RC Airships


Indoor "float" flying at sporting events Written by Chris Soltesz Photos by the author. Read the entire feature in the March 2014 issue of Model Aviation.

Zeppelins, dirigibles, blimps, airships, and balloons … there is something amazing about these gigantic aircraft that serenely float across the sky. These enormous bags of gas seem to defy gravity, or at the very least, escape gravity’s notice for a brief jaunt above a sports stadium. Someone had the genius to wonder, “Why just fly over the arenas? Let’s take them indoors as well!” That’s where I come in. For the past decade and a half, I have had the pleasure of serving as captain of the Airship Team for the Pittsburgh Penguins, a National Hockey League team. I fly the airships, and have trained other pilots to do so as well. It takes a team of pilots and ground crew to make everything happen perfectly when timing must be precise and failure is not an option. What are the airships and how do they work? RC stadium airships come in all sizes and shapes. From roughly 8 feet to more than 30 feet long, their sizes vary based on the venue, the flying conditions (indoors vs. outdoors), and what the airship will be carrying (banners, cameras, prize-drop mechanisms, etc.). They can be electric or gas powered, and a well-balanced aircraft can stay aloft for more than an hour in the right conditions.

The Envelope

Most airships have similar components, starting with the envelope or bag. The envelope is what gives an airship its lift. Filled with helium and lightly pressurized for a firm shape, the envelope is a sealed bag of lighter-than-air gas. The bag must be large enough to contain enough volume to lift everything: the envelope, the tail fins, tail motor, gondola, main motors, RC components, batteries or gas, and anything extra you might want to carry. The volume must also be balanced, so that the aircraft flies level and not nose up or nose down.

The Gondola

The gondola is the heart of the airship. It contains a mixture of RC model parts. We have several gondolas from different manufacturers. Molded plastic, hand-laid carbon fiber, flower pots from Home Depot—anything goes if it works. Because blimps don’t fly fast, there are no elevators or rudders cut into the tail fins. There is insufficient airflow to make them useful. The tail uses a propeller that spins in both directions to swing the tail either way. The blimps will always turn in one direction better than the other with this setup, but I have an airship with two propellers stacked on top of each other in either direction, which allow it to turn fairly well.

This shows the outside of the gondola. We enjoy sticking our GoPro cameras on our aircraft to capture some great aerial footage.




Inside the gondola are three Castle Creations Mamba Max Pro brushless speed controllers, a Spektrum AR500 receiver, and a large servo with rubber belt and pulleys for the main motor pylon rotation. Two E-flite Power 15 motors power the 8 x 6 propellers.




This illustration shows a basic airship layout.


Piloting

We typically fly from the players’ bench. Because it is in the center by the floor, it’s easy to get to, and we can see the entire arena and the airship. Perspective can be deceiving, and it is difficult to tell exactly where the airship is in relation to the stands that are at a steep angle, the wall, cables, wires, cameras, and the balconies. Add to that the fact that you are flying a 20-foot-long, 8-foot-high airship with all the air conditioners or heaters on full blast, doors opening and closing, thermoclines from the ice, as well as body heat from 18,000 people, and flying can be a challenge. That’s why training is important. Our pilots spend more than 40 hours practicing flying before their first in-game flight, starting with basic position/altitude hold. The airship tends to blow around, which entails constantly rotating the tail to keep its nose into the air current and using the main motors, rocking back and forth together with throttle control, to maintain a solid, midair position. The last thing I tell pilots new to flying this type of airship is that flying will never be the same. After you’ve flown a 24- x 8-foot beast that costs more than your first car over a crowd of 18,000 people on national television, it will change how you feel about flying.
[Editor’s note: Flying an RC model directly over people is prohibited by the AMA Safety Code. RC Airships flown at the CONSOL Energy Center are covered for liability by the Pittsburgh Penguins. Safety is a priority at the venue and each pilot must successfully complete training before being allowed to fly at events.]

It takes many batteries to feed the hungry blimps! An airship normally uses two 3s 4,000 mAh LiPo batteries, and some use four.




Pictured are the 2012 Toyota, 2013 US Steel, and the 2012 Bottom Dollar Pig for the 2012-2013 preseason practice. We fly the Toyota and US Steel airships for the Pittsburgh Penguins, and the Bottom Dollar Foods Pig at events throughout western Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Read the entire feature in the March 2014 issue ofModel Aviation.

Bonus Photos

Facebook Twitter Share

2 comments

requiero informacion y costo de Gondola de dirigible para publicidad aerea

We have to replace our airship - I am looking for reputable companies preferably in Canada. We currently have a 13' Radio Controlled Airship with dropping mechanism.

Add new comment