teacher. Among many other roles, he is the Cofounder and Head of Design at OceanSky Cruises, an exciting company which aims to operate large passenger airships for luxury, sustainable aerial cruises. In this wide-ranging interview, Max and I discuss his many airship- and aviation-related projects, from his beautiful book Airships: Designed for Greatness to his board game, Airships: North Pole Quest.  Naturally, we speak a lot about OceanSky Cruises - where the concept came from, why sustainability and good design are vital parts of the company's mission and what it will be like for passengers to experience the first, epic flight to the North Pole. We also talk about Max's aerial adventures in the skies of Tuscany in his 1930s British biplane! Enjoy the discussion and please remember to share, like and review!

In the second part of our Alberto Santos-Dumont double-bill, we follow his career as his fame skyrockets and he becomes one of the most celebrated figures in the world. Embittered by the controversies surrounding the Deutsche Prize, he continues his experiments in Monaco before finally returning to France. His adventures continue; his little airship Number 9 hosts the world's first female pilot and the world's first child to fly.  Interested in all types of aviation, Alberto moves into aeroplane production and becomes the first person in Europe - some, still, maintain the world - to fly a heavier-than-air powered flying machine. Sadly, the latter part of his life is one of illness, depression and restless travel before his sad and untimely end. Enjoy this deep dive into one of the most interesting characters in aviation history!

Aviation history is full of outsize characters. But few are as colourful or as interesting as Brazilian pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont. Born to a wealthy coffee planting family, young Alberto dreamed of emulating the birds in flight. His dreams became reality when he moved to the exciting, vivid world of turn-of-the-century Paris. First building balloons, then airships, then ultimately aeroplanes, he steadily developed his understanding of flight, becoming one of the most celebrated men in the world and challenging the Wright Brothers through his achievements.  In Part One of this two-part series, we trace Alberto's early life and career, from growing up on his father's coffee plantation through his first experiments with balloons and airships, with some bumpy moments along the way.

It was great to interview Thibault Proux from Flying Whales, one of the companies making the biggest strides towards bringing large airships back to our skies. Flying Whales are developing what will be the largest aircraft in the world - the LCA60T, 200 metres long, 50 metres wide and capable of carrying 60 tons of cargo to areas of the world with little to no infrastructure. Thibault has been there almost since the beginning. We talk about the challenges both of building new aircraft and of developing effectively an entirely new industry, about the problems ‘load exchange' poses for airship designers and the solutions Flying Whales have developed, and about how you should always follow your passion!

Observing the first manned balloon flight, Benjamin Franklin believed that the balloon would be such a potent weapon that it would bring about an end to war. If only that had been the case. Balloons played a role in numerous conflicts, from the French Revolutionary Wars and the American Civil War up to World War One, but they and their proponents often sat uncomfortably in the strict military hierarchy of  their armies, leading to conflict and personality clashes. On this episode, we examine the role that balloons have played in military history and look and why, ultimately, they were not as effective as some hoped they would be. We also pick up the thread of airship history, looking at attempts, sometimes fatal, at solving the biggest problem of early flight - how to build an aircraft that could actually be steered. We look at the first ever powered flight and the different approaches to building a useful airship.

"Nothing will ever equal that moment of joyous excitement which filled my whole being when I felt myself flying away from the earth. It was not mere pleasure, it was perfect bliss. Having escaped from the frightful torments of persecution and of calumny, I felt that I was answering all in rising above all… On whatever side we looked, all was glorious; a cloudless sky above, a most delicious view around." Imagine the thrill of being one of the first humans to experience flight. Imagine the courage it must have taken to set foot in a balloon and allow yourself to be transported into the clouds, not knowing what it would be like or whether you would survive the experience. Every time we board an aircraft today, we owe a debt to these brave pioneers. Join podcast host Nick Rogers for episode 2 as we trace the early days of flight, from Greek mythology to the first manned flights in balloons.    

'Out of the softening sunset came the airship; and the manner of its moving was beautiful. Few inanimate objects attain beauty in the pursuance of their courses, and yet, to me, at least, the flight of this ship was far lovelier than the swooping of a bird or the jumping of a horse.' Giant rigid airships the size of ocean liners once ruled our skies. Crossing continents and transporting passengers in spacious luxury, they seemed to be the future of long-distance air travel. But one fiery moment in 1937 over Lakehurst, New Jersey changed aviation forever and robbed the world of these magnificent, otherworldly aircraft. Join podcast host Nick Rogers as we look at why large airships are no longer in our skies, why that matters and why you should be interested in airship history.

Welcome to Up Ship! The Airship History Podcast. I'm Nick Rogers and I will be your captain on this long-haul flight through the fascinating history of the most awe-inspiring and ethereal aircraft ever conceived – the airship.  We will navigate from the earliest days of airships, through the violent days of the First World War into the Golden Age of the great airships of the 1920s and 30s, and beyond. We'll fly around the world on the Graf Zeppelin, travel to the North Pole with Roald Amundsen, escort World War 2 convoys in US Navy airships and much, much more. And of course, we will examine in the depth the tragic crashes that bedevilled airship history, such as the Hindenburg Disaster. On our journey we will encounter courageous pilots, crazy inventors, ambitious politicians, visionary engineers; a whole cast of colourful characters. We'll look at how airships influenced the way we travel now, and at the companies trying to bring them back into regular use. Subscribe now wherever you get your podcasts to join the adventure as we voyage back to a time when giant airships ruled the skies!