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So I've been doing more thinking on the airship idea, trying to overcome many of the shortcomings of current designs (and there are some neat ones out there, including one transport behemoth cabable of carring 160 tons of cargo). One of the problems is bad weather and landing.
I figured why not solve those two problems at once, and make something that when on the ground provides its own hanger. My original idea (top right) just kept the upper shell and collapsed the deck into the body for landing. Not only would this be a technical issue and a dirty solution, but it would require nice flat ground to land on.
In my second version of this design I've moved the flight deck up to the top, and added a collapsable observation deck below. This coupled with the dome rather than pseudo-sphere shape will come with stability problems (it's going to want to flip upside down), so much of the shell may literally be that — just an aerodynamic cover over an otherwise traditional blimp.
Oh, and the base is surrounded by a 10' high or so “donut” of flexible material. The purpose of this is to both allow the airship the ability to land on water and on uneven land (not too uneven). On land it can be pointed into the prevailing wind, and then be staked down like a circus tent to survive storms. In water, while I wouldn't WANT to weather a storm, the rubber rim could be partially filled with water to increase the ship's weight and increase its draft, essentially making it as storm proof as an immense barge.
Controls for the flight deck would be mirrored on the observation deck as well. Living quarters are central and underneath (not pictured), lit through the condensation chamber and with additional observation windows below. The main fan ducts are now internal, with puffer ducts in the tail for directional control.
PS. Yes, the previous designs three or four entries down look much prettier. This is more of a compilation of potential solutions to some of the technical challenge than an aesthetic exercise.
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