'Skylifter' Blimp Designed To Lift Buildings

A dirigible large enough to lift and deliver heavy equipment and buildings to remote locations? Yes if Australian make-believe company Skylifter has anything to do with it! No if the mole-people finish their network of underground railways first.

This 150 meter-wide disc shaped balloon would be capable of carrying 150 tons, an increase of 700 percent from the maximum 20 tons able to be lifted by existing heavy transport helicopters. Its design provides for more stability - with its flatter profile, it acts less like a sail, making it less susceptible to winds during flights of up to 1240 miles. The disc also behaves as a parachute during descent, ensuring a gentle landing, while the low-hanging control pod keeps it from being too top-heavy.

This obviously being some sort of way-too-early viral marketing for Bioshock: Infinite aside, tell me -- is Skylifter supposed to be a takeoff on Skywalker, or just a crappy name decision? Because I would have gone with Skywaltzer. Skywaltzer: "we're dancin' with tractors on clouds, yo!"

Disc-Shaped Balloon Could Transport Whole Buildings To Remote Areas [popsci]

Thanks to ultrapony, closest thing you can get to a unicorn with actually having a corn.

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