WEBVTT 00:11.877 --> 00:15.240 CargoLifter, the white whale of the skies. 00:15.280 --> 00:19.545 The dream of the largest airship of all time is on the verge of bankruptcy. 00:19.565 --> 00:24.410 This globally acclaimed mammoth project from Germany — a monument to failure? 00:24.430 --> 00:29.935 The maiden flight lacks funding — the equivalent of three new Airbus military transporters. 00:29.995 --> 00:32.538 But no one is willing to invest anymore. 00:32.558 --> 00:34.360 The white whale has run aground. 00:36.022 --> 00:37.383 Already a reality: 00:37.403 --> 00:41.327 The CargoLifter hangar — the largest free-standing building in the world. 00:43.383 --> 00:49.518 More than 500 specialists from 18 nations are working to get the giant airborne. 00:50.220 --> 00:54.912 Expertise that is unique worldwide — the company's most valuable asset. 00:57.254 --> 01:00.501 The market for the flying crane is undisputed. 01:00.521 --> 01:05.070 The CargoLifter idea grew out of a study by German mechanical and plant engineers. 01:05.090 --> 01:11.704 Transporting heavy and extremely large loads is a costly and troublesome affair that proceeds at a snail's pace. 01:11.724 --> 01:14.790 An average speed of eight kilometres per hour. 01:14.770 --> 01:18.056 The slow airship would be ten times faster. 01:18.076 --> 01:22.986 And there are orders for machines that can be produced but can no longer be delivered. 01:23.026 --> 01:25.992 Even greater problems await at the destination. 01:26.012 --> 01:30.180 There, special roads, bridges, or pontoon ships sometimes have to be constructed first. 01:56.840 --> 02:01.045 The CargoLifter founder's solution sounds ingenious and simple. 02:02.487 --> 02:13.760 Carl von Gablenz: "Ideally, you could pick up the large, heavy pieces directly from the factory, transport them non-stop to the construction site in India, China, or wherever, and set them down right on the foundation." 02:13.800 --> 02:18.105 Carl von Gablenz: "That is the ideal solution — that is the idea behind CargoLifter, hence the name." 02:18.878 --> 02:21.523 This is how the loading process is supposed to work. 02:21.543 --> 02:27.334 The airship manoeuvres — nose into the wind — at about 150 metres above the pick-up point. 02:27.354 --> 02:31.362 Attached to simple ground anchors, the empty cargo frame is pulled down. 02:32.404 --> 02:36.732 The flatter the angle of the cables becomes, the more precise the positioning. 02:36.752 --> 02:41.241 A flying crane — designed to operate in winds up to force 5. 02:41.980 --> 02:44.543 Then the cargo is loaded into the cargo frame. 02:44.563 --> 02:48.227 160 cubic metres of water ballast are released. 02:48.267 --> 02:50.149 This keeps the airship's weight constant at all times. 02:51.090 --> 02:58.358 The CargoLifter can transport up to 160 tonnes of cargo over distances of up to 10,000 kilometres. 02:58.418 --> 03:01.721 In computer simulation, this already works excellently. 03:01.781 --> 03:07.988 But will it work just as smoothly in reality with a truly gigantic airship? 03:12.592 --> 03:20.544 The load exchange procedure was successfully demonstrated just a few months ago with nearly 60 tonnes using the transport balloon CargoLifter CL75. 03:20.564 --> 03:24.409 And there is competition. 03:24.429 --> 03:35.646 In England, the transport airship Skycat is being developed — intended to be even larger than the CargoLifter. 03:37.448 --> 03:42.413 An airship renaissance worldwide — and for once, the Germans are leading the pack. 03:42.453 --> 03:46.417 The University of Stuttgart developed Lotte — the world's first solar-powered airship. 03:51.363 --> 03:53.605 From the same stable: the Luftwurm. 03:53.665 --> 03:57.309 A project study for an unmanned stratospheric airship. 03:57.349 --> 04:03.015 The US military wants to use the technology for airspace surveillance. 04:03.055 --> 04:05.818 And in Friedrichshafen, the Zeppelin NT is flying. 04:10.996 --> 04:18.132 What only the CargoLifter can do: transport relief supplies to disaster areas without an airfield or ground equipment. 04:18.152 --> 04:28.735 For example, a mobile hospital to an earthquake zone, or a water treatment plant to a flood area — complete with a full operating crew. 04:28.968 --> 04:32.453 Even when no bridge, no road is passable anymore. 04:32.493 --> 04:36.078 The airship as a lifesaver — it sounds too good to be true. 04:36.138 --> 04:37.901 Carl von Gablenz plays it down. 04:37.921 --> 04:40.164 He doesn't want to be dismissed as a romantic. 04:40.184 --> 04:46.453 Carl von Gablenz: "The airship is central to the solution and is also important — it holds a certain fascination for all of us." 04:46.602 --> 04:51.470 Carl von Gablenz: "But CargoLifter's mission is to provide a transport solution to the market." 04:51.530 --> 04:57.360 Carl von Gablenz: "So the entire project is an economically and management-oriented endeavour." 04:57.380 --> 05:07.297 70,000 small shareholders have invested 250 million euros in CargoLifter's mix of high tech, ecology, and stock market speculation. 05:07.337 --> 05:12.205 Carl von Gablenz is regarded as a gifted communicator — but not everyone is enthusiastic. 05:15.205 --> 05:19.770 CargoLifter also has critics, opponents, and enemies. 05:19.790 --> 05:29.201 Gerhard Hegmann: "The company sets out to build the world's largest airship of all time — starting from scratch." 05:29.241 --> 05:30.502 Ranga Yogeshwar: "That is think big." 05:30.522 --> 05:34.546 "Though one must say — it involves quite a lot of hot air." 05:34.627 --> 05:40.453 Heiko Teegen: "Either the people involved are cranks, or the whole thing is deliberately set up as a fraud." 05:41.513 --> 05:52.755 CargoLifter — a brilliant innovation from Germany's crumbling industrial base, or just megalomaniacal fantasy doomed to fail from the very beginning? 05:52.795 --> 05:55.200 Flashback — Brand, near Berlin. 05:55.240 --> 06:00.450 CargoLifter AG purchases the abandoned Soviet military airfield in 1998. 06:02.118 --> 06:12.928 Carl von Gablenz: "A strange feeling, to stand exactly where the MiGs once sat combat-ready, pointed westward, and today we are here to build the CargoLifter shipyard." 