TPO66

In terms whether airship can replace airplanes and helicopters in the future or not, the arguments mentioned in the reading are all disputed by the lecturer.

It is first suggested that airships use less fuel since their engines are only used for horizontal movement. However, the lecturer argues that this solution is not as economical as the reading shows. It is admitted that airships are powered by less fuel, but they might cause other problems. As a matter of fact, airships are powered by two kinds of gas, one being the hydrogen and one being the helium. Hydrogen is a fire that can easily give a rise to fire as the case of past accidents. Helium can be hard to obtain and provide less energy than fuel. Concerning the safety and cost, we can safely conclude that airships are not be able to displace the other two ways.

Second, the reading claims that airships can carry heavy loads to anywhere including hard-to-reach locations. However, the lecturer maintains that it is challenging for airships to achieve this. In fact, in order to carry heavy tree loads, airships have to slowly come down and then rise again, which requires airships to be steady. But it is hard to keep them steady because a sudden wind can easily blow them to crush into surrounding trees.

Thirdly, as the reading points out, airships are capable of carrying important equipments for military purposes and cost less than satellites. However, the lecturer contradicts that airships are not able to fulfill this. Airships can only rise about 40 kilometers high where there are strong winds. Aiming to resist those winds, airships easily use up their fuel and require to decend for refuel. In this case, they can not provide as continuous services as satellites can.