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Airships


AV 1 - The first hot-air dirigible airship, formerly in the colours of TICO Prague, now Coca-Cola Moscow	AV 2 - for Slovakian customer - Reprox Kosice

Offical stand from the sales department:

We have postponed the investment of further time in this project being too busy with balloons and standard price-list production. We would be glad to offer the development of the airship as a joint project with a partner/investor. The price of a new airship would be about 2.200.000 CZK, with delivery in about 10-12 months.

Hot-air Airship AV 1

Parameters of the airship
Manufactured in: 1993
Envelope: volume: 2.800 m³, length: 35 m, height: 12 m, weight: 195 kg
Gondola: supporting frame: stainless steel, weight 240 kg, driving unit: engine 1x50 Hp Rotax-Bombardier, Propeller: Justra-Stratos 4 blades pusher airscrew
Burner: Kubicek H3-double 2 x 2,1 MW
Crew: pilot + copilot
Max. speed: 25 km/h
Flight endurance: 1.5 h
First take-off: October 16, 1993

Hot-air Airship AV 2

Airborn: May 26th 1999, Brno
Crew: Kubicek - Suchy
Duration: about 20 minutes above the airport
Landing: levelling point
Result: new propeller ordered
A lot of successful test-flights followed. Some of them during balloon fiesta Kosice '99 (see www.balon.sk).

The new Kubicek AV2 airship is participating as a fiesta aerostat at the World's in Bad Waltersdorf, Austria 1999.
It has an honour to promote the 7th Hot-Air Airship World Championship in this area for the next year - September 2000, flying over the most popular places over there - Bad Blumau Hotel and Schielleiten castle.
Together with the Cameron DP 90 airship. As a spectator you canďż˝t help admiring the elegant "cigar" shape of the AV2.

1. Specifications

Volume
Length
Envelope diameter
Dimensions of the car (length x width x height)
Empty weight (envelope + car)
Weight of the crew and load
Weight of tanks with fuel
Total flight weight
Fuel tank volume
Number of cylinders
Max. speed
Expected ceiling
Flight endurance

3.500 m³
38 m
14.2 m
3 x 1.7 x 1.85 m
440 kg
240 kg
190 kg
870 kg
30 l
3
20 km/hod
FL 80
60 - 120 min

2. Description of Component Parts

The car of the airship is a traditional welded latticework with a composite covering riveted to the frame. The material used is the most durable chromium-molybdenum steel, class 15 130 (EURO - 25CrMo4), while the covering is made of laminated plastic. The car is equipped with nose-wheel undercarriage, which is doubled in front. The fuel tank is located underneath the middle seat. The basic flight arrangement is as follows: 3 persons and 3 gas cylinders.

The envelope is equipped with a rip panel. The tail areas are filled with air and are without supporting structure. The envelope is made of special extra durable PES fabric, designed and manufactured exclusively for the airship. The car is hung up on the envelope by means of the inner suspension. Safety envelope valves are located on the car and on the envelope.

The power unit consists of a Rotax 503 UL-2V (two carburettors) in standard push configuration. The engine bed is a reinforced aluminium board, vibrations are absorbed with silentblocks.
The propeller used is a two-blade wooden V-230C type.
The heating unit is a burner AV2, using spirals of H3-D type with added electrical control.
Fuel cylinders for gas used in our airship are the same type as in hot-ait balloons.
The equipment provided with the airship is installed in the car and is accessible from the left seat. It consists of the instruments for hot-air balloons (a Flytec 3040 instrument that combines a variometer, altimeter and thermometer, fuel gauges attached to the bottles and pressure gauge attached to the burner). Furthermore, there are several airship-specific instruments: air pressure gauge for measuring the air pressure in the envelope, fuel gauge and engine speed indicator, and a watch. A common portable radio transmiter is expected to be used during airship flight operations.

Electrical wiring is a central jointing sleeve connecting the engine, auxiliary fan and other appliances.
Fuel lines for petrol are made of stainless steel tubes, the gas lines are the same as that used in hot-air balloons.

3. Amendments and limitations

1. The basic model of the airship is authorised for VFR flights according to the data stated in the Flight Manual.
2. Maximum temperature in the envelope as measured on the fabric surface 120°C
3. Maximum overpressure in the envelope .............................. 200 Pa
4. Maximum tolerable ground-level wind speed ....................... 3 m/s