Longer than any Airbus, but not even a tenth as fast: The Zeppelin NT is a stately sneaker of the skies.
Image: Uwe Stohrer
Zeppelins have amazing capabilities and require specially trained pilots. Three new ones are now being trained because the Lake Constance airship is getting an additional base in the Ruhr area.
vor the airship hangar at Friedrichshafen Airport is already busy early in the morning on this day. None of the usual sightseeing flights are scheduled. Instead, an unusual formation flight of two Zeppelins is planned. That’s why the four-man ground crew is on hand on both airships and is making final preparations for this special flight. Almost two dozen passengers travel by minibus to the NT Zeppelins docked on mobile anchor masts on the meadow. The NT stands for New Technology. Pilot Marco Hollerer is already sitting in the cockpit of an airship and is working through the so-called before-take-off checklist with the engines running.
Until now, the Zeppelin has been considered a flying symbol of Lake Constance. But in 2024 we will have to rethink things. A new base in an unusual location is added. From next year, one of the three Zeppelins NT will fly permanently at Essen/Mülheim airfield in the Ruhr area. In May of this year, an airship made its first inaugural visit to the future airfield and stayed for three days for test flights.
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