Old ass stuff.

My first video presentation for thesis class. It’s pure classic, like.

I wish I had found this earlier. ISO Polar’s publications.

http://www.isopolar.ca/publications.html

Just a sample of the research gold that I missed during thesis.

Airship Economic Studies and Papers

Various papers authored by ISO Polar’s board of directors, sustaining members and associates.

Economics of Airships for Perishable Food Trade

Authored by:
Dr. Barry E. Prentice, Transport Institute, University of Manitoba
Richard P. Beilock, University of Florida
Alfred J. Phillips, A.J. Phillips & Associates
Download (PDF Document, Size: 357.67 KB)

UPLIFT: From the cutting room floor 2

The following are more products of Point Set Reconstruction plugin for Rhino.

The ultimate test for WFP truckers: No problem for WFP airship pilot.

WFP truck on the Nationale 3 road in Congo

From WFP.org

Route Nationale 3 is a lifeline for thousands of people who depend on the [World Food Program] for food. It’s also a kidney-bruising, stomach-churning morass of hills, holes, greasy mud and rickety bridges.

Read the article to see just how bad the roads are.

It seems to me that this image of the WFP truck, carrying vital supplies stuck in the mud, would be all the indication of failure that an organization would need.  Yes we can blame it on the road, as it was built in the 60’s and poorly maintained, but as the WFP should know best, disasters don’t always happen in areas well serviced by roads.  The WFP is doing its best and also repairing sections of the road so that future deliveries may go through more easily, but it’s not the WFP’s job to build roads.  It is its job to deliver food to starving people in some of the worst places in the world.  If the current methods don’t work, then it’s their responsibility to find ones that do work.  The problem of hunger isn’t going to go away in 50 years, so it’s still not too late:  GET AN AIRSHIP.

UPLIFT: From the cutting room floor

These airship concepts images didn’t make it to the final poster.  Most of them were accidental results of my experimenting with Rhino and plugins.

This first one is a product of a mesh model of the concept that appears in the poster and the Point Set Reconstruction plugin, using the Delaunay function.

Globeship with Octree

UPLIFT: Graphics

The envelope of an airship presents a vast amount of real esate for graphics.  In addition to declaring, in no uncertain terms, the organization chartering the airship, the sides of the airship may also broadcast soothing messages, or important information.  This could be achieved in such simple ways as painting or applying decals, as they do now on Goodyear and Zeppelin airships.  Or, a more sophisticated projection system, similar to 21st Century’s, which turns the whole airship into a screen.  Or even better, epaper panels, the size of sailcloth could tell people help is on the way, meet here, or these people are alive and looking for their families etc, etc.

UPLIFT: The logo

The basic motif for the logo is the arrow.  The first concepts were clearly a play on the name UPLIFT.  The arrow coming out of the circle suggests growth or regrowth. I then found that you can easily suggest birds, and even an elephant. Towards the end I played around with the basic compass, to suggest that UPLIFT will go anywhere.  I drew inspiration from Arabic geometric art, African textiles and shitake mushrooms.

Vertical Airport concept – concept sketch

Since airships don’t actually need to land on the ground, why not stack the landing areas vertically? Lessons could be learned from the gantry for the Space Shuttle.

Advantages:

– Saves space.  In areas like London, where airport expansion is on moratorium, this could be the alternative that lets them expand capacity.  They could divert cargo to airships and use the runway slots for passenger flights.

Disadvantages

– moving cargo up and down

– Securing the airships so they don’t swing around in the wind

– 5 or 6 airships could generate significant shear force in a stiff breeze.  The structure will have to be able to withstand that.

UPLIFT: The Rationale

Putting together the document right now. Why is this completely crazy idea worth thinking about?  What are the benefits to all parties?

Read on. Comments are welcome, as always.

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PROBLEM

The number of displaced persons, worldwide: 26 Million [1]{Displaced because of war only, does not include “several million” environmental refugees.}

People affected by disasters: 201 Million [2]

• 405 natural disasters were reported worldwide in 2007.
• The estimated cost of damage inflicted by natural disasters in 2007 is nearly $63.5 billion.
• The combined total of 23,167 people killed by natural and technological disasters was the lowest of the decade, far below the decade’s average of 113,000.[2]

963 million people live without sufficient food. (25,000 of them die due to hunger or related causes) [3]

Organizations such as the Red Cross, World Food Program provide aid to these millions of people in need.  The recent increases in food and fuel costs have led to the necessity of aid rationing.  In addition, transportation is often difficult due to lack of infrastructure, or obstacles resulting from natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes.

As an illustration of transport difficulties in the DRC, even before wars damaged the infrastructure, the so-called “national” route, used to get supplies to Bukavu from the seaport of Matadi, consisted of the following:

• Matadi to Kinshasa – rail
• Kinshasa to Kisangani – river boat
• Kisangani to Ubundu – rail
• Ubundu to Kindu – river boat
• Kindu to Kalemie – rail
• Kalemie to Kalundu (the lake port at Uvira) – boat on Lake Tanganyika
• Kalundu to Bukavu – road

In other words, goods had to be loaded and unloaded eight times and the total journey would take many months.[4]*

Extensive road building and rail rehabilitation through the challenging terrain would take decades.

India, China and the Middle East have invested heavily into infrastructure in a number of African countries, including Angola, Togo and the DRC.[5]

PROPOSED SOLUTION

Airships.

A number of entities, from Boeing to DARPA in the US, to ISO Polar in Canada, have been pushing the agenda on lighter than air technology in the last decade.  Research into the viability of airships has been done continuously for at least the last 30 years. *NASA Report on airships for coastal surveillance and

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new-air-transportation-system-for-heavy-bulky-cargo

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In recent years, airship development of a brand new transportation sector with a wide range of possible applications.

These include:
–    Hauling fuel and supplies in northern (arctic) and desert regions
–    Freight from China to markets around the world
–    Monitoring the Arctic, jungles
–    Luxury cruises (13 million cruise passengers a year)
–    Bringing health and happiness (Development) to the developing world.

*A modern airship, traveling at 225 km/h would complete the trip from Matadi to Bukavu in 7 hours.

UPLIFT: The Scenarios

Organizational elements:  UPLIFT Transport, UPLIFT Rescue, Orchestar Logistics and Coordination, UPLIFT Engineering.

Partners: UNOCHA, UNHRD, UNDP

Players: Red Cross, World Food Program, Oxfam, Medecins Sans Frontieres, ECHO Flight

Technical elements: Airbus L450 XLR Dirigible, Boeing JHL-900 Helistat

August 15th 2025

In 2012, UPLIFT began as a UN pilot program to test a radical idea: a not for profit transportation service, mandated to serve the developing world, and humanitarian relief organizations.  Beginning by servicing ECHO-Flight, the European Union’s humanitarian air service in the Horn of Africa/Eastern and Zaire (formerly the Democratic Republic of Congo).  From bases in Accra, Ghana and Nairobi, Kenya, UPLIFT offered low cost air transport capacity to aid agencies operating relief and development programs in Somalia, north-eastern Kenya, and the Democratic Republic of Congo(now Zaire).  Personnel and cargo were transported aboard 5 light dirigibles and 2 heavy lift helistats.