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From a recent ePilot, AOPA's online magazine:
A DREAM THAT FLOATS
Two Ohio men have a dream of building a helium-aided 990-foot-long lifting
vehicle that can hoist 200 tons or more of supplies in a 150-foot-long
cargo bay. While their ultimate goal is the larger vehicle, they also plan
to offer intermediate-size hybrid aircraft. Robert Rist, originator of the
idea, and co-president Brian Martin, now have interest from the military
and aerospace industry in their project. They have raised about $500,000,
mostly from friends, but will need $100 million to develop the largest
vehicle. The smallest could cost less than $500,000 to purchase and is
claimed to operate for $250 an hour, while the largest will cost less
than $87 million. The vehicle is called a Dynalifter and is built by their
firm, Ohio Airships ( http://www.dynalifter.com ). But first the one-eighth-
scale model must fly, and it is ready and waiting in its hangar at Barber
Airport in Alliance, Ohio. Forrest Barber, owner of the airport, will
step into an ultralight cockpit slung beneath the shark-like 110-foot-long
body and power up two Rotax engines for the first flight this spring. The
ground at the grass-runway airport must firm up enough for the flight test.
Half the weight of the present 2,600-pound vehicle is lifted by helium
contained in 30 cells.
A DREAM THAT FLOATS
Two Ohio men have a dream of building a helium-aided 990-foot-long lifting
vehicle that can hoist 200 tons or more of supplies in a 150-foot-long
cargo bay. While their ultimate goal is the larger vehicle, they also plan
to offer intermediate-size hybrid aircraft. Robert Rist, originator of the
idea, and co-president Brian Martin, now have interest from the military
and aerospace industry in their project. They have raised about $500,000,
mostly from friends, but will need $100 million to develop the largest
vehicle. The smallest could cost less than $500,000 to purchase and is
claimed to operate for $250 an hour, while the largest will cost less
than $87 million. The vehicle is called a Dynalifter and is built by their
firm, Ohio Airships ( http://www.dynalifter.com ). But first the one-eighth-
scale model must fly, and it is ready and waiting in its hangar at Barber
Airport in Alliance, Ohio. Forrest Barber, owner of the airport, will
step into an ultralight cockpit slung beneath the shark-like 110-foot-long
body and power up two Rotax engines for the first flight this spring. The
ground at the grass-runway airport must firm up enough for the flight test.
Half the weight of the present 2,600-pound vehicle is lifted by helium
contained in 30 cells.
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