AirShip Technologies Group
Don't Tell Us We Can't Change The World!
AIRSHIP CONSTRUCTION
How well the AirShip protects itself against the ravages of time, weather and the abrasive nature of everyday use is surely one measure of its caliber. It is not surprising, then, that this matter will receive a great deal of attention from the vehicle's engineers and designers. For weight efficiency, the AirShip employs an aluminum or composites frame and external panels. Virtually all components of the vehicle including track spheres, electric motor components, and interior features are made of strong but lightweight material. In addition, molded structural polyurethane will be used for the interior compartment, and frame of the driver console and seats.
The exterior aerodynamic front, sides and rear quarter panels will be constructed from composites, stainless steel or aluminum that is impervious to rust and corrosion and also staunchly resistant to life's dings and dents. Some estimated expectations are for the vehicle's exterior to hold up against corrosion for 50 years, which, if true, ought to make the competition start to re-examine their warranty programs.
The vehicle's aerodynamic front-end, flexible outer windscreen and fenders are designed and manufactured to absorb a five mile per hour impact and then spring back to its original shape. Both front and rear integrated bumpers will be tested to withstand impacts at five miles an hour to comply with
The driver operator seat is positioned just in front of the passenger seats and gives the driver excellent control and sight of the AirShip's center console instrumentation. The passenger area houses three seats and is aft of the driver's center console and seat. Additionally, gullwing doors that are up to 42 inches wide protect the passengers while allowing for entering and exiting the vehicle. Doors lift vertically from the AirShip's roof hinges and torsion bars. The doors are activated manually or automatically via an internal cabin switch, interactive voice response, or remote hand-held activator control. Because the gullwing doors are balanced via hydraulic vacuum struts, they are very light when being opened and closed.
For ground transit, the vehicle’s width is 7.48 feet at its widest point, just wide enough to meet most street and highway lane requirements. The length is 17 feet. The vehicle is capable of carrying four people (1 driver/operator and up to 3 passengers at 200 pounds each, plus luggage weighing 400 pounds for a combined total load of 1,200 pounds. The empty weight of the vehicle is 1,000 pounds. Therefore, the maximum weight of the fully loaded AirShip is 2,200 pounds.
The AirShip's Lithium-ion battery packs are one answer to growing concern over vehicular air pollution. The battery cells are small and hundreds of them are stacked one on top of the other. The batteries are packed in housing that comprises a series of 25-kilowatt units. The ridged interconnecting batteries and the system’s design allow for rapid start-up and efficient heat extraction. As with most batteries you have an outer case made of metal. The use of metal is particularly important here because the battery is pressurized. This metal case has a pressure-sensitive vent hole. the Positive Temperature Coefficient (PTC) switch is a device that keeps the battery from overheating. This metal case holds a long spiral comprising three thin sheets pressed together: Inside the case, these sheets are submerged in an organic solvent that acts as the electrolyte. Ether is one common solvent. The separator is a very then sheet of micro-perforated plastic. As the name implies, it separates the positive and negative electrodes while allowing ions to pass through. The positive electrode is made of Lithium cobalt oxide, or LiCoO2. The negative electrode is made of carbon. When the battery charges, ions of Lithium move through the electrolyte from the positive electrode to the negative electrode and attach to the carbon. During discharge, the Lithium ions move back to the LiCoO2 from the carbon. The movement of these Lithium ions happens at a fairly high voltage, so each cell produces 3.7 volts. This is much higher than the 1.5 volts typical of a normal AA alkaline cell that you buy at the supermarket and helps make Lithium-ion batteries more compact in small devices like cell phones. A power control unit (PCU) serves as a motor controller for the AirShip’s Dual Stacked Lithium-ion packs that power the vehicle’s three electric propulsion motors nuzzled around each of the four track-sphere assemblies. The Lithium-ion battery packs power plant life expectancy has a planned prolonged power and recharge capability of 5 years before replacement. The AirShip’s complex curves and shapes are easily rendered in extruded aluminum or composites. Where frame curves intersect, hollow joints allow pieces to be fitted together. This technique creates an extremely stable and rigid passenger cage or cell, improving safety. Both aluminum and composites have a high strength-to-weight ratio, but they are inherently less stiff than steel; hence, larger cross sections of either material are required to duplicate the stiffness of a steel structure, and this trades off weight savings. The AirShip’s body and frame combination ends up about 30 percent lighter than an equivalent steel body. Unlike steel frames, the aluminum or composites can be easily extruded - pushed through a relatively inexpensive die to form lengthy rails or columns with complex cross sections. Cast aluminum joints allow the extruded aluminum frame to be welded. Assembly Components. Assembly components include four basic building