Hello Splinterlands Fam,
You know I got my eyes on that airship design on the Obelisk Shield: Part I - Tome of Chaos Story.
I have to model it. But first let's go search for this kind of "Helicopter" Airships in fiction/fantasy worlds.
First thing came to my mind is Jules Verne's "Albatross" but I think there will be much more out there!
There is a French Wikipedia entry on google and the topic named "History of the Helicopter and Other Rotary Wings"
In 1861 the French inventors Gustave de Ponton d'Amécourt and Guillaume Joseph Gabriel de La Landelle successfully built their beloved propeller , a small experimental prototype of a " heavier than air " aerostat with a counter-rotating rotor with twin coaxial aerial propellers , and a motor . twin-cylinder steam engine . The device is photographed by Nadar (pioneer of aerial photography in 1858) with whom they create the " Society of encouragement for aerial locomotion by means of heavier-than-air devices with the objective of financing and building a helicopter. Gustave de Ponton d'Amécourt then invented the word "helicopter" to name his invention, from the ancient Greek " helikos " ("propeller") and " pteron " ("wing"), as well as the word aviation , by analogy with the word navigation , derived from the verb avier ( to fly in the air ), derived from the Latin avis ( bird ), and from the suffix “-ation”.
The famous novelist-visionary Jules Verne , was then inspired by this invention to create his 30 m " albatross " imaginary helicopter flying boat, with 37 masts, propelled by 74 double propellers with electric motors + 2 electric motors with front and rear propellers, for his science novel- fictional Robur-le-Conquérant of 1886.
Bruno Moiroud has an excellent illustration of Albatross here
Also on Lego Ideas website I found another version.
There is an Airship being sold on the Second Life Market:
Next is the Airships of Frank Reade Jr.! At this point I couldn't really understand if this is fiction or not. One of them has photographes flying but I'm really confused. Maybe someone knows this well can enlight me on this. Let's concentrate on the machines, fiction or not!
From the United States centennial to World War I, the Reade family members were among the best known figures in America. Not surprisingly, three generations of inventor/adventurers named Frank led to some confusion as to who was who.
Frank Reade Jr. was the most prolific member of his family. His specialty was aeronautics. He developed unique helicopter airships that inspired both Jules Verne and Igor Sikorsky.
These aeronuatic adventures directly inspired Jules Verne's stories such as The Steam House, Robur the Conqueror, and Master of the World. Reade's helicopter airships predate Verne's "Albatross" by several years.
Manufactured entirely at the Reades' foundries and machine works in Readestown, Pennsylvania, the ships were constructed from a bullet-proof aluminum/steel alloy of Frank Reade Jr.'s own invention.
Chemical generators powered the rotors and the vessel's electrical systems, such as sources of light and heat. The ships were airtight and could be pressurized for high-altitude flight. The craft were well-armed, and their decks were electrified to repel boarders. Fully loaded, the ships were capable of traveling around the world without making a single stop.
Engravings of "The Clipper of the Clouds" maiden voyage
There are also lots of Airship designs on web and I want to share some of them also:
There are lots of inspirational stuff out there. Let's see what I'll be designing.
Take care,