Thermoplan
Encyclopedia
The thermoplan is a disc
-shaped airship
of hybrid
type, currently under development in Russia
. The key feature of thermoplan is its two section structure. The main section of the airship is filled with helium
, while the other section is filled with air that can be heated or cooled by the engines. This design greatly improves the maneuverability, alongside with the disc
shape which helps resist the powerful winds up to 20 metre per second.
The project was started in the late 1980s and the early 1990s, with the first working prototype tested in 1991. That was rather small airship, and the giant thermoplan wasn't built at that time due to the problems caused by the economy crisis of 1990s. In the late 2000s the project was revived under the name Locomoskayner (Локомоскайнер) by the Russian company Lokomosky in Ulyanovsk
.
Disk (mathematics)
In geometry, a disk is the region in a plane bounded by a circle.A disk is said to be closed or open according to whether or not it contains the circle that constitutes its boundary...
-shaped airship
Airship
An airship or dirigible is a type of aerostat or "lighter-than-air aircraft" that can be steered and propelled through the air using rudders and propellers or other thrust mechanisms...
of hybrid
Hybrid airship
"A hybrid airship is an aircraft that combines characteristics of heavier-than-air technology, fixed-wing aircraft or helicopter, and lighter-than-air , aerostat technology."[1]Examples include helicopter/airship hybrids intended for heavy lift applications and dynamic lift airships intended for...
type, currently under development in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. The key feature of thermoplan is its two section structure. The main section of the airship is filled with helium
Helium
Helium is the chemical element with atomic number 2 and an atomic weight of 4.002602, which is represented by the symbol He. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas that heads the noble gas group in the periodic table...
, while the other section is filled with air that can be heated or cooled by the engines. This design greatly improves the maneuverability, alongside with the disc
Disk (mathematics)
In geometry, a disk is the region in a plane bounded by a circle.A disk is said to be closed or open according to whether or not it contains the circle that constitutes its boundary...
shape which helps resist the powerful winds up to 20 metre per second.
The project was started in the late 1980s and the early 1990s, with the first working prototype tested in 1991. That was rather small airship, and the giant thermoplan wasn't built at that time due to the problems caused by the economy crisis of 1990s. In the late 2000s the project was revived under the name Locomoskayner (Локомоскайнер) by the Russian company Lokomosky in Ulyanovsk
Ulyanovsk
Ulyanovsk The city is the birthplace of Vladimir Lenin , for whom it is named.-History:Simbirsk was founded in 1648 by the boyar Bogdan Khitrovo. The fort of "Simbirsk" was strategically placed on a hill on the Western bank of the Volga River...
.