blocks for the AirShip. The box-aluminum or composites backbone chassis and the glass reinforced composite underbody are ridged light weight structures, while the aluminum/composites upper body panels are assembled as independent components. The upper chassis frame is designed with an integrated roll bar structure and acts as a pivot for the gullwing doors. Four-seat cabin forward positioning allows the operator driver full views of instrumentation controls and changing conditions during ground transit. Mid-positioned passengers have a commanding view of front and lateral scenes through the front wraparound heads up windshield screen and gullwing door windows. To minimize AirShip assembly, major building blocks to the vehicle will be produced by suppliers and assembled by AirShip Technologies Group. The AirShip CAD drawings show the aggregate assembly of the backbone frame, the glass reinforced composite underbody, and the upper frame. Interior and exterior sub-components are installed in each of these 4-piece assembly phases. At first sight of an AirShip on the road, the vehicle appears wide and low. Form has followed function and yet the goal of ground transport has blended acceptable dimensions from other alternative vehicles. AirShip performance has ground speed acceleration to 60 miles per hour within 5 seconds while engaging the electric track spheres. Top speed redlines at 125 miles per hour while ground breaking to zero occurs from 60 miles per hour in 116 feet. Top AXP speed climbs to 100 miles per hour through a straight line path with all four electric track sphere drive trains engaged and while power is ported to the four track spheres. From the lateral view, the AirShip employs wide aerodynamic exterior track sphere hubs with graceful lines that hide the track sphere assemblies while showing aerodynamic details. For maximum speed, the front track sphere provides direction control while the two lateral and rear track spheres provide all-wheel drive enhanced acceleration and stabilization. With gullwing doors extended at rest, they add to the excitement of this revolutionary vehicle. Gullwing doors were chosen partly for safety reasons as they are less prone to jam in a crash, but mostly to lend the vehicle a unique touch. Doors open between the front and rear seats allowing for the most convenient entry and exit. 
AirShip will adopt the Audi RSQ I-Robot track sphere rendition shown here, but unlike the movie these track spheres have been designed for actual performance.
Track Sphere Manual Construction
Task Description 1.0 a) Make a template by drawing a semi-circle, with a radius of 11.5 inches on a ¾ in. thick plywood board. b) Cut out the template along the line of the semi-circle. c) Attach a wooden handle to the top of the template. 2.0 Construct a mold out of concrete by constructing a 3 Ft. X 3Ft X 2Ft (Deep) Plywood Form, using ¾ inch thick plywood. a) Fill the form with poured (slow drying) concrete to within 2 inches from the top of the Form. b) Using the template, remove the concrete from the mold to match the template. c) Allow the concrete to thoroughly dry to maximum hardness. 3.0 Fabricate the steel structure of the Track Ball using 3/8 in. thick honey-comb steel. a) Place a 36 in. X 36 in. square piece of honey-comb steel over the top of the Mold. b) Heat the honey-comb steel using an acetylene torch. c) Using a hammer, hammer the hot honey-comb steel sheet into the shape of the mold. d) Using the blow-torch, trim excess honey-comb, leaving a ¼ inch flange around the top of the product. 4.0 To fabricate the Track-Sphere: Interior: a) Coat the inside of the honey-comb hemisphere with fiberglass resin, filling the honey-comb cells to half full. b) Cover the resin with heavy fiber-glass cloth, cutting the cloth to achieve a smooth complete covering of the interior of the hemisphere. c) Add additional resin coating on the surface of the heavy cloth. d) Cover with a layer of thin fiber-glass cloth to achieve a smooth interior finish. e) Allow the hemisphere to dry and cure as required. f) Drill a hole and install pressure filler input attachment. 5.0 To assemble two hemispheres into a spherical Track-Ball: a) Place the two hemispheres in the Holding Jigs with the flange sides up. b) Position the Jigs and adjust the flanges to be perfectly even all around. c) Use stick welding to weld the flanges together. 6.0 To construct the Mold for the treading process: a) Make a template by drawing a semi-circle, with a radius of 12 inches, on a ¾ in. thick plywood board. b) Cut out the Template along the line of the semi-circle. c) Attach a wooden handle to the top of the Template. 7.0 Construct a mold out of concrete by constructing a 3 Ft. X 3Ft X 2Ft (Deep) Plywood Form, using ¾ inch thick plywood. a) Fill the form with poured (slow drying) concrete to within 2 inches from the top of the Form. b) Using the template, remove the concrete from the mold to match the template. c) Allow the concrete to thoroughly dry to maximum hardness. d) Coat the interior of the Mold with ¼ inch thick coating of fiber-glass resin. e) Allow the resin to dry. f) Cut the Tread design into the resin coating. g) Allow the resin to cure. 8.0 To mold the tread to the exterior of the Track-Ball sphere: a) Coat the interior of both hemispheres of the Tread Mold with tread rubber to a depth of 1/2 inch. b) Cover the rubber coating with steel wire mesh pressed into the soft rubber. c) Close the two halves of the Tread Mold over the steel honey-comb Track-Ball. Press the Track-Ball Sphere in the Tread Mold. d) Trim off excess rubber from Tread Mold. e) Cure Track-Ball in autoclave. f) Fill with pressurized air.