06:12.968 --> 06:17.140 "It's simply a special experience to be in this place, which remains relatively 06:17.120 --> 06:34.880 untouched today, and which CargoLifter is transforming into a high-tech facility that will one day fascinate thousands of visitors watching this giant airship take shape, watching it fly, watching the flight tests being conducted." 06:34.920 --> 06:37.643 The man is far ahead of his time. 06:37.663 --> 06:43.870 Brand is still just a ruin of the Cold War — an enchanted place where time seems to have stood still. 06:59.425 --> 07:06.177 May 1998. 07:06.217 --> 07:10.023 Before sunrise, 600 balloons are inflated. 07:10.063 --> 07:18.177 They are meant to paint the outline of the future CargoLifter hangar across the sky. 07:28.653 --> 07:30.705 The groundbreaking ceremony. 07:30.725 --> 07:35.693 Shareholders and residents from the surrounding communities are invited. 07:43.958 --> 07:48.925 This role is one that farmer, logistics professor, and lawyer Carl von Gablenz embraces gladly. 07:48.985 --> 07:52.610 Getting things done, leading, proving that things can still be set in motion in Germany. 07:53.191 --> 07:56.475 Shareholders dig the outline of the hall into the sand. 07:56.515 --> 08:00.280 A visual aid for those less gifted with visionary imagination. 08:00.320 --> 08:01.382 And for the media. 08:02.243 --> 08:13.358 Carl von Gablenz: "The problem is simply that many people who haven't looked into it more closely either see it as a pipe dream — something a bit crazy — 08:13.912 --> 08:21.188 or, even if they think it's right, can't imagine it actually happening." 08:21.209 --> 08:26.781 "And when you look up here and see the size of the hall, you naturally have a hard time picturing it." 08:26.801 --> 08:32.715 "And so one person writes 'pipe dream' and another writes 'fascinating project'." 08:32.735 --> 08:33.777 "And we just go ahead and do it." 08:34.634 --> 08:35.956 A mood of new beginnings. 08:35.976 --> 08:39.302 Fittingly, Lotte — the world's first solar-powered airship — is on hand. 08:40.043 --> 08:45.732 Its large surface area, ideal for solar cells, combined with its low speed, makes it possible. 08:46.413 --> 08:52.002 Airships can fly around the clock on solar energy and fuel cells — without any exhaust. 08:51.982 --> 08:55.506 Students at the University of Stuttgart have proven it through calculations and hands-on building. 08:56.126 --> 09:02.173 Since September 11th, the US military has taken a keen interest in unmanned surveillance airships. 09:02.213 --> 09:09.621 But no one suspects that yet in May 1998. 09:09.641 --> 09:13.385 The people of Brandenburg aren't quite sure what to make of the plans. 09:13.425 --> 09:15.087 Optimism is rare. 09:15.472 --> 09:17.877 Visitor: "I know this area a little." 09:17.897 --> 09:20.843 "I also know it from the former airfield here." 09:20.883 --> 09:23.729 "We even supplied the Soviet Union here at times." 09:23.749 --> 09:25.633 "Meat and sausage from Cottbus." 09:25.673 --> 09:29.241 "And here — I've read the materials they laid out in that tent." 09:29.261 --> 09:30.223 "Yes, I believe in it." 09:32.549 --> 09:33.630 An exception. 09:33.650 --> 09:37.015 Most people fear it's a scheme to extract West German subsidies. 09:37.035 --> 09:38.937 All just one big soap bubble? 09:38.957 --> 09:59.923 Ranga Yogeshwar: "A concept where you want to lift 160 tonnes using an enormous volume of helium poses a challenge to any engineer who, if he really thinks it through, ought to say: maybe the alternative is better — just build a road." 10:01.372 --> 10:03.816 The engineers think differently. 10:03.836 --> 10:09.706 At computers and screens, work on the CargoLifter begins. 10:09.746 --> 10:12.551 Ahead of the specialists lies a mountain of unresolved questions. 10:13.152 --> 10:19.262 A treat for young scientists like Bernhard Kämpf, who specialises in the niche field of airship physics. 10:21.217 --> 10:24.541 Bernhard Kämpf: "No one has ever investigated a system like this." 10:24.561 --> 10:27.665 "It's truly new — it simply didn't exist before." 10:27.705 --> 10:32.211 "I hear from colleagues, sort of like: 'You and your airship — that's soft stuff.'" 10:32.251 --> 10:37.137 "And we do the Space Shuttle and space travel and really tough stuff." 10:37.177 --> 10:41.563 "And everyone writes applications and there's no funding anywhere." 10:41.603 --> 10:48.912 "And this project has just grown in a real way and become important, and it genuinely has a future right now." 10:49.837 --> 10:53.761 In a storage hall in Stuttgart, manual work is called for. 10:53.821 --> 10:57.865 A group of engineers and students are handcrafting the keel for Joey. 10:57.925 --> 11:05.272 Joey is to become a flyable 1:8 scale model of the CargoLifter. 11:05.332 --> 11:08.896 Carbon fibre composite for the keel framework. 11:08.916 --> 11:12.219 Sandwich construction for the tail fins. 11:12.259 --> 11:15.262 Fly-by-wire electronics for the controls. 11:15.282 --> 11:18.966 Joey incorporates everything that modern aviation engineering has to offer. 11:23.418 --> 11:24.520 The envelope. 11:24.560 --> 11:27.785 The progress in materials since the 1930s has been immense. 11:27.825 --> 11:32.212 In the old days, cattle intestines were used for the gas cells and cotton for the outer skin. 11:32.232 --> 11:42.709 Today there are plastics that are 99.99% gas-tight, ultralight, and so tear-resistant that a fully loaded Mercedes could be hung from a finger-width strip. 11:43.550 --> 11:48.577 That's why the CargoLifter no longer needs an aluminium framework like the old zeppelins. 11:48.617 --> 12:00.613 Instead, the connection between the flexible envelope and the rigid components gives the engineers headaches. 12:00.633 --> 12:02.115 Voice: "If this here represents the 10 metres, I can pull my curtain up here." 12:02.669 --> 12:13.004 "And then all of a sudden I have a very flat angle." 12:13.064 --> 12:15.688 The challenge: connecting the keel and the envelope. 