Conceptual Sizing and Environmental Assessment of Rigid Cargo Airships

Cargo transportation faces growing demand for solutions that combine efficiency, environmental sustainability, and cost‑effectiveness. The requirement to deliver large, bulky freight to remote or inaccessible locations makes a compelling case for the use of rigid airships. They can offer greater speed than maritime shipping, yet lower emissions than conventional aircraft or heavy‑duty trucks. Despite their demonstrated potential throughout history, conceptual design studies on rigid airships remain scarce due to limited historical performance and structural data. This study addresses a critical gap in rigid cargo airship sizing methodologies by introducing a novel framework for initial weight estimation. We developed and validated an optimized model by building upon and refining century‑old textbook models with empirical data drawn from historical rigid airships. Comparative analysis revealed that the proposed model reduced prediction errors in component weight estimates relative to the traditional textbook approach. Additionally, we quantified the environmental impact of the historic rigid airship USS Macon and benchmarked its performance against major contemporary transport modes. Our findings indicate that, with modern engine retrofits, rigid airships could achieve carbon‑footprint reductions of 35 % to 84 % compared with current conventional aircraft. This study establishes a foundational methodology for rigid airship conceptual design and highlights their promising role in decarbonizing freight logistics.