Airship

An airship is a powered lighter-than-air aircraft whose gas-filled envelope provides lift and whose propulsion and control surfaces allow it to travel in a chosen direction.

Aerostatics: The study of gases at rest and the forces they exert, including buoyancy. Airship lift follows from the balance between displaced air and the weight of the craft.
Lighter-than-air aircraft: Aircraft supported primarily by buoyancy rather than aerodynamic lift. Airships belong to this family, alongside craft that cannot steer themselves under power.
Henri Giffard: A French engineer who flew a steam-powered dirigible in 1852. His flight demonstrated powered, steerable travel in a lighter-than-air craft.
Airship ground handling: The procedures and equipment used to moor, move, and service airships on the ground. Large buoyant craft need specialized crews and mooring systems when not airborne.
Hindenburg disaster: The 1937 fire that destroyed the German passenger airship Hindenburg at Lakehurst, New Jersey. Its widely reported destruction became a lasting symbol of the hazards of hydrogen airships.
Buoyancy: The upward force exerted by a fluid on an object immersed in it. The envelope displaces air whose weight supports the airship.
Aerodynamic lift: The force perpendicular to airflow generated by a wing or other aerodynamic surface. Unlike airplanes, airships obtain most of their lift from gas buoyancy.
Alberto Santos-Dumont: A Brazilian aviation pioneer who built and flew early powered dirigibles in Paris. His public flights helped make steerable airships visible as practical machines.
Airship mooring mast: A tall structure used to secure an airship while allowing it to weathercock into the wind. Masts let airships remain attached without relying on large ground crews alone.
R101 disaster: The 1930 crash of the British rigid airship R101 in France, which killed 48 people. The loss intensified doubts about the safety and future of large rigid airships.

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