12:15.708 --> 12:19.614 The risk: the keel could tear away, the envelope could rip. 12:19.634 --> 12:28.086 Materials experts, aircraft engineers, and an attentive board discuss uncharted technical territory. 12:28.066 --> 12:30.110 Voice: "May I briefly come back to the envelope?" 12:30.150 --> 12:32.514 Voice: "It's currently pulling exclusively on the..." 12:32.534 --> 12:33.155 Voice: "Yes." 12:33.216 --> 12:39.367 Voice: "And if that, at some point between one second and a thousand years from now, has too much, then it snaps." 12:39.387 --> 12:41.912 Voice: "And then something like a domino effect occurs." 12:41.932 --> 12:46.059 Voice: "People always think far too one-dimensionally — at most two-dimensionally, as shown here." 12:46.099 --> 12:50.287 Voice: "As for that elimination — I completely agree with Mr. Koch there — that's certainly the best option." 12:50.307 --> 12:51.930 Voice: "But they have to, if this goes along here..." 12:51.910 --> 12:54.632 The CargoLifter's envelope must remain taut. 12:54.672 --> 12:57.335 It gives the airship its shape and structural integrity. 12:57.355 --> 12:59.757 Footage from the CargoLifter test department. 12:59.777 --> 13:10.788 If the gas pressure drops, the airship becomes an uncontrollable tangle of fabric and tail fins. 13:11.828 --> 13:13.309 October 1998. 13:13.349 --> 13:15.591 Construction work has begun in Brand. 13:15.631 --> 13:21.276 The former largest Soviet military airfield in Germany is to become an airship port. 13:46.957 --> 13:50.562 You'd actually need a CargoLifter to build the hangar. 13:50.602 --> 13:57.933 Huge mobile cranes, 130 metres tall, lift the prefabricated and welded segments of the hangar arches into position. 13:58.694 --> 14:13.977 There are critics who consider both the airship and the hangar to be technically impossible. 14:14.750 --> 14:15.972 Martin Wilde: "I think the idea is good." 14:15.992 --> 14:20.097 "It would be a shame if every project were talked to death the way the Transrapid was, for example." 14:20.137 --> 14:22.099 "That really hurts us." 14:22.139 --> 14:35.276 "I think it's good that there are still people who actually implement and realise an idea, who find investors, small shareholders, whoever is involved — that they have the courage to at least bring a hall into the world." 14:35.296 --> 14:36.117 "That I find acceptable." 14:36.856 --> 14:43.348 "Regardless of whether CargoLifter actually becomes that transport medium of the future." 14:43.368 --> 14:45.432 "I don't know if it is." 14:45.452 --> 14:47.896 He believes in the hall — but the airship? 14:47.917 --> 14:50.882 The vision is still a few sizes too large. 14:57.528 --> 15:00.699 But it is also taking shape — in the form of Joey. 15:00.740 --> 15:06.420 In a small lightweight hangar at the airfield, work is underway on the interior of the dwarf whale. 15:06.460 --> 15:08.989 Avionics, electronics, and engines. 15:17.947 --> 15:23.955 Jochen Kramer, head of the Joey project, oversees the assembly of the tail fin ring. 15:23.995 --> 15:29.883 The structure is designed to give the control surfaces rigidity, so that they don't sag into the envelope in the event of pressure loss. 15:29.903 --> 15:32.927 But the lifesaver itself becomes a problem. 15:32.967 --> 15:35.630 It is actually supposed to be tied to the envelope. 15:35.651 --> 15:42.159 The connection between rigid components and the envelope is achieved via cords and sailor's knots — like on a sailing ship. 15:42.199 --> 15:46.004 But the ring cannot be lashed to the taut envelope as planned. 15:46.024 --> 15:47.346 An engineering setback. 15:48.929 --> 15:58.024 Jochen Kramer: "It's like everywhere with such a complex system — many engineers work on it, each designing their own part, and then it gets stuck right at the interface." 15:58.044 --> 16:01.649 "Like right now, again, with this tail fin ring and the envelope." 16:01.670 --> 16:10.684 "It's always only at final assembly that you see where the snag is — and yes, that keeps delaying things until you've taken it apart again, made adjustments, and reassembled it." 16:11.845 --> 16:14.007 The tail fins. 16:14.027 --> 16:15.909 They are to be mounted on the ring. 16:15.969 --> 16:17.771 But now there's a hitch. 16:17.791 --> 16:32.087 While the tail fin ring is now on the envelope, the tail fins no longer fit as planned. 16:32.107 --> 16:33.908 It just won't come together. 16:33.929 --> 16:37.112 In the evening, the engineers give up in frustration. 16:37.132 --> 16:38.173 Tim Rabel: "The tail fin simply doesn't work." 16:39.267 --> 16:41.032 "Assembly impossible." 16:41.092 --> 16:45.645 Jochen Kramer: "Tail fins have always been the hardest part — but they've never been this hard before." 16:45.665 --> 16:49.235 Tim Rabel: "Just before the maiden flight, we'll probably manage it." 16:49.596 --> 16:54.390 "The design is somehow light — but very difficult to assemble." 16:54.725 --> 16:58.129 Jochen Kramer: "If we get the tail fins on today and tomorrow, the hardest part is basically done." 16:58.149 --> 16:59.931 "Then really all that's left is the landing gear." 16:59.951 --> 17:04.777 "And that actually — I think, without being too optimistic — will be assembled in about half an hour." 17:06.459 --> 17:09.923 Tim Rabel: "I hate that sentence." 17:09.944 --> 17:13.368 "In principle it works, in principle it'll be done in half an hour." 17:13.388 --> 17:20.576 "That has never once worked out." 17:20.596 --> 17:20.977 The CargoLifter vision. 17:20.997 --> 17:23.500 Is the project feasible? 17:26.467 --> 17:38.138 Ranga Yogeshwar: "In my view, we have here an unhealthy mixture of a great deal of money, high media appeal, and a kind of grandiosity — all combined." 17:38.178 --> 17:42.670 "And there are always enough people who are drawn to exactly that and say: let's make something of this." 17:42.650 --> 17:46.599 Gerhard Hegmann: "Heavy goods are transported from point to point." 17:47.501 --> 17:54.677 "There is undoubtedly a market for this, and it would be a very interesting niche." 17:54.717 --> 17:59.528 "The only question is: within what timeframe can CargoLifter be realised?" 