Oh, the humanity!

I really, really want a blimp.

An evil bazillionaire should travel the world in one.

Who ever thought that encasing 7,000,000 cubic feet of "inflammable gas" and sitting it above passengers, would ever be a good idea?

Imagine flying all the way across the Atlantic Ocean from Europe to the U.S., only to have your trip end up in flames!

How the hell long was that trip, any way?

And why didn't the Hindenberg blow up sooner?

It was a fucking disaster waiting to happen.

I witnessed The Hindenburg disaster first hand. It was 1975, at a theater in Los Angeles. George C Scott played a Luftwaffe captain, on board to catch a possible saboteur. Anne Bancroft was a pot smoking heiress, escaping Germany to reunite with her deaf daughter in NY. The picture was a disaster.

Lol R4.

Was it part of the "Airport" series of movies?

Oh the huge manatee!

Why, why, why?

Curds and whey.

They should have had cross-eyed Nancy fly the Hindenburg.

What's fascinating is that *only* 36 out of the 97 onboard died. I remember learning about this and decided to look it up after seeing OP's post. The people on the starboard side escaped, some without any scratches. I'm shocked there were any survivors - it looked like a great fireball in the sky. The cabin must have been very robust.

[quote] I'm shocked there were any survivors - it looked like a great fireball in the sky. The cabin must have been very robust.

I think that the gas was so flammable, that it burned up very quickly.

The fire wasn't like a gasoline or oil fire, where it just keeps burning and fire fighters have to use water and foam to put out the flames.

This explosion was fast and furious. Then it just stopped, after all the fuel had been consumed by the fire.

Imagine Elon one-upping penis rocket Bezos like this--

Such an impractical mode of transportation.

1% passenger space, 99% fuel tank.

Look at how massive this thing was!

How exactly, did these things fly??

I don't understand the engineering behind a blimp.

R13, the gas used is lighter than air thus creating lift.

fun chart

The Hindenburg aka the Chrissy Metz of its day.

Wow, R15!

You could fit four (or more) 747's inside of the Hindenberg's fuel tank.

That thing must have looked massive in person.

Imagine getting on that thing as it was moored at the top of the Empire State Building and started twisting and bouncing up and down in the wind.

It never moored on the ESB…it was an idea that never came to fruition.

[quote] It never moored on the ESB…it was an idea that never came to fruition.

That's because the winds at the top of the Empire State Building can reach 80-100 mph, which is totally impractical to use as a boarding platform for an air ship.

This one looks kind of fun...

Why the fuck did that emotional artifact news reporter exclaim “oh the humanity”??

Who knows, R23.

But it was a great line!

One that lived on in infamy.

What does the 747 possess?

They should have moored it at the top of the ESB at least once and had the passengers board it. Just out of curiosity.

Here's a very cool video on the history of air ships, and why/how they may be the future of air travel and transportation.

It made approximately 37 trans-Atlantic trips to Lakehurst and Rio.

Rio to New Jersey??

What kind of weird ass itinerary is that?

Going from Rio to Lakehurst was considered at the time very chic.

Had the Cockgobbler been around then he would’ve done the Berlin-Lakehurst-Rio circuit.

Lakehurst to Rio isn't trans-Atlantic, dumb dumbs.

Flames and Freaks has been purged!

CRAP!

[quote] Had the Cockgobbler been around then he would’ve done the Berlin-Lakehurst-Rio circuit.

Too bad the Cockgobbler wasn't on the Hindenburg!

I wish.

You know, I hold a biannual "plane-ride to hell" ceremony (past inaugerees include many favorites of this board), but maybe I need to change that to Free Ticket on the Hindenburg.

R4 - I think I'm one of the very few people who enjoyed that movie.

I was really interested in the interiors. It had a dining room, smoking room (only 1 electric lighter allowed), bar, conference room and then the cabins are all small bunk rooms with a sink. Not bad for the time. Was this like flying on the concord back in the day?

[quote] Each cabin had call buttons to summon a steward or stewardess, a small fold-down desk, a wash basin made of lightweight white plastic with taps for hot and cold running water, and a small closet covered with a curtain in which a limited number of suits or dresses could be hung; other clothes had to be kept in their suitcases, which could be stowed under the lower berth.

[quote] None of the cabins had toilet facilities; male and female toilets were available on B Deck below, as was a single shower, which provided a weak stream of water “more like that from a seltzer bottle” than a shower, according to Charles Rosendahl. Because the A Deck cabins were located in the center of the ship they had no windows, which was a feature missed by passengers who had traveled on Graf Zeppelin and had enjoyed the view of the passing scenery from their berths.

Yuck!

And the passenger cabins didn't look very luxurious.

People must have stunk by the end of the trip!

[quote] Rio to New Jersey?? … What kind of weird ass itinerary is that?

It isn't weird if you're determined to find 'ass'.

I never realized that Rio de Janeiro to New Jersey was such a popular route.

Was it a Nazi pipeline to the United States?

Seems strange. Especially given Brazil's ties to Germany and ex-Nazis.

Air Ships make me think of that cheesy 1970's movie "Island at the top of the world."

My goodness, that's the biggest flame since Cary Grant met Randolph Scott.

It was a vacation package designed by Irwin Allen

What was on their Ipod?

I say, "Burning Ring of Fire" by Johnny Cash.

[quote]What was on their Ipod?

"Some like it hot" ~ The Power Station

"Fire" by the Pointer Sisters.

Up In a Puff of Smoke by Polly Brown

Disco Inferno

Boom Boom (Boom Boom) ~ John Lee Hooker

Linda was the stewardess on the Hindenburg. It's no wonder she was a little crunchy by the time she landed at Pan-Am.

Following the Hindenburg disaster, whenever you disagreed with someone on DL there was a good chance of receiving a telegram telling you to "die in a hydrogen fire!"

[quote] Following the Hindenburg disaster, whenever you disagreed with someone on DL there was a good chance of receiving a telegram telling you to "die in a hydrogen fire!"

Given Datalounge's obsession with weight, they probably would have told you to "Die in BLIMP fire!"

I'm watching the movie now. All these Germans have American accents!

The movie was suprisingly good.

^ I agree. I liked how they wove the real footage of the disaster into the reenactment.

I dealt with the Trump/Pandemic era the same way Anne dealt with the Hindenburg...

soignee...and stoned.