Flying saucer-like blimp could haul 150 tons through the air

The aeronautical engineers at Australia's Skylifter have come up with a way to transport 700 times what a heavy cargo helicopter can: fix it to a blimp. The massive disc is almost 500 feet across, and its flying saucer-like shape makes it less susceptible to wind while hauling 150 tons.

Skylifter isn't just riding a flight of fancy, either. The company has a 10-foot-wide prototype of the craft — the tiny one is named Betty — finished to show off how it'd work. The tiny version can only carry a little more than a pound, though it shows how its larger cousin would act as a parachute during descent, with a low-hanging pod that keeps it from being too heavy up top.

Skylifter hopes to have the real deal built in the next three years, and the plan is to have it carry massive loads over 1200 miles at a time.

I'm guessing the weather has to be in good condition before they would even think about using this (and I doubt it will be of quick agility).

I bet they will use it more like a crane. Talking shit to the tops of towers.

I hope it will be precise... would be disastrous if there was any mistake in moving such large objects. Then with that in consideration, is it worth it?

I doubt they would put it into production unless it was safe. But they thought the Hindenburg would be safe also.

Doesn't make too much sense for me if they were going to move objects that could be lifted by cranes instead without too great of a hazard; such a large blimp could be greatly affected by wind drafts.