18:01.195 --> 18:03.759 A visit from the Henderson Fund from England. 18:03.779 --> 18:15.117 While German companies such as Siemens, Linde, and ABB largely accompany the project with good wishes and token contributions, waiting for completion, the British invest substantially. 18:15.738 --> 18:19.063 After their tour, they purchase 15 percent of the shares. 18:19.865 --> 18:23.811 Brandenburg contributes 42 million euros in subsidies. 18:23.851 --> 18:29.059 Two thirds of the 300 million euros invested to date, however, come from small shareholders. 18:31.570 --> 18:33.700 This gentleman also comes from England. 18:33.720 --> 18:40.230 David Learmount — former RAF pilot and instructor, arguably the most famous aviation journalist in the world. 18:40.598 --> 18:43.504 David Learmount: I haven't come over to waste my time. 18:43.524 --> 18:46.950 I haven't come over for a story which doesn't exist. 18:46.990 --> 18:52.080 In this project I see something which is almost certainly going to go somewhere. 18:52.100 --> 19:00.376 It's going to have a lot of problems and I'll be really very, very impressed if it manages to stay on schedule. 19:00.396 --> 19:03.282 But I think it's going to work in the end. 19:05.101 --> 19:07.964 18 October 1999. 19:08.024 --> 19:13.050 Test pilot Mats Bäcklin, a Swede, gives final instructions to the ground crew. 19:13.070 --> 19:15.953 Today, Joey is to fly for the first time. 19:16.033 --> 19:20.498 Joey — the name Australians give to the baby kangaroo in its mother's pouch. 19:20.538 --> 19:25.264 This Joey would fit comfortably into the cargo frame of the full-size CargoLifter. 19:25.324 --> 19:28.948 Before sunrise, in complete calm, it is rolled out of the hangar. 19:37.079 --> 19:58.986 Joey is docked to the mast and the crew spends the morning carrying out thorough checks. 20:03.522 --> 20:04.503 Midday. 20:04.523 --> 20:06.386 Nerves are mounting. 20:06.406 --> 20:13.400 Only Mats Bäcklin stays cool and explains what Joey is needed for. 20:14.000 --> 20:21.074 Mats Bäcklin: Joey is to get a validation of computer models. We have computer models that simulate Joey and the CL-160. 20:22.000 --> 20:28.074 Now we have the possibility of getting validation to say, ok, the computer model ist close to reality or not. 20:29.392 --> 20:32.841 Evening. Dead calm. Ideal conditions. 20:32.861 --> 20:34.846 Everything has been double-checked. 20:34.886 --> 20:37.953 After two years of rehearsal, the premiere is now at hand. 20:38.014 --> 20:40.600 Team leader Jochen Kramer is nervous. 20:40.620 --> 20:42.625 Engineers get stage fright too. 21:04.272 --> 21:09.901 This is the moment they have been working toward for so long. 21:09.921 --> 21:12.384 Now the thought: don't celebrate too soon. 21:12.424 --> 21:27.507 All kinds of things can still go wrong. 21:27.527 --> 21:29.250 But nothing goes wrong. 21:32.032 --> 21:45.805 Mats steers happily through the sunset, and all eyes are glued to Joey — as if the airship were a chubby supermodel. 21:46.000 --> 21:48.805 Voice: "What a feeling? — Can't describe it." 21:54.458 --> 21:56.163 The tension dissolves. 21:56.183 --> 21:58.610 The English react with understated delight. 21:58.650 --> 22:05.970 And this is typical of German engineers: straightaway, the search for faults begins. 22:07.975 --> 22:10.980 Mats makes a careful approach to landing. 22:11.000 --> 22:16.148 There it was — the smooth maiden flight of a small, unassuming airship. 22:16.188 --> 22:22.799 For the CargoLifter team, it is nonetheless a major step towards the CL-160. 22:22.859 --> 22:25.002 Flashback — 1901. 22:25.022 --> 22:30.190 The Kaiser needs a superweapon; Zeppelin builds it — and fails catastrophically. 22:30.231 --> 22:33.696 But as an envoy of peace, the airship eventually makes its mark. 22:33.676 --> 22:41.288 And after more than 100 war zeppelins, the Germans have an insurmountable lead in knowledge of construction and operation. 22:41.328 --> 22:47.157 The Americans build the flying aircraft carriers Akron and Macon — with five fighters on board. 22:47.197 --> 22:49.661 Both ships break apart in stormy weather. 22:49.701 --> 22:54.368 Even so, the zeppelins are far safer and more reliable than the aircraft of the day. 22:57.723 --> 23:03.617 Flight operations with the Graf Zeppelin and the Hindenburg across the South and North Atlantic run on schedule. 23:03.637 --> 23:09.151 Arrival times are kept to within plus or minus two hours — until the Hindenburg explodes. 23:09.752 --> 23:14.263 The world's first media catastrophe is still considered today to be the end of airships. 23:25.921 --> 23:32.330 Yet the Americans flew more than 200 non-rigid blimps as submarine hunters in the Second World War. 23:32.350 --> 23:37.917 So successfully that after 1945 they built ever larger pressure airships for that purpose. 23:39.039 --> 23:45.508 Until nuclear submarines came along, able to remain submerged for months, requiring entirely new detection technology. 23:46.229 --> 23:50.675 The largest blimp, the ZPG-3W, was built in the late 1950s. 23:50.715 --> 23:52.958 It was nearly 130 metres long. 23:58.979 --> 24:04.270 By now, development has come full circle back to its origins. 24:04.330 --> 24:12.587 The Luftwurm from the University of Stuttgart realises what was once the slightly harebrained very first patent of Count Zeppelin — the so-called Luftzug. 24:13.369 --> 24:16.876 Modern control technology allows what the Count himself failed to achieve. 24:16.896 --> 24:19.401 Each segment is stable and steerable. 24:22.503 --> 24:26.529 This means no tail fin — ultra-lightweight construction. 24:26.549 --> 24:34.341 The unmanned Luftwurm is intended to rise into the stratosphere as a satellite replacement, powered by solar energy and fuel cells. 24:35.162 --> 24:48.141 The concept behind the Stuttgart tinkering project — made from industrial rubbish bags and water balls — has not only won Germany's most prestigious research prize; it now also tops the wish list of the American military. 24:48.161 --> 24:50.164 Battle blimps for aerial surveillance. 24:57.940 --> 25:00.003 Lighter-than-air technology. 