This airship with its new technology is characterized by such features as: the use of nonflammable helium, the capability of taking off and landing vertically – even in winds of up to 50 km/h, the ability to remain airborne for exceptionally long periods of time, a very impressive low airspeed performance, and the ability to remain in a stationary position over a specific area of operation at any altitude up to 2,500 meters. Features that make this airship very economical to operate and at the same time environmentally friendly. The ”flying cigar“ took part in this year’s AERO ’97 air show in Friedrichshafen. With an air speed of up to 150 km/h and room for 12 passengers plus crew, it has every chance of becoming a very successful tourist attraction. Furthermore, due to the fact that this airship can fly nonstop for as long as 28 hours, other applications are feasible: for example, monitoring sea lanes, fishery protection, border patrols, observing road traffic, measuring air pollutants , geographical surveys and transportation services to remote areas that are otherwise difficult to access.

The outer skin of the airship consists of a specially coated fabric woven from 1000 den high tenacity nylon. The processing of this yarn is difficult due to the fabric’s susceptibility to distortion. The fabric is subsequently laminated with a sheet of film containing titanium oxide. The manufacturer of this fabric is a DORNIER Rapier Weaving Machine customer in the United States. In order to give the entire structure of the airship a high degree of stability and at the same time keep it lightweight, CFK material offers a good solution. For the construction of the airframe, passenger gondola and nacelles, these parts were manufactured utilizing the principle of sandwiching materials, the triangular transverse framing being constructed from carbon fiber roving.

The basic material used in the construction of these components, namely carbon fiber fabric, is produced by German weavers on DORNIER Rapier Weaving Machines. Due to its specific characteristics, this machine leads the world in the production of not only woven fabrics from carbon fiber, but also aramide and glass.

The subsequent processing of the fabric into Prepregs demands that the weaver does not use any chemical additives, such as size, silicon, surface lubricants, etc. since otherwise, these would inhibit the bonding of the matrix chemicals to the fabric during the manufacture of the components. There would be less of a problem if the yarns could be sized, twisted or plied. In addition, these yarns are very brittle and susceptible to breakage when subjected to lateral stress. They have little or no elasticity and, furthermore, are difficult to cut due to their tape-like cross section.

However, the tape-like cross section of these yarns has an advantage over twisted or plied yarns that are round in cross section. The fabrics woven have a low profile with a correspondingly lower consumption of impregnating compound during the manufacturing of the components. Thus the parts become lighter in weight while retaining the same mechanical strength. Consequently the special features of these fabrics necessitate a very careful handling of the tape-like yarns that consist of very fine and brittle filaments.

It is because of this that the advantages offered by the DORNIER Rapier Weaving Machine hold true. The low speeds involved in filling pick-up and transfer during the insertion cycle greatly reduce the ballooning effect of the yarn as it is pulled off the filling package or feeder. Thus, tension peaks are significantly reduced. Soft clamping inserts in the rapier heads ensure that the filling is not sheared off during pick up and transfer, while all the individual filaments in the tape yarn are being held securely. A specially designed filling scissor ensures that the pick is securely and cleanly cut.

As far as the warp is concerned, the fact that the rigid rapiers on the DORNIER Rapier Weaving Machine require no guide elements in the shed is a decisive advantage. If the very brittle, fine filaments in each warp would be split apart or even damaged by guide elements in the shed, during the insertion of every pick, the efficient production of a quality fabric would be unthinkable. In the area of coarse count yarns with a low number of ends in the warp, it is better to weave directly from a package creel. A specially developed 3 cylinder pull-off and feed device in the weaving machine ensures that all component warp ends are evenly and consistently tensioned.

Today, Lindauer DORNIER GmbH continues its association with the aerospace industry through the use of the company’s weaving machines for these hi-tech materials. Also a significant number of component parts used in the Airbus series of passenger aircraft, is manufactured from fabrics produced from carbon, aramide and glass, having their origins at the mills of DORNIER customers.