LTA (Lighter-Than-Air)

CargoLifter is re-powering the oldest way of airborne transportation with balloons and airships for lifting and transport of loads.

Principle | Aircraft gain their lift by aerodynamic forces, LTA is getting the lift areostatically, based on the old Archimedes' principle ...
..., a law of physics stating that the upward buoyant force exerted on a body immersed in a fluid is equal to the weight of the fluid the body displaces. In other words, an immersed object is buoyed up by a force equal to the weight of the fluid it actually displaces. As ships are floating in water, airships are floting in air lifted by the lighter gas inside of the vehicle compared to the heavier air outside. In contrast to heavier-than-air vehicles such as airplanes and helicopters, balloons or airships do not burn fuel for the lift, they only need energy for propulsion. LTA can even work in Arctic environment, although weather is still an issue – as it is for all transport technologies.
Uplift | The uplift depends on the volume. 1 m³ of helium lifts 1 kg. In other words: any LTA vehicle needs to be big to create ...
... enough gas-volume to lift itself and the payload. To lift one (1) ton a balloon needs about 1.500 m³, which means 15 m in diameter – a five story high building. For lifting five (5) tons, the diameter only needs to be increased by a factor of two to 27 m! The increase in size leads to less surface compared to volume. The volume can be regarded as a virtual mass. Doubling the diameter of an envelope increases the surface four times, the volume eight times! Therefore, a larger volume means higher stability at higher wind speeds (in the same way as larger ships are less affected by waves than small boats). For example, the AirCrane is allowed to operate at wind speeds up to 10 m/s, and in mooring position it withstands winds up to 35 m/s.
Hydrogen | Uplift is created by a lighter-than-air gas such as helium, hydrogen, etc. CargoLifter is on the forefront of using hydrogen ...
... as lifting gas. Hydrogen is lighter, cheaper and more easily available than helium. Hydrogen can even be produced on-site and used for propulsion, too! Modern airships are filled with helium, but modern sports balloons are filled with hydrogen, even if they carry passengers. Historically hydrogen in connection with airships is related to the pictures of the burning Hindenburg. Nevertheless, today it is possible at some gas stations in Germany to put hydrogen in the tank of cars with a pressure of 700 bar and just drive off. CargoLifter initiated the step towards the use of hydrogen for cargo purposes jointly with partners and the European Aviation and Safety Agency (EASA).
Balloons are most efficient in terms of surface to volume and less complex in regard of design and certification, ...
... but balloons are not ideal in terms of drag (cw 0,3). This makes them well suited for stationary operations and short distance transport up to 50 km at low speed. CargoLifter has been operating balloons (with helium, hydrogen and hot air) of 4 m up to 61 m in diameter! It is possible to lift 55 tons – as demonstrated with the CL-75. This is about three times the load of the world’s largest helicopter! The movement or propulsion of balloons is either provided by ground equipment or vehicles (winches or trucks, helicopters, ships, etc.). As a self-propelled version, the balloon is regarded as a spherical airship.
Airships are more complex in design and certification as well as more expensive in production and operations in comparison to balloons, but ...
... they are able to cruise at higher speeds because of their significantly lower drag (cw 0.03). This advantage qualifies airships for longer distances transportation tasks of up to 10,000 kilometres. LTA is never as fast as an aircraft – but 80 to 120 km per hour from point to point is still faster than ships and trucks! Our design philosophy is “Powered by Simplicity”, for efficient, robust and reliable solutions. CargoLifter is strictly LTA driven, using the advantages of this technology to the fullest, for the benefit of customers and the environment.