25:00.043 --> 25:03.989 Could it become an independent, new industry? 25:04.009 --> 25:20.455 Ranga Yogeshwar: "When you consider the principle of buoyancy and simply imagine how much volume you need to lift a comparatively modest mass, it becomes very clear very quickly that nature is actually working against this principle — against this use of airships." 25:21.616 --> 25:25.165 One wonders what nature would say about space travel. 25:25.205 --> 25:31.461 In any case, Carl von Gablenz is convinced in the winter of 1999 that his project has strong prospects. 25:35.492 --> 25:37.617 Carl von Gablenz: "We should really bring far more people up here — 25:38.390 --> 25:47.749 not only those who are working on it, but also those who like to be sceptical and ask whether it makes sense, whether the finances add up, and so on. 25:47.770 --> 25:57.630 These are all legitimate questions, but you should bring those sceptics up here and let it sink in a bit — and perhaps even they might start asking themselves 25:57.610 --> 26:05.878 whether you don't sometimes just have to do certain things, even when there are risks, and even when it isn't absolutely 150% rational. 26:05.938 --> 26:11.543 Perhaps we would then move forward a little faster on many things in this world." 26:11.603 --> 26:13.304 February 2000. 26:13.325 --> 26:17.348 On the hangar construction site, the first doors are to be hung. 26:17.388 --> 26:23.234 400 tonnes must be lifted by mobile crane and fitted with millimetre precision. 26:23.274 --> 26:24.715 This works surprisingly well. 26:39.697 --> 26:42.521 Voice: "Good morning." — "Thank you." 26:42.581 --> 26:43.802 May 2000. 26:43.862 --> 26:46.205 CargoLifter goes public on the stock exchange. 26:46.225 --> 26:52.152 In keeping with the project: it is the largest private placement ever seen in Germany. 26:52.193 --> 26:55.276 But: the boom years on the stock market are over. 26:55.316 --> 27:00.363 CargoLifter rides the last crest of the ended bull market to the finish line. 27:00.383 --> 27:03.527 The share price slips slightly below the issue price. 27:03.547 --> 27:07.071 Staged optimism doesn't help against that. 27:12.569 --> 27:17.972 In Brand, the CargoLifter hangar — the world's largest free-standing building — grows into the sky. 28:01.793 --> 28:07.424 On closer inspection, what seems like progress achieved by invisible hands is in fact the hard labour of many men. 28:07.464 --> 28:11.171 They are stretching the covering of the hall over the steel arches of the frame. 28:11.211 --> 28:14.638 Like a sail being bent onto the yard of a school ship. 28:26.566 --> 28:29.113 The hangar is 107 metres tall. 28:29.153 --> 28:36.913 Up here, specialists work — industrial climbers, most of them experienced mountaineers who have turned their hobby into a profession. 28:36.933 --> 28:42.567 They come from England and Saxony — including Tom and Björn, who have become good friends on the construction site. 28:49.280 --> 28:57.872 At weekends, the two of them drive with their colleagues into the Elbe Sandstone Mountains near Dresden for free climbing — because the work in the hangar doesn't keep them sufficiently challenged. 29:04.484 --> 29:07.929 There has been one fatal accident on the construction site. 29:07.949 --> 29:14.600 But it wasn't a climber — it was an ordinary glazier who hadn't secured himself on the roof and had fallen. 29:15.220 --> 29:23.133 The industrial climbers are extremely cool, and their skills are reminiscent of Spider-Man — but they are anything but daredevils. 29:23.153 --> 29:27.960 As professionals, they are always secured and know what they and their equipment can handle. 29:41.288 --> 29:48.290 The CargoLifter hangar: 360 metres long, 210 metres wide, 107 metres tall. 29:48.330 --> 29:52.041 Potsdamer Platz would fit inside it twice, side by side. 30:36.605 --> 30:39.800 The vision now has a garage. 30:39.821 --> 30:41.991 But does it have a future? 30:44.570 --> 31:05.720 Ranga Yogeshwar: "What makes me sceptical about CargoLifter is that — unlike in many other fields where we invest money and find that many other nations have similar ideas and are investing in similar projects — here we find that CargoLifter is certainly unique in its grandiosity on a global scale. 31:05.740 --> 31:09.345 And that should give me pause as an investor." 31:09.983 --> 31:11.425 Cardington in England. 31:11.445 --> 31:15.129 This is where the British built their steel airships in the 1930s. 31:15.149 --> 31:18.112 Briton Roger Munk has rented one of the hangars. 31:19.194 --> 31:29.245 Roger Munk: "This is part of what we hope: that there is a renaissance of airships taking place, especially in Europe. 31:29.265 --> 31:33.130 What we have in the UK is a big advantage. 31:33.150 --> 31:36.434 Unlike in the interwar period. 31:36.674 --> 31:39.417 Now we probably have more experience with airships, design, and construction 31:39.717 --> 31:41.030 than anyone else in the world. 31:41.091 --> 31:42.808 So people are increasingly coming to us." 31:43.852 --> 31:47.017 12 metres long — and yet only a miniature model. 31:47.037 --> 31:52.845 SkyCat — a hybrid of hovercraft, twin-hull airship, and aircraft. 31:52.865 --> 31:57.272 SkyCat is intended to be 300 metres long and carry 1,000 tonnes. 31:57.292 --> 32:00.296 It needs a take-off run, like an aircraft. 32:00.336 --> 32:04.022 Without a runway or an open water surface, it cannot take off. 32:04.843 --> 32:11.192 SkyCat doesn't hover like an airship — it flies like a helium-filled wing. 32:11.172 --> 32:15.096 The fact that it normally needs an airfield is no disadvantage. 32:15.136 --> 32:21.583 It is not meant to hover over construction sites, but to serve as a military transport — deploying tanks or troops. 32:21.643 --> 32:25.346 A 100-metre version would be interesting, according to airship experts. 32:25.386 --> 32:29.371 But many consider the 300-metre version a PR stunt. 32:29.411 --> 32:36.758 The reason: the flying giant wing would need to overcome immense aerodynamic drag with immense engine power. 