Bursting our balloon

You let your normally high standards slip in your editorial and article on airships (22 May).

To say: 'history's verdict on airships can be summed up in the main as a series of disasters' only panders to the ignorant. What about the successes, including the first scheduled air services and first west-east Atlantic crossing?

To call Akron 'the birthplace of the blimp' is far from true, although Akron did contribute to rigid and non-rigid airship development.

'The largest previous airship... was a mere 40,000m³'; wrong again — this covers the largest blimp, but the last rigid airships were in the 200,000m³ class.

Finally: 'a series of individual helium balloons' does not minimise the risk of gas leaking; the larger number of balloons gives a larger gasbag area for the same gas storage, increasing the risk.

Mike West
Leafield Engineering
Wiltshire

Make your point to The Engineer and take off with bmi

How to enter
Write a letter to The Engineer magazine and you could win a pair of tickets to one of bmi’s European destinations, courtesy of our friends at the airline.

Flexible and competitive
bmi asked 10,000 customers ‘what would make a great airline?’

The answer was clear: competitive fares, more choice and less time wasted at airports. So bmi acted, introducing a unique fare structure on domestic and European short-haul flights to and from London Heathrow. Thanks to three fare options — including premium economy, with benefits including lounge access and flexibility — you choose the services you want, depending on your business trip.

What’s more, bmi has streamlined the passenger process from the moment of buying the ticket, to your passage through the airport, to boarding the aircraft. You can book e-tickets online and then check in online at home, in your office, or even on the move.

Alternatively, there are self-check-in machines and priority check-in desks at the airport. You can even use bmi ‘web points’ to check in online at the airport, if that’s more convenient. All this means you can save valuable time from booking, right until your plane takes off.

The prize
Try the smart approach for yourself, courtesy of bmi. The winner of The Engineer’s Letter of the Month prize for April, as selected by the editor, will win a pair of tickets from London Heathrow to any destination on bmi’s European mainline network.

Click here for terms and conditions.

The Engineer