Goodyear has built a new zepelina in the US. This new vessel, called GZ-22, is 63 m long, 17 m in diameter and 7,000 m 3 in volume. He was given the name Spirit of Akron.
Its two flattened propellers are orientative and its turning axis can tilt 75º up and 30º down. This system has greatly improved the handling of the vessel.
It has two high-powered light turbomotors that work with pistons. Turbocharged engines increase fuel consumption, but doubling the resulting power, even when there is a lot of wind, involves high speed. With these new engines, the displacement speed of the previous models is 25% higher (100 km/h).
To make the basket lighter, it is made of materials called composites. It is capable of transporting 11 people due to light weight.
This rebirth of slag has much to do with the special interest of the U.S. Navy. Goodyear competes with Airship Industries for the Navy's idea of buying 50 slags.