32:36.738 --> 32:42.807 A gentle hover against the wind like the model, a gentle dip of the tail into the water — 32:42.847 --> 32:48.315 none of that is possible with a 300-metre construction. 32:48.375 --> 32:56.361 Roger Munk, for his part, likes to criticise the plans of his German competition. 32:57.375 --> 33:05.361 Roger Munk: "That is an extremely ambitious undertaking. I believe it is feasible. But only if one proceeds with the utmost caution, has a great deal of backing, and it requires a lot of experience." 33:06.016 --> 33:12.149 Roger Munk has been through several failures himself, but he is regarded as an excellent airship designer. 33:12.169 --> 33:16.438 One of his designs — a Skyship 600 — stands in the neighbouring hangar. 33:16.498 --> 33:22.050 A twist of fate: it was purchased by CargoLifter AG for pilot training. 33:22.090 --> 33:23.653 Today it is due to depart. 33:25.591 --> 33:28.619 But outside, a stiff breeze is blowing. 33:28.659 --> 33:43.195 The commander consults with the head of the handling crew. 33:44.812 --> 33:50.582 Voice: "When the ship passes the door, you'll immediately feel the wind. 33:50.862 --> 33:53.066 I'll push the gondola so it keeps going in this direction. 33:53.086 --> 33:59.697 The people on that side pull the gondola so it keeps going like this. 33:59.717 --> 34:00.619 When we go — we go for real! 34:00.639 --> 34:01.380 This is no picnic. 34:01.400 --> 34:03.023 We get out of the hangar as fast as possible." 34:05.416 --> 34:06.762 Tense atmosphere. 34:06.782 --> 34:11.202 Everyone knows: extraction from the hangar is the most dangerous moment for airships. 34:11.222 --> 34:15.139 One third of all airship accidents have occurred during entry or exit from the hangar. 34:22.747 --> 34:25.350 Ranga Yogeshwar: "Just to make it clear with an example. 34:25.370 --> 34:35.643 Under certain crosswind conditions, a normal jumbo — a 747 — cannot land, because the jumbo is unable to cope with those winds. 34:35.663 --> 34:45.936 Then to imagine that we have an airborne vehicle here with many times the surface area, the target area, and then to say: 'People, we can handle this' — I consider that to be hubris." 34:48.633 --> 34:50.015 The comparison is flawed. 34:50.035 --> 34:52.678 When landing, an airship always turns into the wind. 34:52.698 --> 34:56.502 The jumbo faces crosswind because it must maintain the direction of the runway. 34:56.522 --> 34:58.565 But when exiting the hangar, the argument holds. 35:02.530 --> 35:05.253 The ship is now presenting its side to the wind. 35:05.293 --> 35:08.737 The wind drives it powerfully off course, threatening to push it against the doors. 35:08.757 --> 35:13.763 The strategy: out of the hangar as fast as possible. 35:20.270 --> 35:23.237 It worked. 35:23.257 --> 35:42.079 Relief from the handling crew. 35:43.544 --> 35:48.413 Five extra ballast bags per side — that's what this command means. 35:48.433 --> 35:50.797 Before take-off, the airship is balanced. 35:51.658 --> 35:55.766 A pressure airship is always slightly heavy — it wants to sink toward the ground. 35:56.447 --> 36:00.113 That's why it also needs a few metres of forward run before it can climb. 36:00.133 --> 36:02.838 To compensate, the bow is raised. 36:02.878 --> 36:05.803 A blimp doesn't rise like a balloon — it flies. 36:05.823 --> 36:08.488 The climb angle, however, is quite adventurous. 36:25.833 --> 36:29.239 Airship travel has a very particular fascination. 36:29.279 --> 36:31.883 Once you've experienced it, you'll never forget it. 36:32.645 --> 36:43.183 It is a safe, smooth glide — close enough to the landscape to consciously feel that you are flying, yet high enough above it all to savour it in a dreamlike state. 36:57.018 --> 36:59.381 The destination of the journey: Friedrichshafen. 36:59.401 --> 37:07.812 There, exactly 100 years after the maiden flight of the first Zeppelin, the new NT07 is to be christened by a granddaughter of the Count. 37:07.852 --> 37:11.437 The Zeppelin NT is the most modern existing airship. 37:11.457 --> 37:18.687 Its swivelling thrust units give it remarkable manoeuvrability and make expensive handling crews redundant. 37:18.727 --> 37:22.772 The NT can be handled by just three ground personnel. 37:25.857 --> 37:29.625 To mark the occasion, there is an airship parade. 37:29.645 --> 37:32.009 Things are looking good for the modern heirs of the Count. 37:32.510 --> 37:37.292 Zeppelin wants to fly passengers; CargoLifter, freight. 37:44.943 --> 37:50.513 As beautiful as airships are, the Skyship is intended to serve a down-to-earth purpose for CargoLifter. 37:50.553 --> 37:53.058 Basic training for airship pilots. 37:53.078 --> 37:55.402 They are something like an endangered species. 37:55.442 --> 38:00.251 There are only about 60 worldwide — and not a single flight school. 38:00.351 --> 38:03.677 But 100 will be needed once CargoLifter is flying. 38:20.446 --> 38:23.604 And work on that is progressing intensively in Brand. 38:23.644 --> 38:27.287 For three years, Bernhard Kempf has been researching, calculating, and simulating. 38:27.307 --> 38:30.250 His CargoLifter is complete — in the computer. 38:30.270 --> 38:34.474 And test pilot Mats Bäcklin gets to fly it for the first time today. 38:37.863 --> 38:45.575 Voice: "It's interesting to see the differences between the CL-160 and the Airship 600. 38:45.595 --> 38:54.549 The CL-160 at low speed 38:54.569 --> 39:00.057 is much easier to control, because those thrusters are there." 39:00.779 --> 39:06.006 The secret of manoeuvrability: bow and stern thrusters — just like on a ship. 39:06.046 --> 39:14.578 16 engines generate enough force to keep the sluggish air giant steerable even when stationary. 39:14.618 --> 39:19.665 This allows the CargoLifter to rotate on the spot, climb, and descend — in the computer. 39:23.999 --> 39:31.891 Bernhard Kempf: "The central question for CargoLifter from a flight mechanics perspective is the ability to hover in the wind during the load exchange. 39:31.931 --> 39:37.260 Three or four years ago we were confident. Now we are convinced it will work." 39:37.781 --> 39:39.884 Heiko Teegen: "The airship is to be certified under FAA 25. 