Patent ID: 8783603

Claim:
An airship intended to fly through the air and to be set down on a solid or liquid surface, comprising: a flexible envelope with no rigid internal structure and containing a gas lighter than air, said envelope being elongated substantially along a longitudinal axis between a nose situated toward a front of said airship and a tail situated toward a rear of said airship, and comprising an upper part and a lower part, and a gondola situated under the lower part of the envelope between the nose and the tail, characterized in that the airship further comprises: at least three feet spaced horizontally apart and designed for setting the airship down on the surface, a reinforcing structure disposed outside of and connected to the envelope above and below the longitudinal axis of the envelope, the reinforcing structure at least partially surrounding the envelope and the longitudinal axis of the envelope for holding the envelope and thereby delimiting a first side and a second side of the envelope, and a landing structure disposed outside of the envelope and connecting the at least three feet and the gondola and to the reinforcing structure, the envelope comprising a first surface on the first side of the envelope and a second surface on the second side of the envelope, the first and second surfaces of the envelope being flexible and in contact with a flow of the air through which the airship is intended to fly.