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 Sky’s the limit for Mantua firm
Patented Dynalifter aircraft nearly completed
Marly
Kosinski
By Marly
Kosinski
Record-Courier business
editor
MANTUA - A local business is well
on its way to having its patented aircraft take
flight.
Robert Rist and Brian Martin,
founders of Ohio Airships, Inc., have their
“hybrid” aircraft about 75 percent complete and
are hoping their Dynalifter will make its debut
this summer. The Dynalifter is part airplane and
part airship and features a cable stay bridge
construction interior that allows for
concentrated loading, while decreasing
structural weight.
The pair came up with
the idea in 1999 and since then, they have
received a U.S. patent, commissioned an
engineered design study, sent their idea for a
computational fluid dynamics analysis, selected
an airport (Barber Airport in Alliance), built
the prototype hangar, had wind tunnel testing
done and have begun fabrication.
“The
prototype is nearly done but we still need help
from someone who can purchase the engines, the
helium cells and helium gas,” Rist
said.
He said the company has completed
all pre-fabrication engineering for all four
Dynalifter scale models, including the heavy
freighter, light freighter, a long-range
patroller and the two-person patroller, which is
the prototype currently under
construction.
Rist said the prototype,
which is 120 feet long, has a goal weight of
2,000 lbs. with people in it. He said their goal
is for the Dynalifter to be able to lift 1,000
lbs. with helium.
“Because this is a
hybrid aircraft, it is more economical than an
airship. Blimps are fuel efficient, but because
they are so light, they need a huge ground crew
to help them l
and
which increases the cost,” Martin said. “The
Dynalifter is a self-landing
aircraft.”
He said another unique feature
about the Dynalifter is that the prototype
itself can generate revenue.
“Our plan is
to complete the prototype and then demonstrate
it in major U.S. cities. Sponsors will buy
advertising space on the aircraft to sustain
production of future models,” Martin
said.
Rist said the terrorist attacks on
Sept. 11, 2001 increased the demand for
patrolling aircraft to protect the nation’s
waterways and bridges. The attacks also
increased the need for a new way to transport
freight - two potential uses for the
Dynalifter.
He said helicopters are
inefficient for patrolling because they can only
stay aloft for about two or three hours before
needing to refuel. The Dynalifter can stay aloft
for up to 10 hours. He also said that airships
cost about $2,800 per flight hour and cost about
$2 million to produce while the Dynalifter is
estimated to cost $280 per flight hour and can
be produced for about $100,000.
Rist said
once he and Martin have the Dynalifter prototype
completed, they will flight test it and begin
placing it in major metropolitan areas such as
Cleveland, New York, Orlando, Los Angeles and
Las Vegas.
Martin said they would like to
have the prototype done by summer and begin the
profitable demonstrations in the next
year.
“We’re just really excited because
before when we would pitch our idea to sponsors,
all we had were drawings and engineering
studies. Now, we have an actual aircraft to show
them. It makes it more real,” Martin
said. |
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