39:39.904 --> 39:43.370 Those are the certification rules for large commercial aircraft. 39:43.410 --> 39:50.040 This means, among other things, that the airship must be certified for flight in known icing conditions. 39:50.020 --> 39:58.157 To this day, nothing whatsoever is known about how such a large airship would behave inside a supercooled cloud." 39:58.947 --> 40:01.290 The US Navy knows. 40:01.310 --> 40:04.274 Their submarine hunters had to fly in the Arctic. 40:04.314 --> 40:10.021 For two years, from 1957 to 1959, there was a test programme. 40:10.061 --> 40:16.369 An airship deliberately flew into everything the sky had to offer in terms of ice clouds — even into freezing drizzle. 40:16.829 --> 40:17.790 The result? 40:17.810 --> 40:22.176 Icing is not a killer factor for airships. 40:22.196 --> 40:23.858 Heiko Teegen: "All other large airships — 40:24.040 --> 40:29.326 including those from our homeland down at Lake Constance, from Friedrichshafen — eventually came to grief because of the weather. 40:29.346 --> 40:32.029 They were torn apart by storms. 40:32.049 --> 40:38.796 They were lost over the sea — as were the two large US airships, which led America to withdraw from the programme immediately. 40:38.856 --> 40:41.879 And what was true then is still true today. 40:41.899 --> 40:47.826 We have no technology to shield these large airships from the forces of nature. 40:47.866 --> 40:51.069 It's simply not possible." 40:51.090 --> 40:51.550 Voice: "This will be test 712." 40:51.985 --> 40:55.412 Lightning is a danger for helium-filled airships. 40:55.452 --> 40:57.576 Helium is an extremely good conductor. 40:57.596 --> 40:59.520 It attracts lightning. 40:59.540 --> 41:05.892 That is why CargoLifter conducts a series of tests in the summer of 2001 at the high-voltage laboratory of Cottbus University. 41:05.932 --> 41:09.559 In charge: Andy Plummer — the guru in this field. 41:09.600 --> 41:14.449 He established the US aviation authority's certification requirements for lightning protection. 41:35.972 --> 41:41.211 Andy Plummer: "Aircraft today are well protected against the effects of lightning. 41:41.231 --> 41:52.826 But in the past there were explosions of fuel tanks, sometimes effects on aircraft and electrical systems that caused some concern. 41:52.846 --> 41:53.667 And in a few cases there were flight accidents." 42:00.937 --> 42:03.947 How do you protect an airship against lightning? 42:03.987 --> 42:07.859 The task: the lightning must stay on the surface of the envelope. 42:07.879 --> 42:11.892 The engineers build a 1:16 scale model of the CargoLifter. 42:19.330 --> 42:23.536 Metal strips are glued to the surface, forming a grid. 42:24.378 --> 42:39.581 The grid must be thick enough not to melt, dense enough to absorb the lightning's energy, but at the same time must not become too heavy. 42:39.641 --> 42:43.988 Then the model is placed in the high-voltage laboratory and filled with helium. 42:50.903 --> 42:54.469 Photo and video cameras will capture the discharge. 42:55.030 --> 43:06.832 The electrodes are then positioned and placed under high voltage. 43:06.852 --> 43:11.901 The helium in the airship has begun to glow — a precursor to a voltage flashover. 43:11.921 --> 43:14.245 The metal strips are repositioned. 43:30.863 --> 43:45.396 The same experiment is carried out once more. 43:46.456 --> 43:50.423 The engineers are progressing more slowly than planned — but steadily. 43:50.483 --> 43:57.254 Another issue: the so-called power wings — four stub wings, each carrying three engines. 43:57.294 --> 44:00.199 Less is more — that is the motto in Brand. 44:00.239 --> 44:06.169 The calculated safety margins are so large that moves are being made to reduce the number of engines. 44:08.647 --> 44:12.251 Voice: "We now have the concept with the wing. 44:12.271 --> 44:17.137 We have examined two or three configurations with alternative methods. 44:17.177 --> 44:20.180 What does the study on the swivelling capability look like? 44:20.200 --> 44:21.742 I think that is absolutely crucial. 44:21.802 --> 44:38.080 We're expecting the results on that — because I think that if the results are positive, that this swivelling works within the time and cost framework, then I believe the decision is clear that we go in that direction with the wing." 44:38.313 --> 44:41.657 Voice: "It is existing technology — yes, in principle. 44:41.677 --> 44:43.038 Swivelling drives. 44:43.058 --> 44:50.906 Not that we're at a very low readiness level again, but rather that we have technology here that actually exists, which we need to adapt to our needs, I think." 44:50.926 --> 44:55.371 Benny Kempf is certain: the power wings are not necessary for manoeuvring. 44:56.572 --> 44:57.734 Voice: "It really is heavy. 44:57.754 --> 45:04.641 But it looks quite clear to me — put the adapter on it and push through the corresponding reduction." 45:05.262 --> 45:08.286 Instead, swivelling thrust units will now be used. 45:08.346 --> 45:14.175 Fewer engines by half, plus the fuel required for them — that means a substantial weight reduction. 45:14.956 --> 45:17.940 This is what the optimised CargoLifter looks like now. 45:17.960 --> 45:20.403 But the schedule is hanging by a thread. 45:20.884 --> 45:26.612 The maiden flight has been pushed back by three years since the project began — and money is running short. 45:28.027 --> 45:30.650 Annual general meeting 2001. 45:30.710 --> 45:39.541 Carl von Gablenz presents a new project — the AirCrane load balloon — and announces yet another delay to the planned maiden flight of the airship. 45:40.382 --> 45:43.626 He wants to raise fresh capital through share measures. 45:43.646 --> 45:48.913 And behind the scenes, he begins applying for repayable government loans. 45:48.933 --> 45:52.377 The shareholders still believe in their German project for the future. 45:52.397 --> 45:54.760 The financial world thinks differently. 45:54.740 --> 46:07.214 Heiko Teegen: "The 500 or 550 people still supposedly employed at CargoLifter — the majority of them must know that the project they are working on will never exist. 46:07.254 --> 46:11.499 The financing alone is plain proof that it cannot succeed." 46:11.539 --> 46:15.104 Gerhard Hegmann: "Does CargoLifter have to remain a German company? 46:15.124 --> 46:21.591 CargoLifter has so far had a British fund as its only major shareholder. 46:22.280 --> 46:34.661 The question is whether an aerospace company is willing — and American companies are very dominant here — to invest in the company. 46:34.701 --> 46:37.926 It would still be a German location, 46:38.193 --> 46:41.597 but under certain circumstances, an American-owned company. 46:42.278 --> 46:45.161 That would be no disgrace in my view." 46:45.382 --> 46:54.913 Carl von Gablenz: "You really have to make the best of the discussion, and sometimes get people to actually make a decision. The question arises: do you want to carry out a project like this, yes or no? 46:54.953 --> 46:59.138 And if you have a market, and the technology works, and it's economically viable — then you have to do it." 47:00.637 --> 47:02.900 Does the technology actually work? 47:02.920 --> 47:07.427 The core element — the load exchange — exists until that point only in computer simulation. 47:08.107 --> 47:14.496 That is why von Gablenz had a load balloon built with a cargo frame and ballast system — the AirCrane. 47:14.517 --> 47:18.382 It is meant to prove that the load exchange also works in practice. 47:18.923 --> 47:22.408 The first test takes place in autumn 2001. 47:22.448 --> 47:26.273 Load exchange with a 24-tonne mobile crane as cargo. 47:27.620 --> 47:29.524 The truck is in the cargo frame. 47:29.544 --> 47:32.150 Now the ballast water is pumped out. 47:32.170 --> 47:35.097 24 cubic metres of water are released. 47:35.658 --> 47:38.845 Then the AirCrane — translated: air crane — is supposed to float. 47:47.347 --> 47:49.209 In the evening, the moment arrives. 47:49.229 --> 47:50.832 The AirCrane lifts off. 47:50.872 --> 47:54.456 100 tonnes of total weight float, in effect, weightlessly. 47:55.097 --> 47:58.602 100 tonnes — that is an enormous, sluggish mass. 47:58.642 --> 48:02.166 People can move it — they just have to push long enough. 48:02.207 --> 48:12.460 Just as you can move a ship in a harbour basin by pulling on a rope. 48:14.498 --> 48:19.990 Glen Beach: "This is truly a significant event for CargoLifter. 48:20.010 --> 48:28.609 It is a simple exercise for us today, but it demonstrates: load exchange with lighter-than-air, combined with a ballast exchange system, works to carry loads." 48:30.327 --> 48:33.794 A rather nice experiment in the hangar in calm conditions. 48:33.834 --> 48:36.500 But will it also work outside? 48:36.540 --> 48:44.056 Or will the AirCrane fly away like an oversized balloon, never to return, instead of serving as a short-range crane to transport loads? 48:44.096 --> 48:49.467 Will the device ever work as planned — for example, assembling wind turbines? 48:49.447 --> 48:52.034 Four mobile cranes take over the towing work. 48:52.174 --> 49:04.266 Double safety margin — because no one knows whether the calculations are correct, whether the AC-75 (designed to eventually carry 75 tonnes) will really behave as sluggishly and calmly as a cargo ship. 49:17.088 --> 49:37.938 Just before sunrise, the process begins. 49:37.978 --> 49:40.682 The balloon glides slowly through the sea of air. 49:47.243 --> 49:49.266 But then the convoy comes to a halt. 49:49.306 --> 49:58.562 Excitement, commotion, pale faces. 49:58.722 --> 50:05.414 Voice: "We are stuck in the worst possible position for a lighter-than-air vehicle entering or leaving a hangar. 50:05.434 --> 50:07.918 I am grateful that the system looks extremely stable — we're lucky about that." 50:08.557 --> 50:12.404 One third of all airship accidents have occurred during hangar exit. 50:12.424 --> 50:23.764 This fact hammers through the minds of CargoLifter employees as they frantically work to get the AirCrane moving again. 50:26.107 --> 50:30.777 But the incident also proves to them that the engineers' calculations are correct. 50:30.797 --> 50:34.124 The inertia keeps the AirCrane floating calmly. 50:34.184 --> 50:38.754 It moves off gently, like a supertanker on choppy seas. 50:38.814 --> 50:43.103 It is a simple physical effect that contradicts our instincts. 50:43.083 --> 50:47.034 The larger the surface area, the more wind-prone we assume. 50:47.074 --> 50:57.261 But the larger an airship is, the more volume it has relative to its surface, the greater its inertia, and the less susceptible it is to wind. 50:59.249 --> 51:15.368 ... Music (Shostakovich, Waltz No. 2) ... 51:21.845 --> 51:23.647 The engineers are overjoyed. 51:23.687 --> 51:29.753 For them, practical proof has been provided — the CargoLifter principle works. 51:29.813 --> 51:33.057 Press conference at the 2002 annual general meeting. 51:33.097 --> 51:37.061 The test object has become a product — the first AC-75 is sold. 51:37.081 --> 51:43.208 The customer: a newly founded company in which CargoLifter holds a 20% stake. 51:43.868 --> 51:47.833 The AirCrane is to transport oil equipment in the Arctic. 51:47.893 --> 51:49.995 Good news for the shareholders. 51:52.118 --> 52:16.149 Carl von Gablenz: "...signed several contracts, and the key content is that CargoLifter today completed its first sale of a first product — namely the CL-75 AirCrane, as you can see it there in the hall — for deployment." 52:11.118 --> 52:16.149 ... Applause ... 52:16.169 --> 52:16.489 "Yes, many thanks." 52:17.819 --> 52:21.726 Unfortunately, CargoLifter is by now virtually bankrupt. 52:21.746 --> 52:40.719 Pete Jess: "This company — our company, CargoLifter, and the industry in general — has no idea how large this business will really become. 52:40.739 --> 52:43.303 From our background, I know that we will need a Skyhook or an airport for 50 years." 52:45.359 --> 52:49.048 Two months later: the end for CargoLifter. 52:49.108 --> 52:49.950 Insolvency. 52:49.970 --> 52:54.260 Exhausted shareholders, banks, industry, and the state all turn away. 52:54.280 --> 52:57.107 The white whale of the skies has run aground.